’It’s lost forever’: Historic old home of Dr Westaway destroyed by fire
A grand old house of historical significance built by Dr Lesley Westaway, has been destroyed by fire in a major loss for nostalgia devotees hoping the derelict building would be returned to its former glory.
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A grand old dame of historical significance has been destroyed by fire, in a major loss for those hoping the derelict building would be returned to its former glory.
Just after midnight on Wednesday, emergency crews were called to 219 The Esplanade after fire broke out in the dilapidated two-storey property that was once the family home of Dr Lesley Westaway and his wife Margaret.
Fire investigators were at the scene this morning and a crime scene has been declared.
Police stated once safe, emergency services would conduct a search of the property as it remained unknown if the dwelling was occupied at the time of the fire.
Bystander Veronica Lombarte, taking photos of the ruined house on Wednesday, said it was a great shame the house had been lost.
“It was a mansion back in its day, but it’s write-off now and will have to be demolished,” she said.
“My mum used to live around the corner on Charles Street and she would have grown up with (Dr Westaway’s) kids.
“In the 60s and 70s it was in its prime and was built in the 1950s, I believe, and people say it was heritage-listed but it wasn’t actually.”
Ms Lombarte said she had heard squatters were living in the property when the fire broke out.
Nearby properties were evacuated and the roof of the old house fully collapsed during the blaze.
A Queensland Fire Department spokeswoman confirmed seven crews responded to the blaze on the Cairns Esplanade at 12.50am on Wednesday.
“It was a three-level house and crews conducted a search of the basement level,” the spokeswoman said.
“Crews were unable to search the other levels due to partial collapse of the building as it was well-involved on arrival.”
A public safety declaration was made at 12.40am and later revoked about 2.35am by Queensland Police.
Senior Sergeant Jason Chetham said as recently as this week squatters inside the house had been reported to police.
“No one has been seen running from the scene (but) we have had some people there as recently as four or five days ago, that’s recorded on our system,” he said.
“We don’t know if anyone’s present in the house at the time the scene is still being examined, and we don’t have a cause at this point in time.
“A crime scene has been declared there, so we’re treating it as suspicious, nothing has been ruled out at this point in time (including arson.)
“Our scientific investigators, and in conjunction with the fire service, will investigate (the fire) and come back in due course.”
A Queensland Fire Department spokeswoman confirmed crews returned to the scene around 5am due to reports of a small fire on the site.
“We had another crew re-attend around 5am because there was another small fire that sparked from some of the hotspots still smouldering but it was all under control and further dampened down,” she said.
The brick home, built on the Esplanade site in the 1950s, was modelled on a wooden house demolished to make way for the grand old building.
Complete with a lavish ballroom and tennis court, the property was sold by Dr Westaway’s son John for $2.68m to Best Beach Resort Pty Ltd in 2015 before being sold again to Best Beach Travel Services for the same price in 2022.
The director of Best Beach Travel Services is Pun Wu, better known as Benny Wu, who also owns the neighbouring Acacia Court Hotel.
The once-prestigious 219 Esplanade home, which had a tennis court and a wooden-floored squash court, has long been ripe for demolition and redevelopment but instead languished and fell into disrepair under the ownership of Mr Wu.
Cairns Regional Council has in the past issued overgrown notices ordering the owner to clean up the property and mow the lawn, which would be heartbreaking to keen gardener Margaret Westaway if she was still alive, according to daughter in-law Gail Westaway.
“John’s mum loved the garden,” she said.
“As you walk into the tennis court now, she had pots either side with topiary fig tree and she shaped it and now they have busted the pots.
“She would laugh now, the roots are probably now out on the Esplanade.”
Before she died it was Mrs Westaway’s long held dream to visit the famous Butchart Gardens in Canada, and last year John and Gail travelled to the historic Canadian garden oasis where her ashes were scattered.
Dr Westaway was a millionaire health professional who owned property throughout Cairns and faming land around Smithfield and Yorkeys Knob.
Marjorie Earl from Lost Cairns and District said it was a great shame the historic home that was once a thriving social hub was now gone forever.
“We have lost the grace and beauty of the past, we just don’t have homes like that anymore,” she said.
“It was the last building of its kind to be the centre of our social life.
“It’s a tragedy, they could have turned it into a wedding chapel place or a place for visiting dignitaries, something that was different, surely it could have been restored.
“And seeing it falling apart adds weight to the rumours that (Mr Wu) is just not interested in it.
“It’s pretty sad, it’s lost forever, but as long as we are alive it won’t be forgotten but there will come a time however that it will be totally forgotten and that’s the tragedy of it all.”
An investigation remains underway and police are appealing to any witnesses or anyone with CCTV or dashcam vision from the Esplanade, between Charles Street and McKenzie Street, to come forward.
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