East Melbourne, Gipps Street 181

Building work valued at £2,000. Described as ‘attic villa’. Brickwork of ‘Barkly’ bricks. Attic walls to be lined to a height of 3ft. with 3ply Pacific Mahogany. Other woods used: Pacific Maple, Hoop Pine, Jarrah, Oregon. Red gum stumps. Flooring of Baltic White, ‘Dindi’ hardwood.
Built on land previously owned by Church of England. The land was part of the acre granted to the church to build a deanery. The deanery itself occupied the southern portion of the land and the northern portion was given over to a horse paddock and fowl yard. In the 1920s the church was short of money. It was unable to pay the dean a full income, as an alternative he stayed in his own home and rented the deanery (to the widow and son (Louis, also an artist) of Frederick McCubbin), taking the rent to supplement his income. Finally however it was decided to sell the north west quarter acre. The McCubbins lived at the deanery c.1926-c.1931.
G.R. Hardy & Co. were specialists in hotel sales. In 1937 Laura Hardy, aged 16, was a semi-finalist in a doll's dress competition.
Had a tennis court behind.
Joan Lenehan: Brian Hardy was very gentlemanly. He lived there with his mother. She was always dressed in black and was very elegant. After her death he often used to knock on Joan's door (next door) and ask, Is the kettle on? She would say, The kettle is always on, and he would come in, sit down, take from his pocket two blue paper napkins and spread one on each knee. The downstairs internal doors were designed to be able to be removed easily (light wood - Californian redwood? -and special hinges) so that the space could be opened up into a ballroom. Bernard, another son, died young, and John owned a hotel in Pascoe Vale. US army personnel/senior officers used the house during the war and the Hardys had to move out. [check]