‘Sense has prevailed’ as 134-year old stately Hawthorn East home saved at eleventh hour

Neighbours who parked across the driveway of a 134-year-old house in Melbourne’s inner east to stop its wrecking are feeling “elated and very relieved” after it was “saved” from demolition.

Currajong House was set to be demolished despite huge community support to save it. Picture by Wayne Taylor.

A historic Hawthorn East house has been saved from the wrecking ball at the eleventh hour.

Planning Minister Richard Wynne last night stepped in to save Currajong House, just days before the stately Auburn Rd home was believed it would be demolished.

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Neighbour Kerryn Caulfield said the outcome was “brilliant.”

“It’s a victory for community activism,” she said.

“We are all feeling elated and very relieved as a community and for our heritage. We wanted sense to prevail, and it has.”

Mr Wynne blamed Boroondara Council for approving the demolition order in July, 2018,

But Boroondara mayor Jane Addis said the home would not have been at risk at all had Mr Wynne not “exclusively targeted” the municipality with an exemption to allow owners to demolish buildings with interim heritage overlays.

Cr Addis said the council had repeatedly asked Mr Wynne to intervene.

“With growing public pressure, the minister has finally agreed to exempt Currajong House from the amendment which would otherwise have allowed its demolition,” Cr Addis said.

“We are grateful for the minister’s decision.”

Ms Caulfield told the Leader locals feared the house was going to be bulldozed at any time as moving vans had been packing up items from the house last week.

She said neighbours had copped fines for parking cars across the home’s driveway to prevent demolishers easy access to the property.

The council confirmed three parking fines had been issued.

Neighbours, like Jamie who lives behind the house, took shifts to watch the historic home last week in case demolishers arrived to bulldoze the site.

Mr Wynne last night said his decision ensured the house, which was built in 1885, would not be bulldozed while the council conducted another heritage assessment, to be reviewed by Heritage Victoria.

“There has rightly been community concern about the demolition of this grand home which we have listened to,” Mr Wynne said.

Community concern about the house’s future began when two other Victorian style homes were demolished across the street on December 17 — the same day the council adopted the Hawthorn East Heritage Gap Study listing them, and Currajong House, for protection.

Southern Metropolitan Region state Sustainable Australia MP Clifford Hayes raised concerns about the home’s future to Mr Wynne in parliament on March 5. Mr Wynne did not reply within the deadline.

Feeling unheard, the home’s looming demolition order led residents to start a change.org petition to save the home, which collected more than 5000 signatures.

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