Oberwyl (Extant) 35 Burnett Street

1856 Henry ‘Money’ Miller, MLC (1809-88), financier and opportunist (who died leaving an estate of over £1.6 million) is said to have advanced £4,000 to merchant John Gomez De Silva to finance construction of de Silva's house Etloe Hall- an amount so fabulous that the house is said to have been known as De Silva’s Folly.  De Silva was a Portuguese merchant and importer who lived in Melbourne from 1851-59, the initial prosperous years of the Gold Rush and of Separation of Victoria from the colony of New South Wales. Even in this brief time, his business is said to have failed twice, leaving Etloe Hall undecorated. 1859 de Silva had suffered sufficiently in business to have escaped from the colony and the house was resumed by Bank of Victoria. The building commenced in July 1856 and was required to be sold in 1857.

1857 March the Argus reported the auction of De Silva’s newly erected 17-roomed house.

1858 Etloe Hall was purchased from the bank? by John Mackenzie, who retained it for almost twenty years.

1861 Mackenzie added the ballroom, to the north-west corner, near Barkly Street.

For a period of 3 years from 1874 to 1877 prior to MacKenzie's death in 1977 it was leased to the Archibald Johnson and his family.

1877 purchased by Madame Pfund.

1878 Madame Pfund  started her own school there calling it 'Oberwyl'. Madame Pfund  (nee Elise Tschaggeny) was married to James Pfund, architect, while in Germany. On their arrival James Pfund became the  Surveyor General to the colony. They  lived at Fassifern diagonally opposite Oberwyl in Barkly Street. She was already a school mistress and in 1877 is identified as a teacher at the school listed in as being  owned by the Congregational Church on the south side of Alma Road near Barkly Street; also  very close to Fassifern. Madame Pfund has been made famous by the painting of her by the great Australian painter.Tom Roberts. Her portrait is considered one of his finest and was purchased by the National Gallery of Victoria in 1948.

1885  purchased by sisters Berthe Mouchette and sister Marie Lion who continued ro run it as 'Oberwyl Ladies College".

1692 Oberwyl and college sold to Miss Lucy Jones. 

!898-1910 sold to Miss Garton and Henderson (nee Goldstein) who continued to run it as a school (they had previously owned the school Kalmna in Acland Street).

1910-1996 Various members of the Garton family continued living there inciuding initially Miss Garton with her 5 sisters and great nephew John Arrowsmith Bromley who continued to live there.

1996 brought by Michael and Marion Webster and was 'brilliantly restored into a spacious family home'.

It continues as a well maintained private home, A recent article about the current owner's work to maintain and enhance it is in Issue 228 Newsletter.