1857 Home In Need Of New Captain
THE SUNDAY AGE
Saturday April 24, 1993
Ben Mitchell ONE of the first homes in Melbourne's first suburb, Williamstown, has been put on the market for auction on 8 May and is expected to fetch more than $150,000. The house, at 6 Hanmer Street, was once the residence of sea captain Thomas Aitken, who had brought settlers from Britain to the calm waters of Port Phillip Bay.
The house, built by Aitken in 1857, overlooks the bay off Point Gellibrand. It does not appear on an 1858 plan of the suburb, but is on the Williamstown plan published six years later.
It was sold in 1865 to Captain John Fryer, the founding member of Williamstown Council, twice the mayor, the water-police magistrate and a member of the Marine Board.
According to Williamstown Historical Society documents, Fryer served in the 1850s on the local board of health, which was a precursor to municipal government in the area and possibly the earliest regulatory body in Victoria.
Captain Fryer, known as ``The Scorpion" for his venomous words and deeds while in authority, never lived in the property. He leased the house and lived in a larger one in Stevedore Street.
The Hanmer Street house is built of rare basalt and is in almost original condition. It requires only light ``enhancement" work.
Modelled on an English style, the house opens directly on to the footpath, as do many cottages in Britain.
Double-storeyed, it has three bedrooms and the original timber ceilingsare in good condition.
There is an open fireplace with simple wood mantel in the lounge room, which has old-plaster walls and is lined with mixed green and red carpet.
Behind the lounge is a large bedroom and a compact bathroom. A meals area has recently been added to the kitchen, which has a gas stove and a tiled floor.
The stairway to the second floor shows signs of heavy traffic and is beginning to creak.
The main bedroom upstairs has the cosy feel of an English seaside cottage. It has an open fireplace and old-style windows that look out to the Williamstown shoreline.
A second bedroom on the upper floor has an unusual notched ceiling to accommodate the roof line. A small upstairs study at the front could be converted to an en suite.
Williamstown, originally known as King William's Town, had an important influence on the settlement of Melbourne in the mid-1800s.
Standing at the mouth of the Yarra River, the then tiny suburb was the infant city's most accessible port and played a key role in directing Melbourne-bound ships safely into harbor.
© 1993 THE SUNDAY AGE