27 February 2025

A grand Georgian style house in Landale Road Toorak; I thought it was maybe 1950s, since there’s few embellishments, but turns out it was built probably in the early 30s. It’s called Aroona, and the site and the street were once a larger estate of the same name with a fine 1869 house. It was reported sold in 1926, though perhaps nothing happened for a while, since the first new houses date from 1932. This house was in fact built for the previous owner of the mansion, so George Landale and Aroona get mentioned often, can’t find a precise date or architect. Must say it’s not my favourite example of Georgian Revival. By the 50s it was home to the Kalman Rogers, then a Domain article says it was the Smorgans, then Steve Vizard, who sold in 2003 to funds manager Ron Dewhurst, who sold it in 2017 for $17mill. The house is oddly close to the street, but that gives it a huge rear garden with tennis court etc.

Update : apparently altered inside many times, most recently in 2023, an article in bosshunting.com.au has these pics

Rather curiously styled interwar house in Landale Road Toorak, which I happened to find a whole Table Talk spread about! It’s a bit Old English, with huge steep roofs, but the arched front verandah thing is rather Mediterranean. Called Kimotho, it was featured in July 1935, noting the wide smiling Mrs Vivian Price had combined the old and the new, though I can’t see anything modern looking. Perhaps the ‘gay chintz’ was considered new ? Bold patterns. Earliest mention I can find is 1932, don’t know architect.

Found one interior from 2005, the woodwork painted, urg, and an odd maybe 80s extension. Seems since then it got an ugly black steel fence, half of the rear is now subdivided as a newish Gerorgianish mansion, and a giant new rear extension virtually fills the rear. The fishpond originally in the front garden much nicer than the potted shrubs there now.

Google tells me Kimotho is Kikuyu for left-handed, considered a good thing, so conceivably whoever built it had a connection to colonial Kenya. Or they just liked the sound of it.

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