Auburn Road Facade of "Talana" a Queen Anne Style Mansion - East Hawthorn
Standing proudly behind a high stone wall on the corner of Harcourt Street and Auburn Road in the leafy Melbourne suburb of East Hawthorn “Talana” is a magnificent Queen Anne mansion.
Designed by Melbourne architect Beswicke and built in 1910, “Talana” is named after a town in the province of Ogliastra, in Sardinia, Italy. It is one of the most elaborate Queen Anne residences in Melbourne. Executed in the required red brick, the decorative embellishments are in render and rough cast, overlaid with timber. The house is extremely large. The two storey height is emphasised by an extra high ground floor, a raised plinth above ground level, and the large hipped roof. Although the house has a basic gable wing, to coordinate point form, it departs from the standard Queen Anne pattern in several areas. The principal facade to Harcourt Street has overlaid on the basic form, with a tower and an entry porch gable feature with a return verandah is a highly individual design. The corner bay expression in the verandah is atypical and the Gothic tracery in the tower window unusual on a Queen Anne design. The roof is clad with Marseilles tiles. Given their date, these are probably of imported French origin along with the cappings.
With commanding views that before the construction of taller buildings might have given glimpses of Port Philip Bay, “Talana” is still a private residence to this day, and has not been subdivided into flats.
Queen Anne style was mostly a residential style inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in England, but also encompassed some of the more stylised elements of Art Nouveau, which gave it an more decorative look. Queen Anne style was most popular around the time of Federation. With complex roofline structures and undulating facades, many Queen Anne houses fell out of fashion at the beginning of the modern era, and were demolished.
Auburn Road Facade of "Talana" a Queen Anne Style Mansion - East Hawthorn
Standing proudly behind a high stone wall on the corner of Harcourt Street and Auburn Road in the leafy Melbourne suburb of East Hawthorn “Talana” is a magnificent Queen Anne mansion.
Designed by Melbourne architect Beswicke and built in 1910, “Talana” is named after a town in the province of Ogliastra, in Sardinia, Italy. It is one of the most elaborate Queen Anne residences in Melbourne. Executed in the required red brick, the decorative embellishments are in render and rough cast, overlaid with timber. The house is extremely large. The two storey height is emphasised by an extra high ground floor, a raised plinth above ground level, and the large hipped roof. Although the house has a basic gable wing, to coordinate point form, it departs from the standard Queen Anne pattern in several areas. The principal facade to Harcourt Street has overlaid on the basic form, with a tower and an entry porch gable feature with a return verandah is a highly individual design. The corner bay expression in the verandah is atypical and the Gothic tracery in the tower window unusual on a Queen Anne design. The roof is clad with Marseilles tiles. Given their date, these are probably of imported French origin along with the cappings.
With commanding views that before the construction of taller buildings might have given glimpses of Port Philip Bay, “Talana” is still a private residence to this day, and has not been subdivided into flats.
Queen Anne style was mostly a residential style inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in England, but also encompassed some of the more stylised elements of Art Nouveau, which gave it an more decorative look. Queen Anne style was most popular around the time of Federation. With complex roofline structures and undulating facades, many Queen Anne houses fell out of fashion at the beginning of the modern era, and were demolished.