November 2025

A proper Toorak Victorian mansion I hadn’t seen before – Chastleton, cnr of a road the same name and Orrong Road. What we see isn’t all actually Victorian though – the house was first built in 1887 in a very picturesque rustic Italianate style, with a cute verandah, and a ballroom wing to the east with a separate entrance.

The next owner refashioned the front as symmetrical bay windows and a classical portico in 1907, all in matching but busy Italianate style. The first architect isn’t known, but George deLacy Evans did the alterations, and got John Monash to do some of it in then new reinforced concrete. (the plans have north to the left).

The grounds were subdivided in 1925, creating Chastleton Ave, and it became a reception centre. Then in c1930 the ballroom was demolished and it became flats, and in c1945 the grounds to the east was subdivided as a separate house.

In 98 Steve Vizard bought it but then sold again (this the fourth house I’ve posted that he lived in!). The next owners renovated (see comments below), and bought back the lot to the east. They sold in 2014, and the next owner replaced the house with a tennis court, and did the interior as in the 2021 real estate pics. They show a very nice Victorian hall, but not much original detailing left in the main rooms, just an Edwardian door and plaster ceilings likely from 1907, perhaps no surprise given the different uses over the years.

Anyone know anything about this …house in Chastleton Ave Toorak ? Reminds me of the Turkel House in Detroit by Frank Lloyd Wright, 1955, well, a bit.

Update : it’s by Blight Blight & Blight (@richieblight_), formerly of @flackstudio, not quite finished, and his text likens it to an Ironman suit, each unit provides solar control and privacy, and structural strength with an efficient use of materials. There’s a huge space inside, with heat pumps providing thermal comfort. The steppy bits might be the rescode angles for side boundaries, hence the ziggurat look. Im not sure I like it exactly, but it’s certainly different!

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