Bids Stop At $1.55m
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday November 3, 2004
THE 19th-century Kiama home built by former NSW premier George Fuller as a wedding gift for his daughter was passed in at auction on Sunday.
The heritage-listed Shoalhaven St property, Dalmeny, was passed in at $1.55 million but negotiations were continuing with at least two prospective buyers.Bevans Kiama director Marnie Beauchamp said the house, which was listed on the National Trust register, had attracted several inquiries from the Illawarra, Sydney and interstate. Dalmeny was built in 1895 by the prominent owner of Dunmore House when his daughter Emily Fuller married Dr Thomas Primrose Anderson. No expense was spared on the five-bedroom Victorian home which boasted six marble fireplaces, recessed French doors, elaborate chandeliers and a sweeping timber staircase. It had facilities for a surgery and waiting rooms but the couple lived there only three years before Dr Anderson died at the age of 28.Several doctors subsequently practised from the house until the Country Women's Association bought the building in 1951. The house was converted into a baby health centre and three holiday flats for the association's country members. The CWA sold the house in 1967 and it was converted back into a single residence in the early 1980s.More recently, the home was operated as a five-star boutique hotel.Ms Beauchamp said the property was one of the most recognised houses in Kiama. "It is certainly one of those homes everyone in Kiama knows. The previous owners spent a lot of time promoting the property in travel magazines," she said.The house has been used as a private residence since it was last sold almost four years ago. However, Ms Beauchamp said its zoning allowed for a range of uses including professional offices."Many of the original features are intact including the six marble fireplaces, floorboards, the disused servant stairwell, chandeliers and cast-iron balustrades," she said.The house also has approval from Kiama Municipal Council for a substantial new wing which was designed by heritage architects in Sydney.
© 2004 Illawarra Mercury