The house contains upon the ground floor drawing-room 23ft. 6 x 20; diningroom, 20 x 15.9”; spacious hall, 20ft. x 7; library, 11ft 6 x 7ft.; coffeeroom, 16 x 14ft. 3; pantry, 11ft. 6 x 7ft.; kitchen, 18 x 14ft. 3; servants’-room, 14ft 2 x 13; servants’-hall, 11 x 11. First Floor – Bedroom No. 1, 20ft. x 19; No. 2, 20 x 19; No. 3, 16 x 11 6; No. 4, 16 x 12; No. 5, 11ft 9 x 7; No. 6, 11ft. 9 x 7; very imposing landing, 17 x 13; Bathroom, 11 x 8. The outoffices comprise stable, coachhouse, man’s-room, washhouse, &c. A spacious verandah runs along the whole front, and the open balcony is supported by handsome and massive freestone columns. The house is erected upon the centre of the land, and any speculator purchasing this property could erect two additional houses upon the unoccupied portion of this extremely valuable frontage. [Argus, 27 Aug 1881, p.15] It had a brick wall with stone coping over which could be seen the top of the pittosporum hedge... The double entrance gate was at the left hand side...There was a short driveway, passing the porch...The main entrance was at the side of the house...On the other side of the driveway were two large Moreton Bay fig trees...To the right of the driveway and extending across the front of the house was a semi sunken garden laid out formally in flower beds of geometric shape...full of such flowers as columbines, pincushions, canterbury bells, heliotrope, fuchsias, lavender...and borders of small daisy plants...To the far side of the house was the croquet lawn overshadowed at one end by a very beautiful lemon scented magnolia tree. [Mary P. Shaw]
This very grand house was built for James Simpson,Commissioner of Lands, and the man after whom Simpson Street is named. Dr. Miles Lewis states that the house is consistent with the style of Charles Laing. Dr. Lewis also cites an advertisement in April 1856 in which Charles Laing calls for tenders to build a house for Francis McDonnell in Wellington Parade. This house has never been identified. Could James Simpson have taken over the project?
He died in 1857 and the next owner was Henry Langlands. It has not been confirmed whether this is the father, and founder of the foundry business which carried the family name, or his son, who carried it on after his father's death in 1863. Henry senior died at his residence 1 Jolimont Square.
In 1872-1881 the house was occupied by Edwin Holmes and his family, at first as tenants, then as owner from 1877. Holmes was a shipowner and merchant, a partner in the firm of Holmes, White & Co., trading in a wide variety of goods, from fencing wire to oats to tea and sugar. He was a church warden at St. Peter's, Eastern Hill 1870-1877. His eldest daughter, Eleanor Elizabeth, married James Denham Saint Pinnock, son of J.D. Pinnock, the boy next door. The Pinnock family lived at what is now 86 Wellington Parade.
By 1882 George Shaw, a wholesale fruit and vegetable merchant, had moved into 108 with his large family, who continued to occupy it until 1918. Mary P. Shaw tells of a very happy, active and socially busy life led there. "Shaw was an uncle of H.V. McKay, who reputedly worked on a model of his harvester in the garage of Shaw's house." [Miles Lewis, mmdb]
In 1887 architects, Billing & Son, advertised for tenders for alterations and additions to the house. This work possibly resulted in the "new dining room". "This was a long room about the size of a billiard room. It was originally built as an annexe to the old dining room which became too small as the family increased in number." [Mary P. Shaw]
On Mrs. Shaw's death in 1918 the house was renamed Thorlinda and sold. In 1923 it was sold again by which time it had been converted to six self contained flats. By 1945 buildings had been erected each side of the house, as shown in an aerial photo [See link below]. The house is shown in the bottom left hand corner, on the far side of a building with a saw tooth roof. This building was the Cliveden Service Station, variously described as 94 and 86 Wellington Parade.
In front of Tullyvallin "was a large red brick apartment house built right up to the street. ...During the depression years this became a place of dubious occupancy. For a period a well known figure of the underworld, Squizzy Taylor, lived there. [Squizzy Taylor died in 1927, possibly too early for this block of flats unless it was the old house. He did claim to live in a flat in East Melbourne c.1921-22] ...
Another apartment house occupied the site of the driveway." [Mary P. Shaw] By the 1950s at least part of this complex had become offices.
1855-1857: James Simpson (1792-1857). See Australian Dictionary of Biography: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/simpson-james-2665
1858-1861+: Henry Langlands (1794-1863),iron founder and politician. See Australian Dictionary of Biography: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/langlands-henry-2328 Or is it his son, also Henry? Henry Snr died at 1 Jolimont Square.
1872-1876: ? Braham (owner)
1872-1881: Edwin Holmes, shipowner and merchant (1872-76 as tenant; 1877-81 as owner and occupier
1882-1909: George Shaw. Shaw died 1909
1809-1918: Mrs. Shaw (Eliza)
Burchett Index: City of Melbourne, Notices of Intent to Build, 12 Nov 1855, Reg. No. 996
Melbourne Mansions Database, Nos. 707, 2065 and 6899: http://fmpro.abp.unimelb.edu.au/fmi/iwp/cgi?-db=mmdb&-loadframes
Shaw, Mary P., The Shaws of Tullyvallin" (1976) Argus, 7 May 1887, p.14
The Australian Home Builder, 15 Jan 1925: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2950590333