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Beleura

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Beleura
The house and garden, in 2021
Beleura is located in Melbourne
Beleura
Location of the house
in Greater Metropolitan Melbourne
Map
Interactive map of the Beleura area
EtymologyMount Leura (deriv.)
General information
StatusCompleted
Type
Architectural style
Location1 Tallis Avenue, Mornington, Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates38°12′35″S 145°3′14″E / 38.20972°S 145.05389°E / -38.20972; 145.05389
Year builtc. 1860 – c. 1865
Completed
c. 1863–c. 1865; 161 years ago (1865)
ClientJames Butchart
OwnerThe Tallis Foundation
Technical details
Material
Floor count1; with tower
Grounds5 ha (12 acres)
Design and construction
Architects
Architecture firm
Barnes and Reed (attrib.)
Other designers
Website
beleura.org.au
Site notes
Public accessTuesday: (half-day tour)
Wed & Thursdays: (full-day tour)
online bookings essential
Official name
Beleura
TypeRegistered place
Designated9 October 1974
Reference no.H0319
HO104
Categories
  • Parks, Gardens and Trees
  • Residential buildings (private)
Official name
Beleura
TypeDefunct register
Designated21 October 1980
Reference no.5835

Beleura is a stately homestead, gardens, and collection of antiquities that operates as an historic house museum, located at 1 Tallis Avenue,[a] in Mornington, on the Mornington Peninsula, in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.

Located on the traditional lands of the Bunurong people, the house was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 9 October 1974 in recognition of its historical and architectural significance;[1] and the house and gardens were also added to non-statutory lists by the Victorian branch of the National Trust on 4 May 1998[2] and the now defunct Register of the National Estate on 21 October 1980.[3]

History

[edit]

Built by James Butchart between c. 1860 – c. 1865,[b] set on 73 hectares (180 acres) of a pastoral run, Beleura is one of several stately homes constructed as summer retreats along the Mornington Peninsula between 1860 and 1890 for Victoria's rich and famous. The Mornington Peninsula is the second such precinct in Victoria displaying this social phenomena; preceded by Mount Macedon.[1] Butchart died at Beloura in 1869.[5]

In 1870 the property was purchased by Charles Edward Bright CMG, a Melbourne businessman. In a grand "society wedding" in 1968,[6][7][8] Bright married Anna Manners-Sutton, a daughter of Sir John Manners-Sutton, later the 3rd Viscount Canterbury, and the fourth Governor of Victoria from 1866 to 1873. After Manners-Sutton retired, the house was used, for a short time, by his successor as Governor, Sir George Bowen, as his official summer residence and thereafter to B.T.P. Backhouse, who conducted the Mornington Grammar School.

From the late 1880s to 1916 Beleura was owned by a succession of successful businessmen, industrialists, graziers and politicians, including Caleb Joshua Jenner, Robert Smith – the father of Helen Macpherson Schutt (née Smith) – and Mary Williams, the latter who subdivided the property,[9][5] to enable the establishment of the Beleura Hill estate, from c. 1916.[10][4]: 29, 34 

Theatrical entrepreneur, George Tallis, knighted in 1922, and his wife, Amelia, purchased Beleura and 13 hectares (33 acres) in 1916,[10] as a summer retreat and, on his retirement, developed it as an Ayrshire cattle stud,[11][12] buying land in the area from c. 1919,[13] and acquired 141 hectares (348 acres) many of the former lots sold by Williams,[9] and 2,428 hectares (6,000 acres) of farmland around Mornington.[5] Sir George was a theatrical entrepreneur who for many years was a co-owner and chairman of the global entertainment company J. C. Willamson Limited which toured plays and musical theatre to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and London. Sir George and Lady Amelia Tallis continued the traditional use of Beleura as a seaside house and had four children. Lady Tallis died in 1933[14] and Sir George in 1948.[5] Months before the commencement of World War II in 1939, Tallis allowed the Australian Army to host, at Beleura, a large military camp, with over 2,500 troops;[4]: 127 [15] and in 1947, he leased 49 hectares (120 acres) of Beleura for 25 years to enable the establishment of a golf course at Mornington.[16]

Tallis' son, John, a composer, assumed responsibility for the estate in 1949 and during his period of ownership, opened the house and gardens for various artistic and musical events.[17] Following his death in 1996, he bequeathed the house, its collections, and The Tallis Foundation, to the people of Victoria; and they have subsequently been managed as an historic house museum since 2006.[5][18]

Description

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The house and gardens, viewed from above, 2017

The house, gardens and collections operates as a museum and is open to the public, by arrangement.

Homestead

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Constructed in the Victorian Free Classical style, the design of Beleura is attributed[c] to either Joseph Reed[19] or Frederick de Garis.[4]: 28 

Set in five hectares (twelve acres) of gardens, Beleura is built on a granite foundation with stuccoed brick walls. The main feature of the single-storeyed rectangular house is the Corinthian order colonnade verandah and balustrade parapet; the tower was added at a later date. There are particularly distinctive motifs included on the colonnade with the entablature dwarfed by the balustraded parapet.[3] The house's relationship of side wings is most unusual and significant. Plans of the original house or the site are not known to exist.[1]

John Tallis built on the Victorian Italianate influences of the original design and made a series of changes to the interior and exterior of Beleura. Melbourne artist and student of Norman Lindsay, Wesley Penberthy, produced a series of ceiling paintings, in the entrance hall and drawing and dining rooms, considered to be the first in Australia painted using polyvinyl acetate finish to produce a matt fresco appearance.[19]

Gardens

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Approached by a long driveway through its outer grounds, the garden contains many huge specimen trees and a rear stone courtyard – all original features of this nineteenth century seaside garden. The garden contains features from three main periods including the original nineteenth century driv way layout, rear courtyards and coniferous trees; the early twentieth century addition of a formal pool designed by Harold Desbrowe Annear; and, John Tallis' mid-twentieth century Italian influenced embellishments consisting of a formal rose garden and statues.[1] Later overlays added a grove of Lemon-scented gums, large hedges, reflective pools, and espaliered apple trees surrounding a charming kitchen garden.[20][21] Edna Walling was engaged by Lady Tallis to assist with re-design of the gardens;[9] with initial designs attributed to Edward La Trobe Bateman.[22][23]

Collections

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The house remains as it was at the time of John Tallis and contains the artefacts, furnishings and housewares from his family’s interest in collecting European art and many ordinary items used in daily personal life.[19] The collections of approximately 25,000 items include homewares, antique furniture, and paintings chosen by Sir George Tallis, artworks and books chosen by John Tallis remain in situ, many items by ceramicist Klytie Pate, a collection of musical instruments including a Stuart & Sons piano and a rare cello from 1791, with a unique collection of three automobiles, including a Jaguar Mark IV.[18]

Etymology

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Beleura is believed to be a derivation from Mount Leura, near Camperdown.[24]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Also listed as 42–44 Kalimna Drive.
  2. ↑ Possibly completed in 1863.[4]: 34 
  3. ↑ The Victorian Heritage Register stated that the architect was not known.[1]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Beleura, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H0319, Heritage Overlay HO104". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "Beleura House & Garden (NTA-V list: Property No BB0012)". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Beleura (Place ID 5835)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. 21 October 1980. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Graeme Butler & Associates (July 2013). Mornington Peninsula Shire Thematic History (PDF). Shire of Mornington Peninsula (Report). Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "History of Beleura". Beleura House and Garden. 2026. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "SOCIAL ITEMS". The Age. No. 4278. 18 July 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "THE WEDDING OF MR. C. E. BRIGHT AND MISS MANNERS SUTTON". Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers. No. 134. Victoria, Australia. 18 July 1868. pp. 1, 12. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "EARLY MELBOURNE". The Truth. No. 662. Melbourne. 28 August 1915. p. 3. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  9. 1 2 3 Knight, Anthony (n.d.). "Period drama: A theatre of the past". CompleteHome.com.au. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  10. 1 2 "BELEURA MANSION SOLD". The Herald. No. 12, 447. Melbourne. 20 January 1916. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  11. ↑ "BELEURA AYRSHIRE CATTLE". The Australasian. Vol. CXVI, no. 3, 035. Victoria, Australia. 31 May 1924. p. 9. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ "Sir George Tallis at Home" (includes photograph). Table Talk. No. 3325. Victoria, Australia. 28 January 1932. p. 3. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "BELEURA ESTATE CLEARED". The Herald. No. 12, 459. Melbourne. 3 February 1916. p. 12. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ "LADY TALLIS". The Australasian. Vol. CXXXV, no. 4, 414. Victoria, Australia. 12 August 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  15. ↑ "TROOPS IN CAMP". The Argus. No. 28, 884. Melbourne. 20 March 1939. p. 4. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  16. ↑ "£4000 Golf Course For Mornington". Weekly Times. No. 4046. Melbourne. 1 January 1947. p. 31. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  17. ↑ "ARTS FESTIVAL". The Argus. No. 32, 528. Melbourne. 2 December 1950. p. 8. Retrieved 12 August 2026 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  18. 1 2 "Beleura's Collections". Beleura House and Garden. 2026. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 "The House". Beleura House and Garden. 2026. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "The Gardens". Beleura House and Garden. 2026. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  21. ↑ Edmanson, Jane (1 July 2006). "An Inspirational Garden - Beleura" (transcript only). Gardening Australia. Series 17. Episode 20. Australia. ABC TV. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  22. ↑ Ashby, Louise (12 September 2018). "The Beleura garden history". Beleura Story. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  23. ↑ Backhouse, Megan (3 July 2020). "An eccentric paradise keeps founder's memory alive". The Age. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  24. ↑ Ashby, Louise (11 June 2018). "Beleura: the name". Beleura Story. Retrieved 1 August 2026.

Further reading

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  • Tallis, John M. (1960). Beleura, Mornington. Mornington, Victoria.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Knight, Anthony (2009). Beleura.
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Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Beleura at Wikimedia Commons

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