Como House

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Como House
(1)Como in Melbourne Australia.jpg
Como house
Como House
Location South Yarra, Victoria
Coordinates 37°50′17″S145°00′13″E / 37.83806°S 145.00361°E / -37.83806; 145.00361
Area2.6 hectares (6.5 acres)
Operated by National Trust of Victoria
Water Yarra River
Connecting transportTrains:
South Yarra station
Trams:
58
LandmarksComo House

Como House is a historical house, with associated gardens in the City of Stonnington, Victoria, Australia. It was constructed in 1847 for Sir Edward Eyre Williams and now serves as a tourist attraction under the custodianship of the National Trust of Australia. The gardens are open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The historic house is open for guided tours every Saturday and Sunday.

Contents

Location

The house and landscaped area is located in the suburb of South Yarra, Victoria, adjacent to Como Park. [1]

History

The first sale of land by the Crown in the area took place on 10 June 1840 when land bounded by Kooyong Road, Gardiners Creek (Yarra River). Gardiners Creek Road (now Toorak Road) and Glenferrie Road was sold. The purchasers included Jane Hill (the widow of pastoralist David Hill), the Langhorne Bros. (the nephews of Captain William Lonsdale), Capt. John Browne and James Jackson. [2]

Como House was constructed in 1847 and owned by Sir Edward Eyre Williams, a Supreme Court judge, until it was sold in 1852 to investor Frederick Dalgety. [3] After only a year, it was sold to John Brown – a master builder and wine and spirit merchant – who took possession in 1853 and commenced a program of works to transform the property, including adding a second storey (which included a ballroom) to the house. [4]

In December 1855, William Sangster was appointed head gardener and overseer at Como. [5] At that time, the 53-acre site comprised partly cleared land, a rocky hill and a swamp adjoining the river. The site was bounded to the north by Gardener’s Creek Road (now Toorak Road) down to the Yarra River and extended west from Williams Road to the vicinity of Kensington Road. Sangster designed and laid out the five-acre formal pleasure gardens section of the grounds with exotic trees to create an ideal “picturesque garden” with borrowed views across the river. [6] The design featured a carriage drive from the main road. Large areas were set aside for almond trees, vegetables and fruit. In 1864, Brown's borrowings for his business were secured with a mortgage of Como and other properties to the Bank of Australasia. When he had business difficulties following the death of his business partner, Brown’s bank was sold to the Armytages in 1864; Sangster remained until mid-1866. [7]

Charles Armytage purchased the property for £14,000 in 1864. [8] The family stayed for 95 years, eventually selling the property to the newly formed National Trust of Australia in 1959. [8]

The Seekers filmed the video for their version of Morningtown Ride at Como House. [9]

Improvements to the property continued in the 1980s. [10]

Further reading

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References

  1. ↑ "Stonnington Council - Como and Como North Parks". City of Stonnington. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Cooper, John Butler. The history of Prahran: From its settlement to a city. Melbourne: Modern Printing Co., 1912. p.22.
  3. ↑ Coventry, C.J. (2019). "Links in the Chain: British slavery, Victoria and South Australia". Before/Now. 1 (1). doi:10.17613/d8ht-p058.
  4. ↑ Black, Beryl J. (1991). John Brown 1804-1871, known as John "Como' Brown and "Brown of Como', who owned, extended and developed "Como' 1853-1864 / researched and compiled by Beryl J. Black ; foreword by Andrew Mackenzie. B.J. Black. p.5.
  5. ↑ Black, Beryl J. (1991). John Brown 1804-1871, known as John "Como' Brown and "Brown of Como', who owned, extended and developed "Como' 1853-1864 / researched and compiled by Beryl J. Black ; foreword by Andrew Mackenzie. B.J. Black. p.3.
  6. ↑ Vale, Anne. (2013). Exceptional Australian garden makers / Anne Vale. Lothian Custom Publishing Pty Ltd. p. 24.
  7. ↑ Foster, John H. (1989) Victorian Picturesque: The Colonial Gardens of William Sangster. University of Melbourne History Dept. p. 19.
  8. 1 2 "Culture Victoria - The Armytage Family of Como". Arts Victoria. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  9. ↑ Morningtown Ride https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-RkC6MYT2E
  10. ↑ "Plan, Como, 1983". victoriancollections.net.au. Victorian Collections. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
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