'Irreplaceable' 1892 Abbotsford Home Hits the Market
With its handsome 39-metre river frontage, protected by bush and immersed in birdsong, 24 Mayfield Street seems hours from Melbourne. However, it’s just six kilometres from the heart of the CBD, in a tranquil pocket of Abbotsford where real estate such as this is rare.
Catering entrepreneur Ros Harvey and her late husband, legendary Cafe di Stasio chef Valerio Nucci, knew this when they happened upon the listing 25 years ago. They were walking on the opposite bank and spotted the “For Sale” sign.
In a tranquil pocket of Abbotsford, real estate such as this is rare.
“I’d always loved the environment and outlook, and that sort of thing was more important to me than a really glamorous house,” Harvey recalls. “The auction was the next day, but we didn’t buy it at the auction. We bought it the next day, but I’m so glad we did, because it was taking a bit of a risk at the time.”
The property required a major structural renovation, but they were not fazed. They both appreciated a home that was beautifully imperfect.
“We had a holiday house in Lake Como that Valerio’s grandfather built. It was rustic, and I quite liked living in it as it was, so he appreciated the same sort of things that I did.
“In the early days, the house was barely liveable, some rooms bulged out and plants came inside, so we had it rebuilt. The only thing that was left in the house from the original was one fireplace. We built the best house we possibly could. It was built to be our home for life.”
Hosting a gathering came naturally to the couple, who once owned some iconic Melbourne venues.
In the early days of Melbourne, Abbotsford was mostly rural. Harvey’s property, completed in 1892, is of architectural and social significance to the City of Yarra, as one of the remaining 19th-century houses on riverfront land.
The block once formed part of the 1840s estate – stretching to Church Street – of diarist and artist Georgiana McCrae, whose works are kept at the National Gallery of Victoria.
Life at Mayfield Street is oriented to the Yarra. The four-bedroom, four-bathroom house has a sophisticated living, dining and kitchen space that spills to a deep balcony and terrace.
The living, dining and kitchen space opens to a deep balcony.
The second floor, via a glass balustrade staircase, has a sweeping main bedroom and en suite that open onto a vine-fringed balcony framing views of bush and water.
The original stables are now a self-contained apartment and a separate studio. “The stables have a fantastic view over the garden, when the jacaranda is out and you’re looking down over the river, it’s a beautiful look,” Harvey says.
Tiered gardens roll all the way down the waterline. “You can put your boat or kayaks at the bottom, and we’ve occasionally seen a dolphin or a swan,” Harvey says.
“Water dragons live in our backyard, and you can feed them by hand. We’ve had a wedding or two and kids’ parties, it’s a great place to do some entertaining.”
The original stables are now a self-contained apartment and a separate studio.
Hosting a happy gathering came naturally to the couple.
Harvey and Nucci owned and operated the George Ballroom in St Kilda and the Grand Hotel in Richmond, among other landmark Melbourne venues.
Harvey founded the respected Epicure Catering, which was sold to Spotless in 2001. Nucci’s talent made Di Stasio in St Kilda famous, Harvey says. Restaurant critic and author Jill Dupleix, the AFR Magazine culinary editor, wrote recently that Nucci was a “master of pasta” whose creations set benchmarks.
The Abbotsford home has four bedrooms and four bathrooms.
The passage of time has compelled Harvey to reluctantly sell the home that represents their passion for food, family and their suburb.
Agent Sarah Case of RT Edgar says it is unusual to find a historic house in this treasured position.
“You have the best of both worlds – inner-city living, with a private backyard, where you could be on a rural property.
“Having that nearly 40-metre frontage onto the Yarra River, it is irreplaceable, and that is why the vendor has lived there for so long,” she says.
Case suspects this home will attract a passive buyer from a creative industry, such as an architect, painter or musician. “Whoever buys it will be someone who says, ‘Wow, I can get a country property here, right in Abbotsford’.”
The house holds deeply personal significance to Harvey, and she knows the land itself sets it apart. “I personally think that it’s the best block of land in Melbourne, you’re looking over Melbourne’s biggest natural bushland park, all the activities on the river, and the wildlife.
“It’s special because it is different from anything else.”
Discover more of 24 Mayfield Street, Abbotsford here.