DUNEDIN HOUSE

Dunedin House (formerly known as Hillside), at 25 Morrison Street was built in 1873 and is a substantial single-storey verandahed mid-Victorian Italianate villa sited on a large asymmetrical block on the east side of Morrison Street, between Dudley Street and Victoria Avenue, Kangaroo Flat. The main presentation of the property is to the north, to Dudley Street. The massing of the building is in two broad parts, with the eastern component having a U-shaped hipped roof and verandah to three sides. The western component is asymmetrical, with a main hipped roof and projecting side hips. There is also a pyramidal-roofed component at the house centre. The dwelling is built of bichrome red and cream face brick with stuccoed dressings, with vermiculated quoins and panels to the chimneys. Windows to the verandah elevations are timber-framed double hung sashes, while those to the western section have semi-circular cream window arches. The elevated entry is approached by a flight of granite steps with curved balustrades, entry piers and urns, all in moulded or rendered cement or stucco. The timber posted verandah has a timber frieze rail and cast iron lace frieze to the principal elevations and is terminated by the projecting wings. The property also includes remnants of an early garden layout, including mature trees and plantings and a vehicle turning circle accessed from the north (Dudley Street) entrance. The vehicle entrance comes through a set of wrought iron gates which may or may not be original or early (this has not been confirmed). 

Dunedin House is of local historical and aesthetic/architectural significance. 

Dunedin House is historically significant (Criterion A) as a local example of a substantially externally intact, large mid-Victorian Italianate bichromatic brick villa. The current property is a remnant of a once more extensive landholding, whereby the grounds originally extended to Crusoe Road to the east. It is also significant for its association with the first owner, barrister J A C Helm, who commissioned the design and construction of the house. Helm forewent a position at Cambridge University to migrate to the colonies where he became an expert on mining law, and was for a time an important and influential member of the local community (Criterion H). 

Dunedin House is also associated with architect Joseph M Brady, who in partnership with engineer Robert Moffat, ran a successful practice in the Bendigo region and was involved in a number of local developments including the Crusoe waterworks near Kangaroo Flat; the 'Bendigo Independent' offices in Bendigo; and the former 'Golden Eagle' flour mill in Bendigo. Brady also reputedly held the position of the Sandhurst Diocesan architect for the Catholic Church, where he was also involved in designing the former Bishop's Palace in McCrae Street and St Patrick's Church in Marong. 

Dunedin House is of aesthetic/architectural significance (Criterion E). The massing of the building is of interest, with two distinct components including the asymmetrical west end with a main hipped roof and valleys coupled to a porch hip and projecting side hips. This component also has finely detailed semi-circular cream window arches. The east component has a U-shaped hipped roof and extensive verandah to three sides, with more finely detailed work, including the cast iron lacework frieze. Other elements of note include the stuccoed dressings, with vermiculated quoins and panels to the chimneys and the elevated entry on the north elevation which is approached by a flight of granite steps with curved balustrades, entry piers and urns, all in moulded or rendered cement or stucco. The substantial landscaped garden, which retains much of its early layout, enhances the aesthetic significance. The scale and grandeur of the property also reflects the eminence of the man who commissioned it, English barrister J A C Helm. 

The property is additionally a rare example of a substantial property dating to the 1870s that was built on the fringes of Bendigo (Criterion B).