The property at 81 Newgrove Road, Healesville incorporates a dwelling

constructed in 1912-16, on a large and sloping allotment. It is a

double-fronted single-storey fibro cement sheet clad building, with an

overall bungalow form, and contrasting painted timber strapping to

external walls. The residence has hipped and gabled roof forms,

including a timber-strapped gable over the entrance porch and a

smaller gablet to the rear elevation. The roof has deep eaves and two

roughcast rendered brick chimneys. The visible windows are paired and

triple double-hung timber sashes. The front porch is framed by painted

timber posts and brackets in an Arts and Crafts style; the doorcase is

framed by toplights and sidelights. The house is set on a plinth of

painted vertical timber boarding which conceals the underfloor area.

To the rear of the building, facing out towards the view, is a deep

verandah inset beneath the roof line. The garden includes a row of

mature cypresses which partly conceal the property from Newgrove Road.

The property at 81 Newgrove Road, Healesville, is of local historical

and aesthetic/architectural significance.

The property at 81 Newgrove Road, Healesville, is of local historical

significance. It was built in 1912-1916 by its original owner, Edwin

Holland, a Collins Street hair specialist. He had purchased six

allotments in the area in 1909. Holland's efforts to have a road made

to his property, and water supplied, demonstrate the lack of services

in this immediate area of Healesville in this early period. Despite

these setbacks, Holland constructed an attractive country house in the

Old English Arts and Crafts mode. It may have served, at least for a

period, as a holiday house for the city based professional. The

property is also of local aesthetic/architectural significance. The

dwelling is substantially externally intact, albeit there is a modern

extension and the roof cladding is not original, and distinguished by

its Arts and Craft influences, seen here in a somewhat simplified and

stripped back form. Notable characteristics include the contrasting

external timber strapping to walls, in the manner of an expressed

frame; the gabled entrance porch arrangement, including the timber

posts and brackets with tulip-cut-outs. The use of a plinth with an

underfloor area is a common Healesville response to topography and

sloping sites; placing a verandah on an elevation other than the front

facade, to take in views, is another local characteristic. The garden,

particularly the screening row of mature cypresses to the Newgrove

Road boundary, also contributes to the setting of the dwelling and

enhances the aesthetic significance.

Integrity: The house at 81 Newgrove Road, Healesville is a double-fronted single-storey fibro cement sheet clad dwelling with contrasting painted timber strapping to the walls; the latter is in the manner of an expressed external frame. It has an overall bungalow form, set in a large garden allotment. The property is partly visible from Mt Riddell Road where it is set above a steeply sloping grassed verge which rises as the road slopes down towards the town. The house, which adopts a rectangular floor plan, is set in a 'bowl', with the property allotment sloping down from both the abutting roads to the south and east.

The residence has hipped and gabled roof forms, including a timber-strapped gable over the porch entrance. A smaller gablet is set to the rear elevation. The roof has deep eaves and is clad in Colorbond, replacing earlier diamond-shaped flat cement tiles which can be seen in the photographs. There are two roughcast rendered brick chimneys. The visible windows are paired and triple double-hung timber sashes. The front porch is framed by painted timber posts and brackets in an Arts and Crafts style, with tulip-cut-outs; the doorcase is framed by toplights and sidelights, infilled with a 'pebble' form opaque glazing. The front door is concealed by a wire screen door but appears to be a paneled timber door with a single segmental arch shaped glazed pane to the upper section. The porch flooring is of painted timber boards. The house is set on a plinth of painted vertical timber boarding which conceals the underfloor area. The joinery to the doors and windows has a two-toned colour scheme of white and dark brown paint. To the east elevation facing Mt Riddell Road there is an annexe, with a door to the facade. This reads as an addition and is set beneath the deep eaves to this elevation and extends forward of the roofline where the roof is clad in metal. This may be a former sleepout, enclosed and then extended out from the original footprint of the residence. To the rear of the building, facing out towards the view there is a deep verandah inset beneath the roof line, and a modern extension to the building.

The garden does not appear to be formally fenced and is overgrown and part-screened by a row of mature cypresses from Newgrove Road. These partly conceal the property from public views, but also contribute to its setting. A young palm is set in a garden bed in the front garden, abutting the asphalt driveway. There is a free-standing gable-roofed carport to the east of the house and a further shed to the north-east. These latter elements are not of heritage significance.