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HERONSWOOD
105 LATROBE PARADE DROMANA, MORNINGTON PENINSULA SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
HERONSWOOD SOHE 2008
HERONSWOOD SOHE 2008
HERONSWOOD SOHE 2008
1 heronswood latrobe parade dromana front view
heronswood latrobe parade dromana rear view
heronswood latrobe parade dromana side view
heronswood latrobe parade dromana outbuidling
heronswood latrobe parade dromana wooden building
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Statement of Significance

The first three owners of Heronswood were remarkable and eminent men. William Edward Hearn (1826-1888) was one of the first professors at the University of Melbourne. He was also a political economist, jurist, conservative politician and university teacher with a reputation already well established in British academic circles. He taught and strongly influenced the next two owners. Alexander Sutherland (1852-1902) was a poet and philosopher who was perhaps best known as a journalist and schoolmaster. In 1904 it passed to his close friend HB Higgins. Henry Bournes Higgins (1851-1929) was a lawyer, a radical politician and one of the most controversial jurists in Australian history. He remains best known for his famous "Harvester Judgement" which conceived the concept of the basic wage and as a founder of the arbitration system. Edward Latrobe Bateman (1815?-1897), who was a distant relative of CJ Latrobe, emigrated in 1852 as a gold digger. In Victoria he worked as an illustrator, draughtsman, architectural decorator and landscape designer. He worked with Reed and Barnes who were Melbourne's leading architects.

The authorship of Heronswood's design is not clear. Joseph Reed may have been involved as with the similar house, "Barragunda" at Cape Schanck which Bateman designed for his friends, the Howitt family in 1866. There are also similarities with "Kolor" at Penshurst in the western district which Reed and Barnes designed for Joseph Twomey in 1868. The design of Kolor is more coherent which suggests the master's hand. Bateman designed the garden at nearby Chatsworth house in 1867 for John Moffat. All these houses form an important expression of the picturesque movement in Victoria. They parallel the work of the Geelong architects A Davidson and G Henderson and follow the theories of the famous French architect and conservator Viollet-le-Duc. The garden of Heronswood laid out by Bateman is also significant, although it is now reduced by subdivision. The original orchard remains on adjacent land.

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    • History

      HERONSWOOD - History

      Associated People: Edward Latrobe Bateman; Reed & Barnes;

      Permit Exemptions

      HERONSWOOD - Permit Exemptions

      General Exemptions:

      General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

      Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

      Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

      Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

      Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

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