Camberwell Riversdale Rd 626, SOMHS 1993- sheet 00 1
Graeme Butler, Camberwell Conservation Study 1991: .
Warrawee, 626-628 Riversdale Road, Camberwell.
History.
Built: 1884-5.
A maltster, Thomas A. Fielding, was the first owner of Warrawee .
when it was erected on four acres in 1884-5. This followed closely the construction .
of the adjoining Astolat (q.v.) for the Derham family, reputedly .
by the same builder, James Swan. .
Given the Derham link with biscuit-making and sugar .
refining, speculation that the Fieldings were connected in some .
way may be true..
Signatures on the internal plaster wall and remnant wall paper .
provide dates of February 1885 and 1891 respectively. .
The first detailed rate description (1898-9) of the house was for .
a brick house of 8 rooms, still on 4 acres. .
By the mid-1920s, the land had shrunk to 152 x 404 feet and the .
ownership changed to Arthur E. Fielding, solicitor. Presumably Thomas's son, Arthur Fielding, won scholastic .
prizes when attending Camberwell Grammar..
The next owner over some 22 years was Arthur S. Cudmore, an .
investor. He replanted the garden using many Australian native .
plants; creating today's dense front garden. A later long-term owner was the radiologist, Dr. Boyard .
Taft, (34 years). By the 1980s the .
house had grown to some 50 squares, but with only 3 bedrooms. .
Its coachhouse was used for a four-car garage, sited next to the .
old stables. A swimming pool had been added on the .
west side..
Description.
Warrawee is a large but typical single-storey Italianate-styled .
villa, with an encircling cast-iron verandah and projecting roan .
bays. Distinguishing aspects include its unpainted stucco, the .
serrated fascia and the eaves-entablature details. Internally .
plaster and joinery details and some mantles survive in the .
generously sized rooms. The front garden and gravel drives are .
notable for the mature planting..
External Integrity.
The verandah floor has been replaced with bricks and the covered .
pool added on the west. The front fence has been replaced .
(picket originally?)..
Streetscape.
One of a notable garden pair, formed with the adjoining Astolat..
Significance.
Historically, as the home of an industrialist and successful .
professional, Warrawee is typical of the middle-classes who .
sought out Camberwell for their home in the late 19th century..
Architecturally, the house is a large and externally near intact .
example of the typical Italianate style, but benefits from its .
mature landscape setting and siting, well back from the street, .
which accentuates its expression of the period.'
Camberwell Riversdale Rd 626, SOMHS 1993- sheet 00 1
Graeme Butler, Camberwell Conservation Study 1991: .
Warrawee, 626-628 Riversdale Road, Camberwell.
History.
Built: 1884-5.
A maltster, Thomas A. Fielding, was the first owner of Warrawee .
when it was erected on four acres in 1884-5. This followed closely the construction .
of the adjoining Astolat (q.v.) for the Derham family, reputedly .
by the same builder, James Swan. .
Given the Derham link with biscuit-making and sugar .
refining, speculation that the Fieldings were connected in some .
way may be true..
Signatures on the internal plaster wall and remnant wall paper .
provide dates of February 1885 and 1891 respectively. .
The first detailed rate description (1898-9) of the house was for .
a brick house of 8 rooms, still on 4 acres. .
By the mid-1920s, the land had shrunk to 152 x 404 feet and the .
ownership changed to Arthur E. Fielding, solicitor. Presumably Thomas's son, Arthur Fielding, won scholastic .
prizes when attending Camberwell Grammar..
The next owner over some 22 years was Arthur S. Cudmore, an .
investor. He replanted the garden using many Australian native .
plants; creating today's dense front garden. A later long-term owner was the radiologist, Dr. Boyard .
Taft, (34 years). By the 1980s the .
house had grown to some 50 squares, but with only 3 bedrooms. .
Its coachhouse was used for a four-car garage, sited next to the .
old stables. A swimming pool had been added on the .
west side..
Description.
Warrawee is a large but typical single-storey Italianate-styled .
villa, with an encircling cast-iron verandah and projecting roan .
bays. Distinguishing aspects include its unpainted stucco, the .
serrated fascia and the eaves-entablature details. Internally .
plaster and joinery details and some mantles survive in the .
generously sized rooms. The front garden and gravel drives are .
notable for the mature planting..
External Integrity.
The verandah floor has been replaced with bricks and the covered .
pool added on the west. The front fence has been replaced .
(picket originally?)..
Streetscape.
One of a notable garden pair, formed with the adjoining Astolat..
Significance.
Historically, as the home of an industrialist and successful .
professional, Warrawee is typical of the middle-classes who .
sought out Camberwell for their home in the late 19th century..
Architecturally, the house is a large and externally near intact .
example of the typical Italianate style, but benefits from its .
mature landscape setting and siting, well back from the street, .
which accentuates its expression of the period.'