East Melbourne, George Street 054

Two storey double fronted house with simple facade

Abraham Kellet married Ellen Russell in 1857 and was no doubt anxious to provide a home for his new bride and what turned out to be his large brood of children. He advertised for tenders, ‘labour only, for BUILDING four-roomed stone and brick HOUSE’ on 19 October 1860 and he gave notice to Council of his intention to build just ten days later. However his name first appeared in the rate books in 1858 as the occupier, and presumably owner, of a four-roomed wooden house. Maybe the wooden house was pulled down because the rate books consistently only mention a four roomed brick house and kitchen. This description remains the same until the 1890s when it becomes seven rooms.

In the early period land size is not given, but in 1871 it is given as 57 feet by 165 feet and in 1874 as 57 feet by 132 feet. Abraham Kellet died intestate in 1893 and the inventory attached to his Letters of Administration describes the house as a six roomed brick and weatherboard house and wooden stable on land as 57 feet by 72 feet 6 inches, the whole valued at £507. Yet it is not until after 1903 that the rate books adjust the measurement to 57 feet by 80 feet. Looking at the MMBW map of 1897 It is impossible now to understand the changes to the boundaries, if in fact the measurements of the time were accurate.

Abraham’s untimely death happened when the waggonette he was driving home along Flinders Street was side-swiped by a tram which he had tried to avoid but was blocked by a cab coming the other way on the wrong side of the road. He was knocked from his seat on to the road but still attempted to control his horse by keeping hold of the reins but the horse bucked and kicked him. He died as a result of head injuries.

He was a drayman or carrier which would explain the three large stable blocks shown in the MMBW map. The inventory of his assets tells us he had six horses, five lorries and one jinker truck.

The family continued to live at the house with at least one of Abraham’s daughters attending the nearby Presbyterian Ladies College evidenced by a debt owing to it being listed in the inventory.

Abraham’s second son, also Abraham, continued to run the cartage business. He moved to Ivanhoe after his marriage in 1910 and took the business with him. According to his daughter Nan McArthur in Ivanhoe he bred Clydesdales and drove them when delivering Fosters beer to the various pubs around Melbourne. ‘In 1952 the large horse cartage company A. Kellet Pty Ltd sold its 250 horses and converted its Richmond stables to storage’ [http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00723b.htm ]. It seems probable this was the same firm but the link has not been confirmed.

Ellen, and many of her family, stayed in George Street in the house that in her later years she called Marba, until shortly before her death in 1923. The house then became the home of the Dickson family. According to the rate books Jane Dickson was both owner and occupier. Jane Russell Kellet married John Dickson in 1893. John Dickson was an iron founder and it may have been his occupation that brought him to the house. How convenient would it be if he worked at Thomas Main’s foundry across the road and just a few doors down?

The next occupant of the house was David Wesley Cozens, blacksmith, and the owner was Abraham Kellet.

In 1936 the house was bought by architect, William Elliot Gower.  In that year a photo of the house appeared in Art in Australia with his name given as the architect.  The photo shows what appears to be a brick, single storey house with an asymmetrical facade. In 1939 the house was advertised for sale as ‘TWO-STORY BRICK HOUSE MODERN DESIGN. LAND, 60ft. FRONTAGE. THREE GARAGES. FORMAL GARDEN’. The land behind drops away sharply from the street and another floor is below street level. 

It was bought by Leonie St Clare Aytoun, a teacher, before being sold again about four years later to Norman Geaney, a Collins Street surgeon. He was a keen gardener and a foundation member of the Tree Protection Society yet he wrote to the editor of The Age in 1953 to condemn the halting of the tree felling work taking place in George Street. He must have been a very unpopular man in East Melbourne at that time as the tree felling roused real anger among a large number of the residents and was the catalyst for the foundation of the East Melbourne Group whose members still actively guard the suburb against inappropriate development.

By the 1970s the then owner of the property also owned 46 Simpson Street and they became known as La Maison and La Mainsonette. It was at this time that the garage at the rear of La Maisonette was acquired on a long term lease by La Maison. The internal cast iron spiral staircase was installed in 1977 and is said to have come from the Block Arcade.

The house now presents a two storey facade to the street with a hidden level below. It is not clear exactly when the third storey was added but an ad in The Age of 24 November 1978 describes it as, '10 principal rooms on 3 levels, including an elegant reception room, sitting room and a dining room with tree-ferned aviary. 4 bedrooms with en-suites, 3 kitchens, one professionally equipped. A magnificently appointed residence with its own secluded garden.' 

1860-1939: Abraham Kellet, carrier, and family
1924-1929c: Jane Dickson and family, including John, iron founder
1930-1935c: David Wesley Cozens, blacksmith
1936-1939: William Elliot Gower, architect
1939-1942: Leonie St Clare Aytoun, teacher
1943-1953c: Norman Geaney, medical practitioner