“Bundalohn House” is a splendid late Victorian mansion built opposite the St Kilda Botanic Gardens on Tennyson Street in the Melbourne suburb of St. Kilda.
Designed by architectural firm Reed Henderson and Smart in Gothic Renaissance style for Mr. Henry Gyles Turner and his wife Helen, “Bundalohn House” was constructed between 1884 and 1887 as a permanent residence for the childless pair after Henry’s mother’s death. Henry had decided that the lifestyle and amusements that Melbourne had to offer were far superior to that offered in London, so he acquired land in what was then St Kilda’s most prestigious residential addresses. Constructed of red brick and originally with a slate roof, “Bundalohn House” was considered architecturally advanced at its time of construction, as it took the style of large houses and mansions that would be built in the 1890s. The use of red face brickwork, the design of the window glazing bar patterns, architraves and skirtings are all advanced. Key elements of the facade are the tower and the projecting hallway with its deep windows beneath the gable. The design is dominated by a central feature in the main body of the house by incorporating two long, tall lancet windows extending across the first and second floor levels. Below are two dwarf windows. Across the rest of the house, the windows are paired between the ground and upper storeys. There have been comparisons drawn between “Bundalohn House” and “Marymeade” built in 1887 by Hyndman and Bates for merchant Mr. Harold R. Carter in the Grace Park subdivision in Hawthorn. Hyndman and Bates did extensions to the back of “Bundalohn House” in 1888 and 1889. Although rather severe today, when “Bundalohn House” was built it featured an open balcony on the second floor to the right of the tower entrance, and a conservatory below. Both were painted in white. Sadly, these have been removed in subsequent years.
The principal rooms and front door of “Bundalohn House” all open off a large central vestibule, which contains a grand staircase and the showcase pair of beautiful stained glass windows containing birds and boughs of flowers. The vestibule is largely intact more than a century after its construction and still contains its original stencilled decoration, elaborate balustrades and beneath the gallery is an elaborate fireplace with a tapered chimney breast.
The name “Bundalohn” means “white man’s camp” in the language spoken by the Moorabbin tribe. The couple also owned a property by this name in Dandenong. After the widowed Henry died in 1920, with no children to whom to leave “Bundalohn House” to, the property was sold and sub-divided. The sub-division created Bundalohn Court, named after the house. The house itself was converted into five flats. The new owner, William Darbyshire, also lived in one of the flats. This meant the division of some of the grander rooms, the removal of original features and the introduction of cooking and bathing facilities. The property was further added to over the years during a period when St. Kilda became a seedy mecca for rooming houses, of which “Bundalohn House” was one.
For many years, barely any of “Bundalohn House” could be seen from the street after the City Gate Travel Flats were built on the former front garden and driveway in the 1960s, and for a very brief period the façade of the grand mansion could be seen from Tennyson Street, dominating the streetscape proudly as it must once have done when it overlooked the St Kilda Botanic Gardens from within its own landscaped gardens. I was fortunate enough to see and photograph it during that brief period. Sadly, it has since been hidden from the world again as a new construction of low-cost public housing and a refuge have been built on the former City Gate Travel Flats site.
Henry Gyles Turner was born in Kensington, England in 1831. In 1854, he left England, and travelled to Melbourne where he worked for the Bank of Australasia. His fiancée Helen Ramsay, also from London, followed him to Australia, and they were married at Prahran in 1855. In 1870, he became the general manager of Commercial Bank of Australia. In 1887, Henry and Helen bought land in Tennyson Street and built “Bundalohn House”. In his lifetime, Henry Turner also held the position of president of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce, trusteeship of the Melbourne Public Library, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the St Kilda Cemetery Trust. He also wrote a number of books. His wife Helen was involved with various charities, such as the St Kilda Benevolent Society. She died in May 1914. Henry died at his beloved “Bundalohn House” in November 1920 and was buried in the St. Kilda Cemetery alongside his wife.
Bates Smart is an architectural firm with studios in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1853 by Joseph Reed it is known as one of Australia's oldest architectural firms, and has been responsible for numerous landmark buildings including the Royal Exhibition Buildings, the Melbourne Town Hall, the Wesleyan Church in Lonsdale Street, St Paul’s Cathedral on Flinders Street, the Ormond College clock tower, St. Michael’s Church on Collins Street, the Sate Library of Victoria, Holy Trinity Church in Balaclava, the former Metropolitan Gas Company buildings on Flinders Street, Sacred heart Church in St Kilda, Melba Hall and Scots Church on Collins Street. When “Bundalohn House” was built, it was known as Reed Henderson and Smart. Joseph Reed established his firm on arrival in Melbourne in 1853 and immediately won important commissions such as the Public Library. In 1863 he joined with Frederick Barnes to become Reed and Barnes. In 1883 Barnes retired, and A. Henderson and F. Smart joined Joseph Reed as partners to create Reed, Henderson and Smart.
