D'ESTAVILLE
7 BARRY STREET KEW, Boroondara City
Victorian Heritage Register
Statement of Significance
Last updated on - May 31, 1999
What is significant?
D'Estaville was completed in 1859 for Sir William Stawell. Ownership of the property and construction of D'Estaville allowed Stawell to gain the necessary qualification to stand for the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Stawell was also Victoria's first Attorney General and was later Chief Justice of the Colony. Stawell was also involved in the establishment and management of the Public Library, the Victorian Deaf and Dumb Institute, the Melbourne Hospital, the Benevolent Asylum and the University of Melbourne. D'Estaville was designed by prominent colonial architects Knight and Kerr in the Classic Revival style. The house incorporates restrained classical details in the finely bracketed eaves and imposing pedimented portico.
How is it significant?
D'Estaville is of historic and architectural significance to the State of Victoria
Why is it significant?
D'Estaville is of historic importance through its association with Sir William Stawell, who played a significant role in the Colony of Victoria's first decades. D'Estaville also demonstrates the prominence of Stawell in Colonial society. D'Estaville is architecturally important as an unusual example of the domestic work of the designers of Melbourne's Parliament House, the prominent architects Knight and Kerr. D'Estaville is architecturally important in exhibiting the good design or aesthetic characteristics of the Classic Revival style.
