Mararoa
28 Leonard Street DEEPDENE, BOROONDARA CITY
-
Add to tour
You must log in to do that.
-
Share
-
Shortlist place
You must log in to do that.
- Download report
Statement of Significance
What is Significant?
'Mararoa', 28 Leonard Street, Deepdene, built in c.1889 for Emma Brown and her husband, dairyman James Brown, is significant.
The front fence is not significant. The two-storey studio and pergola, constructed at the rear of the property in 1986 and 1990 respectively, are not significant.
How is it significant?
'Mararoa' is of local historical significance to the City of Boroondara.
Why is it significant?
Historically, 'Mararoa' is a rare example of nineteenth-century development in Deepdene (formerly Balwyn) prior to the opening of the Outer Circle railway line and accompanying suburban subdivision. Built c.1889 on the Cotham Estate (1884), there are only a few houses that survive largely intact from this period in the Deepdene/Balwyn area. Its nineteenth-century origins are demonstrated by its intact Victorian-era form, including its M-hipped roof and return verandah, and details such as Italianate-style chimneys and block-fronted facade (Criterion A and B).
-
-
Mararoa - Physical Description 1
'Mararoa', 28 Leonard Street, Deepdene, is a single-storey, double-fronted timber dwelling with a return verandah, erected in the Victorian era. It occupies a relatively level allotment on the eastern side of Leonard Street, a quiet residential street with a typical arrangement of footpath and nature strip, and bluestone kerbs and channels indicating its nineteenth-century origin. The house is raised off the ground and set back from the street behind a modest front garden and a timber picket fence of recent construction.
The dwelling has a roof of corrugated iron with timber-bracketed eaves to the principal (west) facade. The front portion of the dwelling is set under an M-hipped roof (transverse hip to the front, with two hips extending to the rear), with a projecting gabled bay to the north side. A skillion roof covers the rear portion of the house. The return verandah to the principal facade has a shallow concave hipped roof. A pair of original cement-rendered chimneys with moulded, Italianate cornices rises from the ridgelines of the two rear hips.
The principal (west) elevation is timber block-fronted, to simulate ashlar stonework, while the side elevations are clad in weatherboard. This facade is arranged symmetrically, with a central, panelled timber front door with a large leadlight to the top half, flanked by narrow sidelights of leaded glass, and a rectangular fanlight above. Simple double-hung, timber-framed sash windows with moulded timber architraves and sills sit either side. An elevated full-width verandah, with simple chamfered timber posts, which have lost their capitals, brackets and frieze, screens this facade. All posts, to the front section and the north side return of the verandah, have the same chamfered form, typical of the nineteenth century, suggesting that this is its original extent. The verandah return now terminates at the western wall of the projecting gabled bay, and shelters a small, Federation/Art Nouveau-style timber-framed window of leaded glass, typical of the first years of the twentieth century.
The projecting gabled bay has a pair of simple double-hung timber-framed windows on its northern elevation, sheltered by an awning of corrugated iron on simple timber struts. The gable end is finished with simple faux half-timbering, and the deep eaves have boarded soffits.
The soft and hard landscaping of the place is all recent in date. Utilitarian, timber-paling fencing delineates the northern and southern boundaries, and a simple timber picket fence defines the front, with a gate allowing vehicular access to the north. A brick-paved driveway extends down the northern side of the house, a curved path branching off to service the front steps. The modest front garden features large, curved garden beds with brick edging, planted with low-profile shrubs, as well as a mature eucalypt and a central grassed area. A two-storey studio constructed in 1986 (BP) is not visible from the public domain.
'Mararoa' is of relatively high integrity with some changes visible to original or early elements of the place. The building retains its early building form and roof forms (including an Edwardian-era addition to the north elevation and modification of the verandah), two original chimneys, block-fronted facade and fenestration. Changes to the property include some loss of original detail, including one chimney, the verandah brackets and frieze, as well as like-for-like replacement of corrugated iron roofing, replacement of the verandah floor and remodelling of the rear of the dwelling.
Heritage Study and Grading
Balwyn Heritage Study Peer Review Stage 2
Author: Context
Year: 2020
Grading: Local
-
-
-
-
-
RESIDENCE (FORMERLY COLINTON)Victorian Heritage Register H1399
-
TRAM VERANDAH SHELTERVictorian Heritage Register H0173
-
1 Bradford AvenueBoroondara City
-
"1890"Yarra City
-
"AMF Officers" ShedMoorabool Shire
-
"AQUA PROFONDA" SIGN, FITZROY POOLVictorian Heritage Register H1687
-
'Lawn House' (Former)Hobsons Bay City
-
1 Fairchild StreetYarra City
-
10 Richardson StreetYarra City
-
-