This article is from the Herald, Melbourne, Thursday 8 August 1912, page 3.
Retrieved from Trove
OLD ST. KILDA MANSIONS DEMOLISHED.
Two interesting relics of old St. Kilda have recently been demolished to make way for modern requirements.
One is a property in Robe Street which 50 years ago was occupied by Dr Patterson.
It comprised a well - grown old fruit garden with trees which still return famous yields, and a quaint and rambling house built of sheet iron.
Mr J. Whelan, who demolished the building for the present owner, Mr J. Barnett, found that it was spread irregularly over a space measuring 60ft x 120ft. The method of construction strongly conveyed the impression that the place was put together by a ship's carpenter, for the ground-floor rooms and attics were pieced together with the compactness observable on old sailing ships.
The forms of the rooms and gables suggested ships' cabins. The intrinsic portions of the buildings were of sheet iron, which had evidently been imported in sections and pieced together on a preconcerted plan. Apertures were pierced in the iron for windows and doors, and the inside was partially lined with timber wainscoting.
The other property, which also belongs to Mr Barnett, comprises three acres with a frontage to Tennyson street. The land is to be subdivided, and a street has been made through the centre of it, which work necessitated the entire demolition of one of the oldest and most spacious mansions in St. Kilda.
The property originally belonged to the Baird family, well known in the early days as pastoralists. The original lease was made out in the name of Miss Mary Baird. A daughter of Mr Baird married Mr A. W. Clark, a well-known member of the Melbourne Stock Exchange. The mansion contained 21 rooms, and the interior was most beautifully decorated..
