1870s heritage Hawthorn home Zetland sold

Zetland, an intact Hawthorn home that dates back to its design by architect William J. Ellis in the 1870s, has been sold.

In need of a full scale renovation, it reportedly fetched between $3.4 million and $3.7 million, which was its price guidance. 

It was bought by a local family with four bidders at its private auction.

Set under a slate roof, Zetland is a Victorian villa that contributed to the standing of Hawthorn's river-side precinct.

The Yarra Street home was an early sign of the affluent housing push which consolidated Hawthorn as a most desirable garden suburb.

Zetland was heritage listed on the Victorian Heritage Register in 1980 and on the national register in 1991.

The 1870s were a busy time for Ellis, who was putting the finishes to the Fitzroy Town Hall tower.

There were also alterations for Studley House, Kew for James McEvoy, the Riverina squatter.

Ellis, who was also working for brewer Edward Latham on the Carlton brewery site, ran a successful architectural practice until the 1880s, concluding with the design of the Italianiate Queenscliff hotel, Ozone formerly known as Baillieu House, and Manresa, the Catholic presbytery at the Church of Immaculate Conception on Burwood Road, Hawthorn.

He also designed Bankside, the home next door to Zetland, which last sold in 2005 at $1.76 million. It had an $900,000 renovation approved in 2012.

Zetland, that sits on 980 square metres, comes with rare seven-arch arcaded ornamental ironwork verandah and balustrading.

Its seven rooms, including four bedrooms, come with all its period features, including wide arched hallway, marble open fireplaces, timber floors and even the servants bells.

At the rear of the property is the original Hawthorn brick stable which has been converted to a garage.

The Yarra Street subdivision, one of the earliest streets in Hawthorn, saw two adjoining allotments pass from the subdivision entrepreneur George Coppin to police detective Charles Black, who commissioned two similar houses.

It was the Lerwick, Shetland Island-born accountant John Robertson who bought the home in 1876 following Black's death and named it Zetland. He and wife, Robina had eight children. 

Zetland, which was then valued at 60 pounds on completion, remained in the Robertson name until 1914, when it was valued at 66 pounds. It had peaked at 95 pounds in the late 1880s before the depression.

Elberfeld, another early Victorian villa, secured an award in the 2018 Boroondara Urban Design Awards. 

Located on Lisson Grove, architect Jane Riddell redesigned the 1876 home for her client with a rear floating pavilion to sit in John Patrick landscaped gardens with a low-maintenance Japanese aesthetic.

The council records showed the renovations were costed at $1.3 million after its $3.1 million purchase in 2014.

Its names reflected the Püttmann family's German origins.