South Yarra unit of late 1940s Melbourne Lord Mayor Sir Francis Raymond Connelly sold

A South Yarra apartment that belonged to the late 1940s Melbourne lord mayor Sir Francis Raymond Connelly fetched $1.22 million at recent auction, nicely above its $1.05 million reserve.

His widow Lady Patricia lived at the two bedroom top floor Domain Road from 1949 until her death last year. 

He served three terms as lord mayor in the 1940s. 

Connelly was a progressive reformer who supported a Greater Melbourne planning authority seeking a 'brighter' city, urging the relaxation of laws on liquor and shopping hours and even Sunday entertainment. 

He was prominent in the development of the Lord Mayor's Camp at Portsea.

In 1948 Connelly was knighted, then shortly after he married 27-year-old Patricia Anne Holschier.

They travelled to London where Connelly began the campaign which was to secure the Olympic Games for Melbourne in 1956.

One of Connelly's last acts was to light a replica of the Olympic torch following the 1949 announcement that Melbourne had been awarded the Games.

He died days later with 2000 attending his requiem mass celebrated by Archbishop Mannix.

Connelly's estate was sworn for probate at £41,750.

This article first appeared in The Weekend Australian Mansions Australia section.