This towered mansion on Toorak Road West called Goodrest was built in 1885, and designed by #WalterBuckhurst, who got the job cos he was the owners son (!). It’s got a lot going on in a relatively small area, being an all-out mansion on a smallish site, with a mansard on the tower and a lot of quoining (diamond blocked and #vermiculated above) , and elongated brackets under the eaves, creating a very elaborate impression. No interiors, because the sale in early 2020 didn’t have any. Not sure of complete history, but was in army use during WW2 (2nd B&W pic), then later became a private hospital / nursing home, losing the front garden by the 1970s for a carpark, then became a function centre, then as the exterior for the 1978 film Patrick (spooky!), then in 2013 Christchurch Grammar bought it for a kindergarten, but ran into planning hurdles, they sold to Paul Little and Jane Hansen in 2020, who plan to renovate it, but clearly nothings happened yet. It’s surrounded by a builders fence, perhaps since 2013?

13 March 2024

The rather horrifying ‘renovation’ of the 1885 mansion Goodrest on Toorak Road West South Yarra, showing just a few brick walls remaining of the interior (pics from Steve Stephanopoulos Oct 2023). I posted pics in 2021, then discovered the plans for the renovation, which seemed to keep at least the main rooms – but looking closely they were going to demolish a lot, including the main stair. There are interiors shots in the heritage report showing they wernt terribly exciting, but the stair and it’s arch looked nice, both now gone, with maybe just the elaborate entry arch, the front bay windowed room and the little room with the elaborate ceiling all that will remain. Instead there’ll be a sweeping staircase, lift, multiple living spaces basement parking for 6 cars, but only 2 bedrooms. The interiors were not protected, the @cityofmelbourne hasnt listed a single one, though they have a policy against facadism, and youd think generally nice old residential interiors are safe, but some owners …. The house had been very much added to, and mucked around and extended over the years. The transformation is by billionaire couple Paul Little and Jane Hansen, who will presumably downsize from their current $100m mansion Coonac in Toorak. The architect of the original house was Walter Buckhurst, for the new house Powell & Glenn.

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