December 2025
Katanga, on the corner of Glenferrie and Hamilton Roads, Malvern. It was the last house designed by Harold Desbrowe Annear, built 1931-33 for solicitor Wesley Ince.
It’s a curious design, similar to his other boxy Toorak houses, all with a porch or porte-cochere, but there’s more going on with this one. Lots of plain walls, and that rather bold arched porch, with a pediment /gable above, delicate bits of Baroque derived classical decoration, and a side wall that bulges out. The grass verge has been co-opted with an axial path that accentuates the entry (not sure if that’s original). The wrought iron fence and formal side garden are original though.
In my early days at the @nationaltrustvic c1990 the fate of house was a concern, with a sale and renovations pending, when it was intact down to the kitchens and bathrooms. Stonnington Libraries have some internal pics from 1991 showing what it was like then. It was added to the Heritage Register in 1991 – I’m not sure if the kitchen survived, but I hope that bathroom did !
Storey of Melbourne 