This building is a fine and intact example of 1930's Art Deco flats. Exhibiting extreme care in the detailing including Art Deco treatment of the sash horns on windows ; each flat has a curved balcony with string courses which increase in number up the building. The building is entered through the intact front fence and gate ( with elegantly lettered wrought iron name and number) and through a portal with a magnificent wrought iron hall light. All of the original joinery is intact and in some cases unpainted. This building is a particularly fine example of 1930's flat construction and is unique to East Melbourne. [i-Heritage database]
This block of six two-bedroom flats with six garages was designed by Edith Ingpen in 1933 and built by R & E Seccull Pty Ltd for wealthy bookmaker, Henry Thomas Pamphilon. Ingpen was the first woman to gain an architecture degree from the University of Melbourne and this was her first commission. Ingpen has overcome the site’s narrow frontage by using broad balconies and horizontal banding to give the illusion of added breadth. The building also included a roof garden.
A gatepost to the building appears to have the name 'Kalingi' written on it, although the last letters are somewhat damaged. The apartments have been known locally by this name for some years. However a great nephew of the original owner, Peter Pamphilon, informs us that the real name is 'Kalingra'. This has been confirmed by early newspaper advertisements.
City of Melbourne Building Permits: VPRS 11201/P1 Unit 175, Item 14573 (14573); VPRS 11200/P1 Unit 1656 (14573 (x7) + S, 14582 (x5) + S)
The Argus,28 Aug 1940, p.10. Death of HT Pamphilon
The Home: an Australian Quarterly, 1 Apr 1936: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-386036906
The Age, 24 Jul 1937, p.2 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205567152
Peter Pamphilon, email 23 Nov 2020