Otira
73 Walpole Street KEW, Boroondara City
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Statement of Significance
'Otira' is of significance as an ItaIianate house of the l880s built with atypical attention to decorative detail. The removal of the verandah has detracted from the significance of the house.
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Otira - Physical Description 1
Henry Berry [3 ], a noted philanthropist and salt merchant of Melbourne, was the original, owner of this two-storey, boom-period house. Berry occupied the residence until his death in 1923 [4 ] while in February the following year, the property was auctioned [5 ]. Subsequently purchased by the Methodist Church for use as a training college for missionaries [6 ], a number of additions and alterations were made at that stage including a memorial chapel that was built on the property in 1957. [7 ]
The house originally had a fine cast iron verandah to two facades [8 ], however despite its removal, it remains as a most prepossessing structure. The small cast iron porch is not original. Overall the design is in Italianate styling and the walls are clad in render, with extremely fine incised medallions in the render at both levels. The treatment of the tripartite windows with rounded upper corners is also atypical and is repeated in the joinery of the front entrance.
References --
1 Eastern Suburbs Standard, 'The Story of Early Kew', 19February 1964
2 ibid. Architect given as 'Crouch', perhaps TJ.Crouch. No verification located in the Architect's Index.
3 ibid.
4 ibid.
5 Auction Notice, 16 February 1924, held in Kew Historical Society Collection, No.45
6 Eastern Suburbs Standard, loc.cit.
7 ibid.
8 D.Rodgers, A History of Kew, p.179. illustrates the house with the verandah intact
Heritage Study and Grading
Boroondara - City of Kew Urban Conservation Study
Author: Pru Sanderson Design Pty Ltd
Year: 1988
Grading: A
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