Unveiling the Secrets of Labassa: A Historic Mansion’s Tale

labassa

Labassa, a high Victorian gothic mansion, is a testament to a vibrant history that extended well into the twentieth century. This opulent residence, once home to a silent movie star, artists, and bohemians, is a treasure trove of ornamental decorations. Its interior is adorned with opulent Japanese wallpapers, intricate stained glass windows, and a rare trompe l’oeil ceiling.

labassa in 1916
Labassa 1916

“By the 1880s, Melbourne was one of the wealthiest, most glamorous cities in the British Empire. Between 1885 and 1890, nine or ten buildings were completed in the city centre each week, many of them sic to twelve storeys high. This heady decade opened with the completion of the Royal Exhibition Buildings, designed in the Renaissance revival style. In 1888-89, the Centennial Exhibition was staged there, a momentous event that signified Melbourne’s high artistic, economic and social achievements.  

Excerpt from Labassa: A Grand Victorian Mansion
Labassa front gates
Front gates of Labassa 1916
The Early Years

Home to Melbourne’s elite, Labassa was originally a modest eight-roomed country house called Sylliott Hill and built for Melbourne judge Richard Billing in 1862. Billings passed away at home due to a stroke in 1882. In 1883, a prominent Melbourne businessman, Alexander William Robertson, leased the Sylliott Hill property from Billing’s widow. Robertson, a Canadian, had immigrated to Melbourne in 1853. In 1861, he purchased the Bendigo mail contract along with fellow Canadian John Wagner.

Ontario in 1890
Ontario 1890

In 1885, Robertson purchased the adjoining allotment on Balaclava Road. He consequently bought the Billing’s property in 1887. In 1889, the house was redesigned by German-born architect John A. B. Koch for Robertson in the French Second Empire style. The comprehensive redesign transformed the building from a house into a thirty-five-roomed mansion with stunning views across Port Philip Bay. By 1890, with the redesign complete, Robertson, a co-owner of Cobb & Co, renamed Ontario. He also installed cast-iron gates befitting Buckingham Palace at the corner of Orrong and Balaclava roads.

Renamed Labassa

After Robertson’s passing, the house was bought in 1904 by John Boyd Watson II, the heir to a Bendigo mining fortune. Under Boyd’s ownership, the mansion was renamed “Labassa’. At Labassa, he hosted monthly dinners with printed menus, including a children’s birthday party in 1905 attended by seventy friends.

bride on the veranda of labassa
A Bride on veranda of Labassa 1907
Converted to flats

Following John Watson’s passing in 1911, his widow sold parts of the Labassa estate. Mrs Watson retained a 1.73-hectare parcel containing the house. In 1913, forty-six more allotments were auctioned at Labassa Estate, and Labassa Grove and Ontario Street were formed to the east of the property.

Eventually, Labassa went through 60 years of decay. In 1920, the house’s new owner, Robert Hannon, built a red brick block of flats adjacent to the property. Subsequently, in 1923, the mansion was divided into apartment flats and became home to residents of more modest means. Among Labassa’s new residents was Louise Lovely (1862-1920), Australia’s first silent film actress who found acclaim in Hollywood. From 1930 to 1940, the mansion became the setting for numerous extravagant parties and meetings, such as the Emilie Robins Auxiliary for the Queen Victoria Hospital. The Red Cross also hosted fundraisers at Labassa to aid the Red Cross Comfort Fund during the Second World War. Following the post-war immigration boom, Labassa became a residence for some European families displaced from their homelands.

Labassa roof details
Exterior views of the mansion, including details of the roof line. Courtesy State Library of Victoria

In the 1960s and 1970s, the sadly neglected mansion became a haven for artists and bohemians. For instance, Singer-songwriter Hans Poulsen, known for “Boom Sha La La Lo” and “Rose Coloured Glasses,” lived in Labassa’s tower with a pet crow. Comedian Jane Clifton lived upstairs in the servants’ quarters during her ‘long-haired moon-mother cookie baking’ phase in the 1970s.

National Trust

The subdivision of the property continued until the National Trust of Australia purchased the house in 1980. The National Trust later acquired adjacent sites, one to the southeast in 1984 (the house on that site was demolished in 1988) and another to the west in 1988. The back of the building included a two-storey wing built in 1873 and a single-storey cottage from the 1860s, while the two-storey wing is connected to the main house by a tower.

Labassa interior today, courtesy of National Trust

In its heyday, the estate included stables, built in 1873, a conservatory and a tennis pavilion, both assumed to have been added in 1890. Thankfully, these outbuildings have survived. However, the conservatory was converted for residential use and the stables in 1926. The tennis pavilion remained in its original location at 13 Manor Grove until it was relocated to the mansion gardens in 2014. Internally, various decorative treatments from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries remain from both the Robertson and Watson occupancy periods. These include wallpapers, ceiling decoration, chimney pieces, mouldings, joinery, and decorative glass. Labassa has now been restored to how it looked when John Koch completed the work in 1890. 

Labassa is open the Third Sunday of each month from 10:30 am to 4:00 pm

Admission

Adults: $15
Concession: $12
Children: $9
Family (2A + 2C): $35

National Trust Members receive FREE Entry. Pre-booking encouraged.

Located at 2 Manor Grove, Caulfield North 3161 VIC

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