October 2026
One day I’ll have done all dozen or so St Kilda Road / Queens Road mansions – this one peeking up above hedges on the corner of Queens Road and Beatrice was called Lanark, and was built in 1883 for William Wilson, who was the proprietor of Scott’s hotel in Collins Street.
It’s a very grand but restrained design by Terry & Oakden, with a projecting porch, and what was originally an arched verandah, now glazed in. Looks like it was a relatively modest house at first, on a double bloc, see c1900 MMBW plan.
After 1907 it was the home of Thomas Tait, Railway Commissioner, who introduced the red rattler electric ‘Tait’ trains. Another owner Cyril Steele added a ballroom in c1929 – it’s the bit to the left of the arches. Then in 1939 it became the Grosvenor reception centre, but a few years later in 1942 it was purchased by the Army – the old photo is 1945, the only one I could find.
Don’t know when they sold up, but in the late 2000s big new flats were built around the mansion, not ideal but not too close, and it was divided into flats, not sure anything grand inside remains except a very nice stair, with its fab window.
