'NORWAY'

'Norway' house at 2 Woodstock Street, and the stables located at 2 Woodstock Street and 33A Parlington Street, Canterbury, are significant.

The house is a substantial two-storey Italianate villa constructed in 1892, and extended in 1913. The 1913 works featured fine-quality leadlights and a Blackwood mantelpiece with carvings of eucalyptus leaves by renowned woodcarver John K Blogg. The stables building appears to date from the early 1900s, possibly as part of the 1913 works. The house and stables were constructed for owner and occupier Otto Romcke, who resided there until his death in 1935. In 1916, Romcke donated land to the City of Camberwell on the south side of Woodstock Street, planted with Australian native trees and shrubs, now known as Norway Reserve.

Alterations and extensions to the house and stables made after Romcke's ownership are not significant.

How is it significant?

'Norway' house and stables are of local historical significance to the City of Boroondara.

Why is it significant?

'Norway' house and stables are of historical significance for their association with Otto Romcke. Romcke was a Norwegian national and owner of a successful timber and joinery company in Melbourne. He emigrated to Melbourne in the mid-1880s, and became one of the leading timber importers in Victoria. In 1906 he was appointed the Consul-General for Norway in Australia and New Zealand by the Norwegian Government. His position in the local Norwegian and wider Melbourne community was demonstrated by his sponsorship of the expedition to the South Pole by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, and then hosting Admundsen in his home in 1912. This association is strengthened by the place's proximity to Norway Reserve, which commemorates Romcke's place in the local community and illustrates his interest in the flora of his adopted country. (Criterion H)

The stables building is also of historical significance for its rarity value. 'Norway' is one of a small number of houses in the suburb, and Boroondara more widely, that retains its stables building. While most substantial houses of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries once had their own stables, this building type is increasingly rare. In the suburb of Canterbury is the only identified intact example that illustrates the stable accommodation typical of middle and upper-middle class suburban development. (Criterion B)

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

Mansion