The Glebe Society was very fortunate to have been shown two photos of Strathmore [1] (once the home of George Wigram Allen). They seem to be the only existing photographic records of Strathmore as a two-storey building.

The 1871 photos were given to the Society by an old friend of ours, Ruth Edenborough. Ruth was married to David Allen, the last of the Allen family to be a partner in Allen Allen & Hemsley. He died recently in his nineties.

Strathmore was located on a five-acre estate sloping down from Glebe Rd to the waters of Blackwattle Bay, directly opposite George Allen’s Toxteth Park to the south.

Real Estate flier advertising the Strathmore Estate for sale in 1894. (Source: NLA)

As outlined in Lyn Collingwood’s 2014 ‘Who Lived in Your Street’, Blackwattle Bay’s Strathmore was built in 1857 for businessman and politician Alexander McArthur and was occupied by George Wigram Allen and his family by November 1869.

After a chequered career, Strathmore finally succumbed to the demolisher’s hammer to be replaced in the 1960s by featureless flats.

Given the significance of these photos, the Society has passed them on to the State Library of NSW for preservation and so they can be shared with the wider community.

[1] Not to be confused with the Strathmore that still stands on the corner of Bridge Rd and Ross St.

Strathmore: frontage overlooking Blackwattle Bay, 1871 (image provided to the Glebe Society by Ruth Edenborough) (with colours digitally enhanced)
Strathmore’s frontage to Glebe Rd, 1871 (image provided to the Glebe Society by Ruth Edenborough) (with enhanced digitally colours)
Strathmore facing Blackwattle Bay, during its occupancy by the Garran family; a third storey has been added. (image: Sir Robert Garran, Prosper the Commonwealth, 1958)
Strathmore facing Glebe Point Rd in 1937, with third storey (Source: unknown)