Barham Eildon (Extant) 51 Grey Street

In 1850 Edward Bernard Green (1809-1861) a successful land speculator, built Barham, a magnificent residence bult in the regency style to the design of architect John Gill. This magnificent house was set in landscaped grounds of nine acres and included an ancient Swiss cottage. In James Sinclair’s 'Beauties of Victoria' the property was described as being 'one of the finest seats in the colony’.

E Green was a prominent Melbourne city land owner and Honorary Secretary to the Melbourne Hospital. When Green died in 1861, his executor was his neighbour, William Nicholson (1816-65) who owned Fernleigh immediately to the north in Grey Street, but actually lived in Barnham during his time as Premier of Victoria 1859 - 1860 until his death in 1865.

In 1866 Richard Twentyman purchased Fernleigh from the Nicholson Estate and a year later he married Nichalson's widow, Sarah. Both remained at Barham House until June 1870. 

By August 1869  the Green Estate had been sold to John L Currie subject to the Twentyman tenancy. During this time the Twentyman's proceeded to commission Charles Webb (1821-98), to remodel and extend Fernleigh into a twenty  room mansion renaming it Mittagong. The Twentymans lived at Mittagong for a decade until Richard’s death in 1880. 

By 1971 following the completion of the remodelling of Barham for John Currie, he also moved into his extensive home now called Eildon. In 1898 Currie died at Eildon. He left an estate of almost £500,000 to his wife Louise and his eight children. His sons John Lang and Charles Sibbald took over Larra. Mrs L. Currie continued to live at Eildon into the twentieth century and in the 1930 it became a guesthouse. Currie's extensive library of Australiana is now in the the SLV..