11 October 2023:
This delightful house called ‘Fleurs’ on the #StKildaHill on Princes Street was built c1882 for retired lawyer John Barker. Which is pretty much all the Port Phillip Heritage Review says; though I can add he was superintendent of the Mint from 1872, and also a St Kilda city councillor, and that not long after ‘eminent businessman Phipps Turnbull’ lived there, calling it Fluers, where he died aged 61 in 1890. The architect is not known. It’s unusual for having a recessed arcade, on two sides; an arcade like that is often found on terrace houses, whereas houses would have a projecting verandah – it was probably done here because it’s a big house on a relatively small block, a sort of mini mansion, and Mr Barker still wanted to have a shady verandah.
Storey of Melbourne 