The Nautical Lunette of the 1907 Extension Front Door of Billilla Mansion - Halifax Street, Brighton, Melbourne

            The L-shaped entrance hall of Billilla is part of the original 1878 High Victorian mansion, although was redecorated as part of the 1907 redesign of the house.  

The space is flooded with light from one of the two Art Nouveau leadlight bay windows flanking the heavy front door.  A lunette of Art Nouveau stained glass featuring a galleon in full sail provides additional light and ornamentation above the front door.  

The entrance hall features its original wooden dado panelling running half way up the wall, and a wooden vaulted ceiling. A welcoming fireplace featuring turquoise Arts and Crafts majollica tiles with an insert of three rows of ornate Victorian floral tiles around the grate greeted guests.  Above the dado panelling, the hall still features its 1907 Art Nouveau wallpaper of gilded stylised camellias, whilst panels of gilded Victorian daisy patterned wallpaper are inserted into the ceiling.  Ornately stylised Art Nouveau foliate chandeliers from the 1907 redesign still hang from the ceiling.

Built in High Victorian style in 1878 for successful gold miner Robert Wright, Billilla mansion was originally a thirteen room mansion erected on seven and a half acres of land.  

When economic boom turned to bust in the 1880s, the property was purchased in 1888 by wealthy New South Wales pastoralist William Weatherly who named it Billilla after his land holdings and established a home there for his wife Jeannie and their children Violet, Gladys and Lionel.  

The house was substantially altered by architect Walter Richmond Butler in 1907, extending the house beyond its original thirteen rooms and adding the Art Nouveau façade seen today. 

After William Weatherly's death in 1914, his wife, who was much younger, remained living there until her own death in 1933.  She bequeathed the property to her daughter, Violet, who maintained the home with reduced staff until her own death in 1972.  

The property was purchased in 1973 by the Bayside  Council who subsequently used Billilla as a historical house with guided  tours, a wedding and events venue, a school and finally in 2009 as an artist's precinct in the property's outbuildings.  Billilla is a beautiful heritage property retaining many of its original features thanks to its long private ownership still incorporating a stately formal garden and the magnificent historic house. 

Billilla, at 26 Halifax Street, Brighton, is one of Melbourne’s few remaining significant homesteads, built on land which had originally been owned by Nicholas Were.  The house has a mixture of architectural styles, featuring a Victorian design with Art Nouveau features and has exquisite formal gardens, which retain much of their original Nineteenth Century layout.

Billilla retains many original Victorian elements and a number of outbuildings still stand to the rear of the property including the butler’s quarters, dairy, meat house, stable garden store and coach house.

Billilla was opened to the general public as part of the Melbourne Open House weekend 2022.

Billilla was used as a backdrop in the 1980 Australian Channel 10 miniseries adaptation of Sumner Locke Elliott's "Water Under the Bridge".  It was used at the Sydney harbourside home of Luigi, Honor and Carrie Mazzini.

Taken in: Australia / Victoria / North Brighton (show map)

Taken on: July 30, 2022

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/4.9, 1/160 sec, 18.6mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/4.9
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	18.6mm
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Show full info

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