St Mirins

140 – 150 Golf Links Road, Frankston South

History
Built: c1920, c1934, c1949.

Hilda and Herbert Stott, an orchardist, of Mornington Junction, owned a residence on 70 acres of land at this location soon after the First War.1 Stott's Lane runs along the west side of the property today, albeit on a slightly altered route, passing what is reputed to be Stott's former house (Yalverton), now much extended.2 In 1920 Stott sold 30 acres of the land to a Dr. Hood, keeping the residence and 40 acres.3 Dr. Hood had a house built there in that year. 4 Hood owned the property until, in 1929-30, it passed to a Mrs Evelyn Hood, care of Perpetual Executors, Hunter Street Sydney, which suggests that Dr. Hood had died. 5

Cook Tenure
James Cowan Cook, a broker, of 500 Collins Street, Melbourne, and his wife, Elizabeth Cook, purchased the residence with 31 acres by 1933.6 At that time he commissioned architects, Bates Smart and McCutcheon to design an extensive house surrounded by landscaped gardens: the first stage of this design appears to have been built c1934.7 The architect, Oswald McCutcheon, was related to the Cook family. 8

The Garden
Another well known figure linked with the property was garden designer Edna Walling, albeit in a tenuous way when reputedly she helped lay out the drive (with a hose).9 The 1930s garden was originally that of a simple farmhouse, with orchards (including the olive trees), grass paddocks and native trees. Some of these old fruit trees have been removed since the Cooks left St. Mirins. 10

A full time gardener (Arthur Battrick?) was employed on developing the garden in the 1940's, reputedly sharing an interest in native flora with the neighbours, Jim Swanson and Russell Grimwade. As another design device in the garden, a guest, one Donald Smith, envisaged a ha-ha which was built to invisibly separate the 'goose paddock' from the side lawn in the late 1950's. 11 The Cooks were also very interested in horticulture.

1948-50 Additions
The rate valuation continued to climb with a 75% increase in the years 1948-1950, verifying the addition of upper-level bedrooms to the house, better service rooms on the west side of the courtyard and extension of the sunroom c1949. 12 Part of this extension was a stair tower fashioned as a pigeon loft. Post – war restrictions on private house construction appear not to have hindered the addition. A bedroom was added to the south end of the house in the 1950's, probably under the supervision of local architect, John Butler. 13 A further addition on the west end was reputedly carried out c1985.

James Cook
James Cook started out with his father in the paper business but soon commenced his own business with the agency for Heidelberg printing presses and Stihl machinery. He also started a small company which dealt with hand-made paper. His business went public as the company, Aldus Ltd. in the early 1950's. 14 Cook was the managing director along with the board which included his son-in-law, G E Limb and another Frankston name, K. Henty-Wilson. 15

The Cooks names the property St. Mirins and retained ownership until after 1973. 16 Janet and Harriet Cook (daughters) lived there also, although both had left by the 1960's. 17

Description
Resembling an American east-coast country house, inspired by the American Colonial Revival, St. Mirins parallels with both the American Georgian revival and ranch-style house designs used here from the 1930s.

Built in white (painted) brick and weatherboards, and roofed in slate, the house (in its various stages) stands to both sides of a large gravelled and enclosed service yard which is entered through a basket-arched opening set below a louvred and cupola-capped weather vain in the roof. The roof itself consists of multiple intersecting gables and dormers (created c1949). Multi-paned sash, casement and French windows are used profusely on all elevations, the sash type being accompanied with decorative shutters which underscore the Georgian revival character of the complex. Quoining is implied by brick coursing at exposed corners. 18

The house is entered from this courtyard via a marquee 19 which partially obscures the dentil detailing around the broad architraves, the detailing also extending under the eaves. The door itself is three-panel, with knocker. Attached to the south end of the east wing is a hipped roof stair-tower which holds dovecote-like perching recesses in two rows under its eaves. Further to the south, with its own yard, is a contemporary workshop/garage with, between the house and garage, a swimming pool and later cabana.

The house compares with the Grounds' Portland House, Plummer Avenue design which also takes up the American influence and the long narrow plan set under a simply gabled roof.

Landscape
The impressive and extensive garden envelopes the complex connecting, via a long curving gravelled drive, to Golf Links Road. Mature plantings include olive trees next to the pool (see Westerfield, Ballam Park), magnolias, medlar trees and Algerian Oaks. Groves of sugar and blue gums stand to the west and south-west (south of the tennis court) of the house, respectively. Plantings from the Stott era or earlier may have to have survived in the oaks.

The house yard has Prunus serrulata (Japanese Flowering Cherry), wisteria, large poplar and Lemon scented gum plus an Italian Cypress as its main elements.

On axis with the main living rooms on the north side is a walk linked to a Pan statue, backed by an avenue of Italian cypress. Extending to the east is a curving Corinthian order cast-cement colonnade which may have served to train roses or vines. This leads to the extensive lawn on the east of the house. Near the house, on the north, are: a silver birch copse, the oaks, an old hawthorn and a holly leading to the curving gravelled drive. Along the drive are variegated pittosporums, wax bush, Mexican sage with the frequency of native planting increasing in the north and west directions. To the east of the house is an extensive terraced lawn extending east to a ha-ha which conceals the fence securing the stock in the distant paddock. Planting around the lawn perimeter includes yew, poplar and a chestnut tree.

Context
Part of a group of large houses in rural and extensively landscaped settings which emanated from the period 1920-40s.

Significance – Study Grading B
Architecturally, this is a large rural complex which falls essentially within one concept, apparently influenced by new American house design trends brought to Australia by travelling architects such as Oswald McCutcheon. It has few equals, given the size, courtyard layout, conceptual integrity and era of the complex and, in particular, its notable landscape setting: of regional importance.

Historically, occupied by the two exemplars of Frankston's history, an orchardist family and that if a wealthy Melbourne-based professional: of local importance and regional interest.