| House | $1,569,500  |
Surrounding suburbs
| Geelong | $1,101,900  |
| Geelong West | $1,006,600 |
| North Geelong | $655,200  |
| Rippleside | $1,100,100 |
| House | $641 |
| Unit | $396 |
| Neighbour Photos |
| Map | Street view | Nearby property price |
| Planning History: |
| Registered as Victorian heritage |
| B Listed - Regional Significance STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Corrections to the history of this place are informally provided at the end of this citation. A most distinctive house displaying features of the English Domestic Arts and Crafts rivial style as practised by some architects. A substantial contribution to the high status residential area of the Esplanade. It is of regional significance. Additional Corrected Historical Details The additional details are the result of an interview by David Rowe, Heritage Advisor, with a former owner (son in-law of Oswald Hearne) in February 2014 (as well as some additional research). They are provided informally only. 'Montana' was built in 1911 for William Reid, Estate Agent. Reid had been involved with the Lunan Estate subdivision, and with Percy Baxter, they took up some the prized allotments. 'Montana' was designed by T.D. Slevin (who designed a number of buildings for the Catholic Church). At this time, Slevin worked in partnership with Phillip Kennedy of Melbourne. One of the bricklayers of the dwelling recently claimed that the building was designed by Slevin alone. With the death of Reid's wife, William felt that he could no longer continue to reside there. In 1919, he sold the property to Oswald Hearne, who named it 'Montana', apparently of Swiss origin. The Hearne family are shown on the balcony of the dwelling about the time of purchase in 1919 (the original pedestrian gate being on the side boundary at this time). A sun room on the west side of the dwelling was added in 1922. An organist, Oswald Hearne's dream was to own a home with an organ chamber. In 1928, he engaged the Geelong architect, Fred Purnell, to design the organ loft on the south side. This meant the removal of the long vertical window (shown in the early photograph), which was regretted by Mrs Hearne. An electro-pneumatic Wurltizer pipe organ was purchased from William Crowle, Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, Wurlitzer's Australian agent. At the time, the Geelong Advertiser claimed that the organ was the first to be erected in a private house in Australia (at Crowle's Elizabeth Bay home). The organ is now located at Geelong College. In 1932, the verandahs and balconies were glazed in to prevent the strong easterly winds buffeting these parts of the dwelling. It was at this time when the Geelong architects, Laird and Buchan, designed a signle storey gabled sitting room wing at the rear (for the maid), as well as a first floor bathroom. Further additions were designed by these architects in 1937 for extensions to the scullery and reading room. A new brick fence and gate was designed by Laird and Buchan in 1946-47. On 3 March 1950, the Geelong Advertiser published an obituary on the late Oswald Hearne. It read in part: "The death at thi |
| 23 Nov 2012 |
| Partial demolition, additions and alterations to an existing dwelling affected by a heritage overlay |
| (Source: City of Greater Geelong, reference no: 1050/2012) |
| 08 Sep 2017 |
| Partial Demolition and Building and Works for an Extension to an Existing Dwelling in a Heritage Overlay |
| (Source: , reference no: ) |
| Nearby Public Transport: | |||||||||||||||||||
|
