Flemington: 133-year-old house given new lease on life is ‘like your own private Idaho’

Located just 4km from Melbourne’s CBD, this 133-year-old Victorian-era house is like a slice of rural-esque paradise in the heart of the inner city. It has even hosted a wedding.

55 Waltham St, Flemington, dates back to the 1890s.

A Victorian-era house offering a slice of country-style living within inner city Flemington is easy to fall in love with.

The circa-1892 home at 55 Waltham St is surrounded by landscaped gardens including the north-facing backyard where there are an 11m-long pool and travertine-paved entertaining area with a retractable awning.

One of the home’s owners described the abode as “like your own private Idaho”.

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“You can sit in the backyard and all you can hear is the birds and rainbow lorikeets,” the owner says.

The fact is all the more impressive considering Melbourne’s CBD is slightly more than 4km away, CityLink is about a 1km drive and Newmarket and Flemington Bridge train stations are nearby.

“You’re that close yet you feel like you’re in the country,” the vendor says.

He and his partner have lived at the house for a decade but have decided to downsize.

The front garden is planted with greenery that is up to 50 years old.

There is a second sink, plus additional Ilve combi and microwave oven in the butler’s pantry.

The pool is about 1.9m deep when water reaches the top, with the vendor saying that stories passed down from previous owners indicate a rather tall former occupant – who stood 1.98m tall – installed the pool with the aim of being able to tread water.

The vendor says they first inspected the home after missing out on another Flemington house at an auction.

“We feel in love with it then and there,” he says.

“It’s when you take one step into the hallway, that’s when you go ‘wow’.”

Along with the solar-heated pool, they were won over by the house’s 980sq m land block, high ceilings, hardwood floors, original marble fireplaces and temperature-controlled wine cellar.

The home is close to Pin Oak Cres and Racecourse Rd’s shops and eateries.

A fireplace and walk-in wardrobe in one of the bedrooms.

The owners have updated the house in their time there, including the bathrooms and the kitchen that’s fitted with stone-top benches and a butler’s pantry with a sink and second Ilve combi-microwave oven.

A main lounge room and open dining area features motorised clerestory windows and double doors that open to the rear garden.

The main bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe and an ensuite with a freestanding tub, while there’s also a home office and library, plus a study.

The office and library is one of the owner’s favourite rooms, as he can keep books and mementos on the shelves, work from home and enjoy the view.

The house’s name, Brooklyn, can be seen stencilled above the front door. However, the reason for the home having that particular name has been lost to time.

Outdoors offers a triple garage, additional gated parking space out the front and separate guesthouse with a bathroom.

The owner says that a favourite memory of the house is hosting his partner’s best friend’s nuptials there.

“It was an amazing venue for a wedding,” he says.

The marriage ceremony was held inside and guests enjoyed drinks in the garden.

The property is home to four bathrooms, including one in the separate guesthouse.

Nelson Alexander Flemington’sJayson Watts says the pool can be seen from the house’s main living and dining area.

“It’s an unbelievable property on one of the largest parcels of land in Flemington and Kensington,” Mr Watts says.

He is expecting that most interested buyers will be families, given the house’s proximity to schools, kindergartens and childcare facilities.

Flemington Primary School and St Brendan’s Primary School are less than a kilometre away.

The residence will be auctioned with a $4m-$4.4m range at midday on March 8.

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Originally published as Flemington: 133-year-old house given new lease on life is ‘like your own private Idaho’