Heronswood is a heritage-listed house located in Dromana, on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. Classified by the National Trust of Australia and open to the public, [1] the house, completed in the Gothic Revival style, is listed on the Australian Heritage Places Register, [2] [3] and the Victorian Heritage Register. [4]
The house is located at 105 Latrobe Parade, Dromana, directly above the beach where Captain Matthew Flinders landed on 27 April 1802.
Hearn employed William Moat to develop spacious lawns and gardens. Rare oriental and occidental trees were planted, many of which survive to this day. A cape chestnut is one of the most impressive trees today that survived from these early plantings. Moat also developed an orchard and fenced Hearn's property. He planted many pine trees, some of which are still standing. [5] The garden is listed in the Oxford Companion to Gardens as one of only four entries for the state of Victoria, along with the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, Mawallock and Ripponlea. This book, which is worldwide in scope, is an encyclopedia of the art of garden design from the earliest known gardens to the present. [6]
From Hearn, the property was sold to Alexander Sutherland, another university professor, and then, in 1903, to his friend, H. B. Higgins. Hearn had been Higgins' teacher. Higgins was a highly influential politician and Federal Attorney General. He wrote the Harvester Judgement, at Heronswood, which formed the basis of the Australian arbitration system. This ensured Australian workers a fair basic wage.
On 13 January 1929 at Heronswood, Higgins took his regular morning walk to Arthur's Seat. ( When younger he also went for a daily morning swim at Anthony's Nose ). As was his habit he then read on the porch. In the early evening he collapsed and died. The Trades Hall in Melbourne flew the Australian flag at half mast. Higgins was buried in Dromana cemetery, with Anglican rites, under the Celtic cross which he had built to commemorate his son. He was survived by Mary Alice Higgins. [7]
On 5 February 1912, The Argus newspaper reported a bushfire in the vicinity of Arthur's Seat. Several residences in Dromana were destroyed.
"Last evening, at about half-past 5 o'clock, a bush fire swept a portion of the country between Dromana and Rosebud. It swept away the residences of Mrs. Coburn, Springbank, and the summer residence of Mr. Frank Cornell, despite the efforts of a large number of workers. Miss Burrell's house was saved after great exertions. The township of Rosebud is safe, and the fire is now burning in the direction of Boneo. Portion of the same fire swept towards Heronswood, the seaside residence of Mr. Justice Higgins. The fate of the residence was for some hours uncertain, but the flames were finally beaten off. Fires are still burning at Arthur's Seat and towards Mount Martha." [8]
Arthurs Seat is a mountainous and small locality on the Mornington Peninsula, within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula, about 85 km south east of Melbourne, Australia, noted for its exclusivity and the general affluence of the demographics which make up the enclave. The Aboriginal Boonwurrung name for the hill is Wonga.
Dromana is a seaside town in Metropolitan Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, located 75km south of Melbourne’s CBD. Its local government area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.
Rosebud is a seaside town in Metropolitan Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia approximately 75 km South of Melbourne’s central business district. It is wedged between the lower slopes of Arthurs Seat, the shores of Port Phillip and the plains of Boneo. Its local government area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula. Rosebud is a popular tourist resort with families who appreciate its sandy beaches and shallow waters.
Fitzroy is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east of the city's Central Business District (CBD) and located in the local government area of the City of Yarra. As of 2016, Fitzroy had a population of 10,445. Planned as Melbourne's first suburb in 1839, it later became one of the city's first areas to gain municipal status, in 1858. It occupies Melbourne's smallest and most densely populated area outside the CBD, just 100 ha.
The Black Friday bushfires of 13 January 1939, in Victoria, Australia, were part of the devastating 1938–1939 bushfire season in Australia, which saw bushfires burning for the whole summer, and ash falling as far away as New Zealand. It was calculated that three-quarters of the State of Victoria was directly or indirectly affected by the disaster, while other Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory were also badly hit by fires and extreme heat. As of 3 November 2011, the event was one of the worst recorded bushfires in Australia, and the third most deadly.
Kangaroo Ground is a town in Victoria, Australia, 26 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the Shire of Nillumbik. At the 2016 Census, Kangaroo Ground had a population of 1,095. There are two sources for the origin of the name. The name arises from the extraordinary richness of the locality with kangaroo grass before it was settled. It is a descriptive term, apparently coined by William Ryrie but first formally recorded in February 1838 by Robert Hoddle in his diary: "Crossed a creek nearly dry and entered some forest land distant from Melbourne called Kangaroo Grounds.... It abounds in kangaroos, hence its name."
Mornington Peninsula Freeway is a freeway in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, that provides a link from outer suburban Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula.
Flagstaff Gardens is the oldest park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, first established in 1862. Today it is one of the most visited and widely used parks in the city by residents, nearby office workers and tourists. The gardens are notable for their archaeological, horticultural, historical and social significance to the history of Melbourne.
The Treasury Gardens consist of 5.8 hectares on the south-eastern side of the Melbourne Central Business District, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Wellington Parade, Spring Street, Treasury Place, and by the Fitzroy Gardens across Lansdowne street to the west. They form part of a network of city gardens including Fitzroy Gardens, Carlton Gardens, Flagstaff Gardens and Kings Domain. The gardens are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register for their historical, archaeological, social, "aesthetic and scientific (horticultural) importance for its outstanding nineteenth century design, path layout and planting".
The Fitzroy Gardens are 26 hectares located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne Central Business District in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Clarendon Street, Albert Street, Lansdowne Street, and Wellington Parade with the Treasury Gardens across Lansdowne street to the west.
Yarra Park is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct, the premier sporting precinct of Victoria, Australia. Located in Yarra Park is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and numerous sporting fields and ovals, including the associated sporting complexes of Melbourne & Olympic Parks. The park and sporting facilities are located in the inner-suburb of East Melbourne. In the late 1850s, many of the earliest games of Australian rules football were played at Yarra Park, which was known at the time as the Richmond Paddock.
Government House is the official residence of the Governor of Victoria, currently Linda Dessau. It is located in Kings Domain, Melbourne, next to the Royal Botanic Gardens.
La Trobe's Cottage is a historic cottage in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, built in 1839 by the first Superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, Charles La Trobe, and his family.
Kings Domain is an area of parklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It surrounds Government House Reserve, the home of the Governors of Victoria, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and the Shrine Reserve incorporating the Shrine of Remembrance.
The Melbourne Club is a private social club established in 1838 and located at 36 Collins Street, Melbourne.
Mount Macedon is a small town 64 kilometres (40 mi) north-west of Melbourne in the Australian state of Victoria. The town is located below the mountain of the same name, which rises to 1,001 metres (3,284 ft) AHD. At the 2016 census, Mount Macedon had a population of 1,335 and is best known for its collection of 19th-century gardens and associated extravagant large homes, which is considered to be one of the most important such collections in Australia.
The Shire of Flinders was a local government area, encompassing the extremity of the Mornington Peninsula, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) south of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of 324 square kilometres (125.1 sq mi), and existed from 1874 until 1994.
The Digger's Club is Australia's largest gardening club, with over 75,000 members. They were established in 1978 to ensure access to diverse seeds and plants which were disappearing from circulation and became champions of the heirloom fruit and vegetable revival in the 1990s. The club has been a staunch advocate for public control of our seed supply and against its corporatization through GM foods. In 2011, The Blazey family gifted the Diggers Club and its two historic gardens public gardens – Heronswood and The Garden of St Erth – to the charitable Diggers Foundation to ensure the Digger's legacy will continue to inspire and educate Australian gardeners into the future.
McCrae Homestead is an historic property located in McCrae, Victoria, Australia. It was built at the foot of Arthurs Seat, a small mountain, near the shores of Port Phillip in 1844 by Andrew McCrae, a lawyer, and his wife Georgiana Huntly McCrae, a portrait artist of note. The homestead is under the care of the National Trust of Australia, and is open to the public. Volunteers who are knowledgeable about the history of the house conduct tours and answer questions.
Victor Zelman (1877–1960) was an Australian painter and etcher. He was born in Melbourne and was the son of Alberto Zelman (senior) and the brother of Alberto Zelman, the founder of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
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