In a Notice of Intent to Build dated 14 March, 1854 George Robinson gave notice of his intention to have builder, Thomas Crawson, erect a three room iron cottage. Robinson gave his address as Clarence Cottage, Fitzroy (Hotham) Street, and in the 1854 Rate Books a four room brick cottage appears under his name. This would indicate that the brick cottage pre-dates the iron one.

On 25 October 1854 a tender notice appeared in The Argus for 'the erection and completion of a six-roomed Gothic Cottage on the Eastern Hill. Plan and specification may be seen by application to Mr. George L. Robinson, office of Messrs. Woolley and Robinson, Queen street south.'

Over the next ten months three more Notices of Intent to Build appeared for this same block of land: two to build a brick cottage, one on 9 November and the other on 18 November. In both cases the builder was Alexander McLaren. A third, on 30 January 1855, was for Richard Fitzgerald to build a kitchen. Was the first of these a retrospective one perhaps, applying to the already existing Clarence Cottage; and the second for the new, six roomed cottage?

None of the documentation is consistent with the resultant house which is of basic symmetrical design with four rooms up and four rooms down and a narrow utilities wing behind. Nothing suggests that the house ever had a Gothic appearance. De Gruchy & Leigh's 1866 isometrical map of Melbourne shows the house with no balcony and an arcaded verandah below. The 1855 Rate books show that the size of Robinson's house had doubled to eight rooms.

In the same year The Argus ran a To Let notice: "Clarence Cottage, in excellent repair, situate in FitzRoy-Street east, East Melbourne. Also a large Store at the back, with a Quarter acre of Ground, fenced-in, suitable for many purposes."

There are several possibilities as to how the four roomed cottage was transformed into an eight roomed house. One is that the original Clarence Cottage was double fronted and single storeyed and another storey was added. Another could be that the cottage was built single fronted and double storeyed and extra rooms were added to the side. A third is that the original cottage was what is now the back wing, and a whole new house was built in front of it, with the cottage becoming a service wing.

George Lyney Robinson, merchant, arrived in Sydney circa 1840 and carried on business there until 1852 when he moved to Melbourne where he joined Alfred Woolley in partnership as Woolley and Robinson, merchants and commission agents. In 1857 the partnership was dissolved and he returned to Sydney. By 1864 he was in New York and it seems that he did not return to Australia although at least some of his children married and remained here.

The house was advertised for sale in 1857 but apparently did not sell and, according to the Rate Books, was put into the hands of Alfred Woolley as managing agent. By 1858 the house was known as Calthorpe House.

In February 1870 it was again advertised for sale and was purchased by John MacGregor who lived there for ten years and remained as owner until his death in 1884. The Statement of Assets for the grant of probate provides a description of the house at that time: '... a two storey brick residence known as "The Pines" containing 10 rooms kitchen servant's bedroom bathroom and at the back is erected an iron building containing study pantry and bathroom.' The house was sold for £1,850.

At the time of his death Macgregor was living in Gipps Street, East Melbourne (Stokesay, 150-154 Gipps Street). This house was also a two storey house on a similar sized quarter acre block. It was sold for 4,800 pounds.

In 1874 The Argus printed the following request from Mrs. Macgregor: "Owing to the lateness of the season at Mount Alexander, the mulberry trees are not in leaf yet and we are requested to state that any ladies having Cape mulberry trees would greatly oblige the Ladies Sericultural Company by sending leaves to Mrs Macgregor, Pine House, Hotham Street, East Melbourne, who will forward them daily by train to the Mount." Other advertisements also refer to it as Pine House.

Thomas Adams owned 99 Hotham Street from 1885 until 1912, followed by William Grant. By 1912, according to an advertisement in the Argus, the house was known as Halloween and was being let as flats. An auction notice in the Argus of 24 March 1917 gives a description,"A substantial and well-built two-storied brick house, containing 13 rooms, which have been divided and let out in SIX FLATS, leaving accommodation in addition for the owner or manager. The building has balconies at front and rear, two rooms built of iron and W.B., being detached therefrom, and the space is so arranged that four of the flats have a small kitchenette, in addition to a living-room and bedroom."

In 1922 Mrs. Blanchard bought the property but sold it in 1925 to Harold Moran, a Shakespearian actor. It was possibly he who had the balcony and verandah built in. It remained flats until 1976, when developer, Jean Miller, bought it and employed Geoffrey Borrack, architect, to restore the house to a single dwelling. Additions were removed, the interior modernised and a new lacework verandah and balcony were installed. The old iron cottage was demolished.