Westerfield

86-96 Robinsons Road, Frankston

History
Built in 1924 for Russell and Mabel Grimwade, Westerfield was designed by one of Melbourne's best known architects, Harold Desbrowe Annear on a 113 acre site.1 Annear had completed alterations to Grimwades Toorak house Meigunyah in 1921 and Westerfield may have resulted from a close architect/client relationship between Annear and the Grimwades, developed in 1921.2 It also reflects a pattern in Annear's work of designing both town and country houses for some clients. With the Lindsay's Mulberry Hill, the Murdoch's Cruden Farm, and Fairbairn's Netherplace, Westerfield is one of a sequence of houses commissioned from Annear in the Baxter/Langwarrin/Frankston area in the 1920s for some of Melbourne's most prominent families, who also socialized with one another.3

Grimwade began his Westerfield diary in 1920 with '… Westerfield House, Frankston, Latitude 3810'50" South, Longitude 1459'40" East' marking the start of his plans for his recent land purchase.4 This was his first country house, following his father's Coolart and older brother, Harold's Marathon; both on the peninsula.

It is a great and satisfactory experience to buold a house. I do not mean to add another unit to the thousands that already exist in the urbs and suburbs of the established cities, towns and villages of the world, but to start with a virgin field or paddock miles from anywhere and on it make a home with convienences and accessories that meet modern standards… Our virgin paddock had no fence, no water and no shelter. It is 100 acres of poorish soil, partly covered with naterual trees and undergrowth and a lovely view of distant blue waters.5

One of the first projects for Grimwade was to build a dam which failed in the drought of 1926 so he built a larger one, with two 'romantic' islands.6 He stocked it with trout and carp to control the yabbies.7 He had also built a jetty on the first dam. Shortly after occupying the land he had planted more than 20 types of eucalyptus, a 50 tree orchard, and acres of lavender and geranium. By 1922 oil from these crops was distilled at Bosisto's Richmond laboratory. The houses paddock contained 100s of eucalypts of 50 types within a decade. South Australian olive specimens were planted along with many varieties of wattle in a lower paddock. Aided by his brother (of Marathon), he obtained an elevated water tank and a hut from the Langwarrin military camp and appointed W H Griffiths as a share farmer to cultivate the plantings and run his own sheep on the property.8 Grimwade purchased 47 acres with a house for Griffiths in 1924.

Of the house construction between March and December 1924 Grimwade wrote:

'Now it's time to get in the foundations and build a house using, as far as possible, materials of the environment. Granite-there were tons of huge boulders not far away… Two hundred tons of granite spalls and the same weight of sand and concrete aggregate were dumped on the site and there was none left over when the house was finished. Six hundred tons without the timber, roofing tiles, plumber's fittings and window glass! Several hundred tones of water also were pumped from the dam by windmill, but the four winds of heaven no doubt have returned this to circulation long ago'.9

Grimwade's 'Dutch-type' windmill also housed batteries in its base for storage of the electricity it generated for use in the house. The house itself was designed with no passageways, just a large stair lobby at each level. Equipped with a housekeeper, the Grimwades were able to go to Westerfield almost every weekend, frequently with guests, where Russell also attended the 'Millionaires Golf Club' (Frankston Golf Club), a site which he helped populate with native plantings.10 In contrast, he gave the Lindsay's 50 Lambertiana cypress to from a hedge to '… cut off the coir mats from the little bit of natural bush we called the Park..' at nearby Mulberry Hill.11

Now situated on only approximately 14 hectares, Westerfield was surrounded by terraced gardens, a long pergola, and an orchard. After Grimwade died the balance of his original 113 acres was sold to David Knox who subdivided and sold the land.12

Grimwade documented the house and garden over a couple of decades in a sequence of photographs.13 The sequence shows Westerfield freshly built in 1925, surrounded by vacant pastures. Within six years, the surrounding garden and adjacent landscape has been established with avenues of trees along the drive and extensive hedges. By 1937, the formerly bare environs have been covered with mature trees.14

He used the property both as a working farm and as a retreat. Grimwade was ahead of his time in matters to do with conservation and land use, believing that industry should be compatible with conservation.15 He planted many eucalypt species in the paddocks of Westerfield, using his photographs of these in his book Anthography of the Eucalypts, published in 1920.16

During World War II, Westerfield was used for growing crops for medicinal drugs – poppies, lavender, foxglove, and belladonna. Under the sponsorship of the Wartime Medical Equipment Control Committee, drying sheds were built to process the crops.17

The house is owned now by Mr. and Mrs. Welsh and has been owned by Mrs. Welsh's family for over 30 years.18

Russell Grimwade
Born on October 15, 1879, at Caulfield, Victoria, Wilfred Russell Grimwade was the son of the Honorable F.S. Grimwade, MLC.19 He was educated at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School and Ormond College, where he took the Batchelor of Science Degree.20 He joined the family firm of Felton Grimwade and Company, which later became known as Drug House of Australia with interests in Carba Industries Limited, Commonwealth Industrial Gases Limited, Cuming Smith & Company, Australian Consolidated Industries, and Adelaide and Wallaroo Fertilizers Limited.21 He was one of Australia's outstanding industrialists, scientists and philanthropists. Among his gifts to the nation were Captain Cook's Cottage at the Fitzroy Gardens, £50,000 to the Melbourne University in 1944 for a new building for biochemistry, £15,000 to the Commonwealth Forestry & Timber Bureau for a research fellowship which enables an Australia forester to study abroad for three years. And £5,000 to the Forest Products Laboratory. (C.S.R.I.O).22

With his three brothers, he presented the old Grimwade family home in East. St. Kilda to Melbourne Grammar School as a preparatory college.23

Grimwade received the CBE in 1935 and was knighted in June, 1950. He was chairman of numerous chemical companies, including Drug Houses of Australia and the Victorian Board of Scientific and Industrial Research and held membership on the Melbourne University Council and the Board of Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.24

He was president of the Trustees of the Melbourne National Museum and a Past President of the Australian Forest League.25 A man of many interests, his hobbies included arboriculture, carpentry, photography and forestry. He traveled overseas extensively and was the first person to drive from Melbourne to Adelaide in a car of his own construction.26

In 1947 he traveled through southern Western Australia with a few friends collecting specimens of plant and insect life.

Wilfred Russell Grimwade married Mabel Kelly on October 12, 1909, and died in November, 1955.27 The Grimwade's did not have children. Lady Mabel Grimwade was awarded the C.B.E. in 1962, in recognition of her charitable work and gifts to Melbourne University and the National Gallery of Victoria.28 Lady Grimwade died on September 6 1973, leaving the family home, Miegunyah, to Melbourne University.29

Description
Described by one architectural historian as 'somewhat reminiscent of French country architecture', Westerfield is set on a Y shaped plan and rises two levels with a small half-basement. Each arm of the Y – plan is roofed in a hipped form and clad with cement tiles, and each interests under a central, lantern like turret. Rainwater was collected in tree large sized galvanized iron tanks (now demolished) and pumped to this tank. As counterpoint to the plan's angularity, a segment circle filled one of the plan's Vs, originally as an open colonnade but now as a sunroom. This semi-circular element is repeated at Annear's Mulberry Hill, Baxter, while the Y-plan or corner entry is typical of Arts and Crafts architects such as Voysey.30

Two roof valleys's run down from the turret to meet a wall facet which houses the entrance, with its stout vertically boarded ledged and braced door. This door was made by Grimwade from the decking of the HMAS Australia. Rubble granite ground-level wall set the rustic theme which is extended by the upper-level half-timbering (still is contrasting colours), hinting at the European Medieval precedents used by Annear to inspire earlier house designs at Eaglemont, Kooyong and Heidelberg. True to the prototypes, the upper-levels cantilever over the stone base and, in the case of the back stair, overlaps it. Potentially prone to symmetry, each elevation differs subtly within the regimentation of the half timbering. The window sashes (double-hung) are generally in four leaded panes, with one window bay in the main bedroom protruding out in contrast to the other flush window pairs. The threshold (granite) is inscribed with a north-pointing arrow and the boot scraper takes on the form for a Scotch terrier dog, another of Grimwade's preoccupations.
Once replete with stained skirtings, doors, architraves and vertically-boarded built-in cupboards, the rooms are currently mainly white, with a hint of the stain left on the stair and hall joinery. Polished hardwood floors, with archetypical Persian-pattern rugs, add to the presence of the natural timber in the interior. Upper-level ceilings follow the roof line in part, enhancing the contrives irregularity of room volumes. Astute window placement allows all-round views to the sea, native forest and flowers fields beyond, also capturing the sea breeze.

Typical for the era, the ceilings of main receiving rooms (ground) have exposed stained hand-adzed beams, furthering the provincial flavour, Similarly, the fireplaces are simple designs in stone with basic timber mantel shelves attached; the sitting room mantel having been crafted by Russell Grimwade.31 Outbuildings, including a caretaker's bungalow and garages, appear of the period although altered in detail. The former flower fields lie to the south west, remnant hedging on the east, a drying shed, Eucalypt avenues and groves to the west and an ornamental pool complete with stepping stones (flanked by remnant roses) to the north, all hinting at Grimwade's enthusiastic agricultural undertakings. Now gone is the timber windmill which once generated power. A view-line to the Baxter railway and the old elevated water tank from the steam-rail era are indications of Grimwade's other passions.

External Integrity
Generally original, with minor changes such as; the glazing of the segment-circle porch;32 The conversion of the twin garage openings to smaller windows on one north elevation and the relocation of the garage doors to a rear outbuildings;33 changes to the kitchen, front entry, rear porch, and back stair,34 and the painting of stained joinery internally.

Context
Once spread over a large area, the continuity of the Grimwade-era landscape can still be recognized in the adjoining Costerton and the open paddocks to the east. Remnant flowers, orchard remnants, Eucalypt groves and hedge rows allow better interpretation of the ample pictorial evidence of the property's former state.35 Westerfield is also one of a group of properties, all owned by influential and wealthy Melbournians and many of then designed by the noted architect, Desbrowe Annear.

Landscape
Items of significance/interest include the collection of buildings representative of Grimwade's farm and distillery operations; paddocks where Alister Clark's 'Sunny South' roses were grown for the perfume industry; orchard contacting numerous fruit trees; remnants of formal garden around residence such as stone lily pool; Eucalypt forest area of E. cinerea, stringybarks and narrow leaf peppermints with under storey of native orchids; along the Robinsons Road property line just within the entry pillars are three mature Banksia grandis – these are very similar in size to the one specimen at the Frankston Golf Club. Mr. Jim Swanson, a former curator at the Frankston Golf Club, is reported to have had some connection to the garden at 'Westerfield' (pers.comm., Mrs. Welsh), so this may be part of the plant material bought back from the Western Australia collecting trip of 1947. Mr. Russell Grimwade sponsored the trip and Swanson assisted in the collection of seed and plants, many of which were successfully cultivated at the Frankston Golf Club (Fraser, G. The Frankston Golf Club, A strategy for landscape management, Some preliminary considerations and proposals. 1983 – copy held at Frankston Golf Club); grove of Eucalyptus spp,; low privet hedges - originally tea-tree ; two Cupressus sempervirens axis with 'v' of house and thereby extending and integrating the formal garden into the rural landscape; stone steps from grassed terrace to old orchard area. Grimwade dam, islands and jetty and bird house and old windmill site adjacent to main drive.

Significance – Study Grading A
Architecturally, this is a distinctive and complete house design which embodies Annear's interpretation of Southern European (French) provincial villa themes which were then becoming popular, in combination with his continuing love of the half-timbering of the Northern European Medieval architecture. The unusual floor plan has produced picturesque room volumes and dispositions, as well as the uncommon external form. Intact built-in furnishings and some setting for Grimwade's sea side life style.

Historically, both house and its setting are rich with the attributes of Grimwade's life and, like Miegunyah, they retain elements crafted by Grimwade, along with personal design idiosyncrasies in detailing. Unlike Miegunyah (a mixture of construction stages and owners), Westerfield was conceived as an entry under Grimwade's direction. There is also the connection of Grimwade's commercial activities and his World War Two effort (as a rare experimental enterprise in biotechnology), both important associations; of national importance. Landscape: of State importance.