Queenscliff home of famed writer, first mayor awaits next chapter
26 Mercer Street, Queenscliff has links to the town’s first mayor and writer Henry Handel Richardson.
A childhood home of well-known Australian author Henry Handel Richardson has been listed for sale in Queenscliff.
The historic house, built in the 1860s, was originally constructed for the seaside town’s first mayor, Dr David John Williams, and is now a popular holiday rental.
Richardson, whose real name was Ethel, lived at 26 Mercer Street as a young child in the 1870s.
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Original features have been retained in the formal loungerooms.
The open-plan kitchen/dining area links to the garden.
Walk to Swan Bay and the main shopping strip.
She’s best known for her coming of age novel The Getting of Wisdom, which Bruce Beresford later adapted into a film, and the award-winning Ultima Thule.
Point Lonsdale agent Campbell Potts has listed the writer’s old stomping ground with price hopes of $1.5m-$1.65m.
Mr Potts said the facade of the three-bedroom weatherboard house had barely changed since the day it was built.
The elevated front veranda and shuttered double front door are a nod to its past, while inside period features have been retained during a modern-day updates.
The kitchen has a modern flavour.
Open fireplaces are a nod to the past.
Mr Potts said the rich history added another layer to the 1175sq m property, which occupied a prime position the heart of Queenscliff.
“The house is pretty much original, it’s got big boned rooms, high ceilings and it sits very proudly on the hill,” Mr Potts said.
“The street has a very wide verge, there’s no traffic and you walk 50m and you’re in the main street.”
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Henry Handel Richardson, from the book Henry Handel Richardson: The Letters.
The house offers two formal loungerooms overlooking the expansive front garden, a central bathroom and a modern industrial-style kitchen and dining room at the rear.
It comes with a separate studio, a north-facing outdoor entertainment area and basketball half court.
The Williams family at 26 Mercer Street, Queenscliff in 1864.
They wouldn’t recognise the backyard.
Original owner Dr Williams became the first mayor of the Queenscliffe Borough in 1863.
Mr Potts said the English-born medical doctor settled in Queenscliff after stints at the Point Nepean quarantine station and treating wounded at the Eureka Stockdale.
According to his obituary, as a younger man he was also appointed chief medical officer to Tsar Nicholas in Russia while serving with English medical staff the Russian navy.
Expressions of interest close on March 12.