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(Extract from Macedon Ranges cultural heritage and landscape study. 4 v. 1994.).
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Henry Suetonius Officer reputedly aquired the Duneira site from
1872-1877 (Blocks 4,5,10,11,14) paying some £84 for 38 acres but
rate listings give Robert Officer as the owner. .
.
Suetonius Henry Officer (1830-1883).
Officer was born in Hullgreen, New Norfolk, Tasmania 1830, the
son of Sir Robert & Lady Officer. He was educated in Edinburgh
with his brother, Charles, and returned to the colonies, seeking
gold in Victoria but eventually settling for pastoralism in
company with his brothers and Charles Miles{ ibid.}. They managed
stations in the Wimmera and the Riverina, James marrying in 1866
and commencing construction of a 20 room homestead at Murray
Downs & Willakool, two adjoining properties fronting the Murray
River. After experimentation with irrigation, via steam pumps and
windmills, he was able to develop extensive orchards and crops. He was also, like his brother, interested in
acclimatisation, having developed an ostrich farm on his property
(Charles was a council member of the Zoological & Acclimatisation
Society for 10 years, president in 1887). .
.
Blighted by illness, Suetonius reputedly moved to Leighwood,
Toorak (Melbourne) in 1881, having erected the first stage of
Duneira at Mount Macedon, but died two years later. However his son, Henry jnr. was
born at South Yarra in 1869 and his next child, Jessie, was born
at Macedon in 1877, indicating that he was in residence at both
places prior to the dates previously supposed..
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Suetonius probably commissioned the first stage of Duneira to be
erected as a summer house between c1874-6. The architect Levi
Powell is thought to have designed a house for him there around
that date. The first improvements listed on the site were
stables in 1874 when Robert Officer was rated as owning the site. The house was reputedly not occupied regularly
until c1881 when Suetonius moved to Toorak.
However it appears he and his family were in residence at Duneira
by 1877..
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When Suetonius died in 1883 his wife, Mary Lillias Rigg Officer
(nee Cairns), of Glenbervie, Glenferrie Road, Toorak was the
co-executor of the estate, with merchant Robert Harper; she is
the rate occupier in 1888. Mrs Officer was the
sister of Mrs Robert Harper (Huntly Burn) and Mrs John C lloyd
(Montpelier, later Timsbury): all three houses were reputedly
built in the same period... .
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The house bricks for the first stage were said to have come from
the Macedon Brick Kiln (once near the Macedon railway station,
set up in c1888-9?) with external walls built in 14" Flemish bond
from slop-moulded bricks (9 inch by 2.1/2). The bricks were reputedly carted
from Macedon by Cogger. The footings were of bluestone
and reputedly dressed sandstone blocks also survive, suggesting
that the first stage was face brick with stone quoins and the
next renovation c1888 added wings and a cement coating to the
whole complex. Floor frames were reputedly supported on stone
dwarf walls and joists were 6x2.1/2 inch jarrah, with flooring
being 6 inch pine}. Seaweed was apparently used for
ceiling insulation..
.
The servants' wing verandah was skillion in form with timber
posts with classical capitals. The main verandah had coupled
posts (rebuilt with single posts) a panelled frieze and slimmer
capitals set just under the frieze rail}. The
balustrade may have been of single cast-iron balusters..
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Just prior to the sale to the speculator, James Smith Reid in
1890, and during the occupation of Edward Dyer, major additions
were made to the house complex and a reputedly a caretaker's
lodge was placed at the gate (survives, altered c1920s) but this
appears to have been added by Reid in the early 1890s. .
.
The added rooms were reputedly: billiard (32'x24') and dining
rooms, kitchen, servants bathroom, service block with 5 rooms
(engine room, dairy, pantry, store, boiler room, built of
Northcote machine made 9" brickwork). Damp proof coursing was
used in these additions compared to the slate of the first stage
and acetylene gas (engine room) was thought used for lighting
from this period, as reticulated in 1.1.2" mains and 1/2 inch
branches to internal and some external verandah lights.
Cast-iron elaborately detailed water radiators were also used,
with hot water pumped from the boiler room, and later a duplicate
boiler allowed hot water to be reticulated taps in the house{
ibid.}..
.
The description in rate books expands to villa and cottages (on
37 acres) for the first time under Reid in c1893 but the annual
valuation had already peeked in 1888 at £200 in the occupation of
Edward Dyer. An Edward Dyer was listed at that time as a fruiterer in
Burwood Road, Hawthorn..
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The water supply is from a concrete tank fed by a spring.
Outbuildings include timber clad stables, storerooms,
blacksmith's shop, coachman's room, milking bails, hay shed and a
green house. The stables (extended) were described as having had
a shingled gabled roof (rear skillion) with loft entered via an
external stair at the north end. It had a blacksmith's
shop (altered for garage c1941), carriage and coachman's rooms,
two stores and vertically boarded main doors{ ibid.,p24}. The
milking and hay sheds had hipped roof forms and timber cladding
and frame. The interior was white-washed. The greenhouse
in the secret hedged garden is of a later date, with a timber
frame built up on 11" cavity brickwork walls, with a brick floor
and heated water pipes under each shelf. The boiler is near the
entry..
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The `Gisborne Gazette' reported on Duneira in 1903 under the
heading of `A Popular Health Resort':.
`Duneira certainly merits a few remarks though beautiful
residences and grounds are by no means rare in that locality..
(when Reid purchased it, it was `little better than a wilderness'
and he had spared no expense to restore it).. After passing the
lodge at the main entrance, a broad serpentine drive leads up to
the house and from there the grounds are laid out in broad
sloping lawns surmounted with choice borders and fringed with
trees which however do not interfere to any great extent with the
view. There is of course no lack of flowers which grow
luxuriantly on the mount but the great feature of Duneira is the lawns, those open green expanses which delight the eye at all times of the year. the secret of this perennial verdure is to be found in the copious water supply with which Macedon is blessed (spring at rear of house, tapped by tunnelling 40m into the hill, ie. grass grows up to base of Monterey pines)..
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During Reid's time there, the valuation increased marginally in
1899-1900 and again soon after, with Reid's address being given as care of Rosstrevor Magill, South Australia, in c1909-10. JS Reid died in 1922, leaving the property to the management of JS Reid jun (a chemist) and the merchant GL Dewez of Sydney,
his widow Martha Turnbull Reid and William Riggall.
Reid was the son of the Rev. James Reid of Queensland but gained success as a journalist, starting newspapers in gold mining areas such as Gympie, Charters Towers, Etheridge and Wilcannia, NSW. He was at Broken Hill when the Broken Hill P/L commenced, printing their prospectus. He became a director of BHP. His occupation was listed as `speculator' in the early 1900s.
In the 1920s Mrs Martha Reid's `little Eden' was described by a touring group of horticulturalists, thus:
`.. a trim green lawn with magnificent Japanese cypress which was voted the finest in Australia; nearby a splendid weeping elm caught the eye; the maples, beech and the horse chestnuts supply fresh tints; majestic Oregons tower towards heaven...
Everywhere soft tinted rhododendrons and azaleas bloomed in the sunshine and near a rock garden decked with flowers of every conceivable hue, myriad tinted tulips thrust up their heads.'.
Again, in 1927, the Victorian Nurserymens & Seedmens Association noted of Duneira:
`...where probably the finest display of rhododendrons is to be seen; these and a magnificent specimen of `Cupressus lawsoniana'
"Aurea" caused us to linger longer than the specified time. The rock garden dotted with a remarkable collection of alpines, several linden trees and pendulous birches were considered to be a feature unparalleled elsewhere in the State Mrs Reid owned it until 1941, selling to Dr Alfred & Betty Alcock (nee Nicholas) of Toorak, being reputedly a gift from Alfred Nicholas.
The auction was in December 1940 when Duneira was described as a substantially constructed brick villa with slate roof containing spacious return verandah, entrance hall, sitting, morning and dining rooms, an excellent billiard room, large glazed vestibule, 5 main bedrooms, two well appointed bathrooms, 4 maids bedrooms, maids' sitting room and bathroom, well appointed kitchen, store rooms and septic sewage, central heating,
private gas service and extensive outbuildings on 38 acres. The 500 metre elm-lined drive was said to be the longest (privately owned?) elm avenue in Australia.
Extensive renovations followed the Alcock purchase including electricity, removal of the concave and skillion roof timber verandahs, enlarging of openings, conversion of the billiard room to a lounge, new bathrooms in bedrooms, servants rooms converted, larger kitchen and improved connection to dining, more water storage, covered way to link service wing with house, creation of a new entry point from the courtyard, enlarged stable for cars with barn for machinery store, removal of trees, and the replacement of previously gravelled paths and roads (with open brick drains) with concrete and asphalt. Mrs Alcock remarried (Stuart Wickens) but maintained her interest in the garden, reputedly having created the `secret garden'.
Mrs Alcock resold to Keith Allen and R.Lowe in c1977. Keith Allan presumably replaced the verandah, following his reported intention to do so in 1978.
Mr & Mrs Laurie Matheson purchased it in 1981, just prior to Matheson's involvement in the Ivanov, Combe affair which caused some controversy in Australia and the 1983 Hope Royal Commission.
In the same period he was noted for a high speed dash in his Ferrari to save Duneira from the 1983 fires.
Matheson was a trade commissioner to eastern Europe (1968-) and later via Heine Brothers (1972-) and his own Commercial Bureau, he negotiated extensively with Russia over trade links. Prior to this, while in the navy, Matheson (then aged 33) had commanded the unit in search of Prime Minister Holt who disappeared at Cheviot beach in 1963. He had been educated at Burnside orphanage and later Yenco agricultural college, NSW. Matheson is credited with having built the reproduction porch entrance from the court yard.
Until recently it was still owned by the widow of Laurence Matheson whose memorial (q.v.) at the Macedon cemetery is so distinctive. The same artist (for the memorial) had provided two statues for the garden depicting the Mathesons but after the recent sale, these were removed.
The East and West Lawns are of central importance to the aesthetic significance of the property, being the major landscaping feature through which the Elm Avenue runs. This comprises approximately ninety Dutch Elms (Ulmus X hollandica) underplanted with bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) and is one of the best surviving examples of a private formal avenue in Victoria. Another strong aesthetic feature of the property are the two northern avenues of sycamores and oaks, and the hedges of mature rhododendrons, holly and Portuguese laurels.
The collection of significant trees, includes many large and rare conifers, rhododendrons and other cool climate plants. Besides the avenue of Dutch Elms (Ulmus x hollandica), other significant trees include the Ilex kingiana (Himalayan Holly), Abies procera (Noble Fir), Prunus serrulata 'Shirotae' (Japanese Flowering Cherry). Other important trees include the many Douglas Firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Giant Fir (Abies grandis), Caucasian Fir (Abies nordmanniana), an unusual form of the Norway Spruce (Picea abies), Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), Linden (Tilia X europaea), Montpelier Maple (Acer monspessulanum), Antarctic Beech (Nothofagus moorei) & Cut-leaved Walnut (Juglans regia 'Laciniata') which is extremely rare in cultivation.
It seems this well insulated wall has a life of it's own. Day to day it changes, moves and shifts...
Example of significantly damaged asbestos insulation on two large, abandoned elevated tanks with debris. This insulation material is magnesia block which contains amphibole asbestos.
Communication of hazard?
Facility owner attempting to communicate possible asbestos hazard by labeling insulated pipe material as, "Insulation MAY Contain Asbestos"; apparently indicating a possible choice in the matter.
There is practically an endless list of materials that "MAY" contain asbestos, we already know that. However, there are specific regulations already in place for many circumstances in buildings that either require materials to be inspected or assumed and treated as asbestos-containing.
In this older building, the labeling as shown "may" not necessarily comply with certain existing U.S. standards, especially when dealing with thermal system insulation (TSI) and applying the definition of a "Presumed Asbestos-Containing Material" or PACM. For example, OSHA's Asbestos Standard for the Construction Industry (29 CFR 1926.1101) indicates,
"...building and facility owners shall determine the presence, location, and quantity of ACM and/or PACM..."
In basic terms, if the pipe TSI has not been properly inspected and asbestos content is unknown, then it must be automatically treated as PACM. This is essentially a "guilty until proven innocent" approach when dealing with such an issue, for the safety of workers and building occupants /employees; not to mention, in an indirect manner, this is also for the safety of those beyond the workplace to help prevent asbestos exposures to the general public and contamination brought home to families on work clothes.
Further, building and facility owners are required to notify others of the presence, location, and quantity of ACM/PACM at the workplace, including:
-- prospective employers applying for or bidding for work;
-- employees of the owner who will work in or adjacent to areas containing such materials;
-- all employers on multi-employer worksites whose employees will be performing work within or adjacent to areas containing such materials (i.e.- "sub-contractors", etc.);
-- tenants who will occupy areas containing such materials.
OSHA also requires asbestos awareness training for certain building personnel, such as operations and maintenance, service and housekeeping staff, etc.; essentially, many of those that work around, potentially disturb, or may come in contact with such ACMs.
In addition to OSHA, the US-EPA also has certain asbestos inspection requirements for building owners and operators. For example, under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), all K-12 schools are required to have comprehensive asbestos inspections and periodic re-inspections. The asbestos management plan (inspection report) and all documentation of asbestos-related activities in each school building are considered public documents and are available to be reviewed at the respective school (usually in the main office area).
Under Clean Air Act (CAA) provisions, the EPA also regulates asbestos inspections in the majority of all remaining public, commercial, and most "private" facilities and buildings, primarily through the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), particularly with respect to renovations and demolitions.
Prior to beginning renovation or demolition activities of a facility, a properly trained, certified, accredited, and licensed asbestos building inspector must thoroughly inspect the facility or part of the structure where the renovation or demolition operation will occur for the presence of asbestos, including friable and non-friable asbestos-containing materials.
For all demolitions (even when no asbestos is present) and renovations, activities involving certain threshold amounts of regulated asbestos-containing material (RACM), the Asbestos NESHAP agency overseeing the project site (typically state-level governmental EPA) must be provided with a written NESHAP notification at least 10-working days prior to the demolition or renovation activity.
Tens of millions of tons of ACMs still exist in our nation's homes, buildings, & infrastructure. Asbestos inspections are essential in finding out how to avoid exposures by learning where ACMs are present or absent. Know where asbestos could be in your everyday places.
Zonolite vermiculite insulation shown installed in a residential attic space.
From the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (US-EPA) website:
"If you have vermiculite insulation in your home, you should assume this material may be contaminated with asbestos and be aware of steps you can take to protect yourself and your family from exposure to asbestos. This Web page provides important information on how to protect yourself and your family if you suspect that you might have vermiculite insulation from Libby, Montana.
Evidence of vandalism is apparent from this damaged section of asbestos pipe insulation. Consequently, costly abatement of the asbestos materials will take place.
Old water tank shown with insulation material wrapped around its exterior surface. Subsequent laboratory testing of the insulation indicated the absence of asbestos, it was "animal hair".
Imagine, a non-asbestos "Zonolite" product: Glass Fiber Home Insulation; circa, early 1960's. Batting consists of foil-paper and fibrous glass insulation; fibrous glass material is adhered to foil-paper with strips of thin black adhesive. All layers tested negative for asbestos content.
Close-up view of Zonolite vermiculite material installed as insulation inside a residential attic space.
Image of Johns-Manville vintage carton containing "Thermo-12" block insulation material. Labeling on cardboard box states the insulation contains "Visual Coding" to indicate that it is "Asbestos Free". Subsequent lab analyses of the insulation material does confirm that asbestos is absent. This material was manufactured and intended to replace asbestos magnesia block insulation as a "safer" alternative.
Tiny, glittery gold-colored flakes (resembling some type of micaceous mineral, likely vermiculite) were added to the material to visually distinguish it apart from its older, more hazardous cousin, asbestos-containing magnesia block. The fibrous component appears as to be a synthetic fiber and the chalky, lightweight insulation substance itself is calcium-silicate.
From an inspector's perpective, first visual impression is that this material is still suspect for asbestos and must be sampled and analyzed for asbestos presence or absence, despite carton labeling.
Multi-purpose paintbrushes, 2" in width, designed primarily for application of duct sealant and insulation adhesive.
Product comes individually packaged, 24 to a case.
More information about this product can be found at
Closer view of 1/4-inch asbestos millboard insulation attached to overhead floor joists in a residential basement, above an HVAC metal duct. The asbestos material was installed as protective insulation from hot tempatures of the bare metal duct-work during heating cycles.
Asbestos millboard typically has a basic apearance as white or light-grey compressed "cardboard"; generally considered friable and often contains high-percentage asbestos composition. Torn, exposed edges of the material reveals its fibrous nature.
Some sort of insulated pipe with a valve, going into a reservoir or overflow tank.
During my lunchbreak at work, I went for a walk with one of my colleagues. We strolled across the Business Park Apeldoorn terrain, which used to house companies such as TNO and IT firms with on-premise datacenter/colocation.
Most of the buildings are empty and abandoned now. Large transformer arrays, huge chimneys, warning signs and leftover bits of technology are some of the silent witnesses.
View of vermiculite insulation in residential attic space. Subsequent laboratory testing indicated this material contained 2-5% amphibole asbestos.
Most of the insulation is up. I left a few areas open where I need to finish up some wiring. All of the wires are run except for the lights. I need to wait to do that because I won't know where to place the lights until I install the drop ceiling so there's no point to mess with wires for the lights. All outlets are wired and working, and all wires are run to the light switches. Then I'll just have to go up to the ceiling to connect the lights to the switches when I get that far.
Zonolite vermiculite insulation shown installed between lumber joists in a residential attic space.
From the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (US-EPA) website:
"If you have vermiculite insulation in your home, you should assume this material may be contaminated with asbestos and be aware of steps you can take to protect yourself and your family from exposure to asbestos. This Web page provides important information on how to protect yourself and your family if you suspect that you might have vermiculite insulation from Libby, Montana.
We had to take pictures at night, after work, because the crew was making really good progress. Things moved quickly.
Two-image comparison in side-by-side format showing a pipe system as uninsulated and then insulated with asbestos materials "before & after"; from a 1950's-era vintage asbestos industry publication.
Added in red are labels indicating "After & Before" in reference to a reverse scenario as it might apply to asbestos abatement today, after removing the asbestos insulation.
Area of exposed insulation on large diameter pipe associated with an industrial boiler. The insulation was tested and found not to contain asbestos. Senior maintenance personnel indicated the original asbestos insulation was abated in the past and replaced with this newer material. Pre-formed notches in the newer insulation appear to be able to allow it to bend around curved mechanical equipment.
Color-coded asbestos encapsulant and underlying lag-cloth shown applied onto asbestos pipe insulation, used as a method for repairing certain damaged asbestos insulation materials.
With the temperature below zero, I'm very glad to have something to keep this drafty window covered up.
Thanks to Ed Vielmetti for the info a while back: