Bidura
357 Glebe Point Road
1858 – 60. Architect Edmund Blacket. Classified by The National Trust
This handsome villa was the home of Edmund Blacket while he was designing the Great Hall of the University of Sydney. The walls are of handmade bricks, rendered to gve the appearance of stone coursing. It has an attached single-storey verandah of decorative cast iron.
NSW State Records show that the NSW Government purchased the property in about 1920, "to be used as a depot for State Children. By 1939 Bidura housed boys up to 6 yrs of age and girls up to 18 yrs, with an attached school operated by a governess. Bidura operated as a receiving home where children were temporarily accommodated awaiting placement in foster homes or awaiting transfer to other establishments." It ceased functioning as a children's home in February 1977, when it was planned to build the Metropolitan Remand Centre and Bidura Childrens Court at the rear.
Bidura was restored by NSW Public Works in the 1980s. It has a fine ballroom located seperately to the right of the main building. Bidura House has been occupied since about 2000 by the DoCS Centre for Parenting and Research.
Posted on June 1, 2008 by Peter
April 11th, 2013 at 4:07 pm
There used to be a number of comments on this Bidura page. They were mostly from people who had spent time at Bidura as children. They were very moving contributions, some painful to read and I imagine to painful to write.
This Bidura page was probably one of the only places former residents of the “handsome villa” could find expression.
I would very much like to see the comments reinstated. They were important to the commentators and to an understanding of Glebe and the mansion’s history.
I had always hoped the comments would one day lead to a City of Sydney plaque and a reunion.
April 11th, 2013 at 9:54 pm
You seem to have an out-of-date link to the Bidura page. The correct address is http://glebesociety.org.au/wordpress/?buildings=bidura – and all of the comments are there.
April 12th, 2013 at 5:33 pm
Thank you Admin. The out-of-date page I was using was the one Google pointed me to. Now your reply will point anyone coming in via Google to the right page until Google in its own time works it out. Very pleased with your response and with the way the Heritage Building Bidura page is being used. Thanks again.