Wairua

The house is two storeys in height with bold polychrome brick patterning and a two-storey cast-iron verandah set within a canted projecting bay and masonry wing wall. The house is substantially intact and is significant to the extent of its 1890s form and fabric. The legibility of the built form in views from the public realm contributes to the significance of the place. The adjacent pitched bluestone driveway dating from c1890 contributes to its significance.

Modern alterations and additions are not significant.

How is it significant?
Wairua, at 149 Wattletree Road, Malvern is of local architectural and aesthetic significance to the City of Stonnington.

Why is it significant?
Wairua is a largely intact representative example of a substantial house built for the middle-class residents of Malvern during the boom years of the 1880s and early 1890s, of which there were few constructed in Malvern during the nineteenth century. (Criterion D)

Wairua is of aesthetic significance for its bold polychrome brickwork that is expressed above a bluestone base by a cream brick trim to dark Hawthorn bricks with red brick highlights to the eaves and stringcourse. The trim is articulated to the windows, front door, eaves, and building corners which creates a striking pattern to the canted projecting bay. The beltcourse marking the first floor line, which is faced with blue, brown and cream patterned tiles within a border row of red bricks, is unusual. (Criterion E)

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

Villa