I spent the first night of our honeymoon in this lovely place, with my wonderful wife Debbie. Walking around those beautiful gardens at the time was like a dream. I miss her.
James just think of all the happy memories but don’t forget the sad days either. Think of her smile. Even though it’s a rather grey and wet enjoy your day. 🥰🇦🇺
Victoria has so many unique and beautiful sites. Love seeing gardens like this being preserved and can also be enjoyed by the general public. Hope the building can be preserved and reused too. Tx for sharing
Had my wedding photos 1992 at Alfred Nicholas gardens , right down the bottom , they let us drive down there . Our honeymoon was at Burnham Beeches . And yep we’re still married . They had peacocks roaming the grounds . I think i still have a brochure for when we booked it . It was beautiful.
Wow, you are so lucky to have experienced this amazing building on your honeymoon. Was the interior still all in art deco when you visited it as a hotel?
@@jinasingh-mo2kg 👋 hi yes it did . The stairs had the old railing , there was a beautiful art deco dining room . The windows curved around corners . The wait staff had art deco uniforms and wore white gloves . We were so young so we were overwhelmed a bit . There was an older clientele, but that didn’t worry us at all . I was wearing my wedding dress instead of a going away dress when we walked in , and we got an applause (lol we were both so shy ) You’re right we were lucky , i couldnt think of a better place to stay . The decor was so rich and luxurious. So sad it no longer operates . Thanx for the comment … you made me remember a truly beautiful stay . Oh the menu was amazing ! The meals we received were like art pieces , spatchcock eggs on a spatchcock roulade . Sticky date pudding that had a sugar spun tower on top . Omg I can’t believe I remember that. 💜
If it was used as a medical and veterinary research laboratory, who knows what kind of horrors went on inside that building. It's awful to think about.
Stayed there in 1988 with my husband. Beautiful architecture and gardens. The meals were superb. The staff gave us raw meet to feed the kookaburras out on the balcony each morning. Hope someone gives it life again. It’s such an iconic house.
My husband and I got married here in the gardens down where the boat shed is in 1986……so 38 years ago! (Still married 2024). We were on a tight budget and paid $25.00 to have our wedding there. The wedding party was on one island while the guest stood over the bridge on the other island. There were ducks swimming around us and all the cherry blossom trees were in flower, (October) it was truly the most beautiful setting one could even dream about. Have taken my children there and also my grand children. Very fond memories 🥰
I visited this house as a kid when my father went there to service their refrigeration, and also went onto their two yachts for the same purpose. The Nicholas family fell into disgrace after a charge of importing cocaine. They were the owners of Nicholas Aspirin, a very wealthy family. They had guard dogs on the grounds that had been "de-barked" and they could startle you with their stealthy approach.
@bronwyn6415 very cruel but very sneaky and dangerous to intruders. What's scarier than a guard dog barking to warn you? A silent guard dog appearing out of nowhere., it's too late by the time you notice it.
You may not know that the gate in the rock wall near the waterfall was the entrance to the tunnel he built for his wife that up the hill and into the house. As you meander down the pathways from the house to the lake you may have noticed a few ventilation shafts in a line in the gardens along the length of the tunnel He apparently built the tunnel so his wife didn’t have to get wet if it was raining.
@@elenalizabeth As far as I know the tunnel has never been open to the public and it may not be safe or blocked years ago. The gate is there down the bottom but you can see around the corner. I have tried.
I did know about the tunnel be hind the water fall but I didn't know where it lead to. Thanks for comment.
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I have always loved these gardens I love the Dandenongs. I used to walk around the fence line just like you did and ponder just why this beautiful home is empty. Thank you 🙏❤
Wow! what a great video of what is a beautiful garden, thanks so much, it's inspired me to go and see it one day. Its a shame the Victorian government doesn't buy the mansion and maintain the heritage of it, as it is truly an incredible piece of Australian architecture !
Yehudi Menhuin (famous musician/violinst) and his sister Hepzibah (pianist) , both married into the Nicholas family and stayed at this house for a time.
My husband and I had our honeymoon there in 1985 and it was magnificent. I also knew someone who used to go up there for summer holiday with the Nicholls family and their son. Long time ago.
I visited the Alfred Nicholas Gardens many times and in many different seasons. The walk down to the lake is spectacular and reasonably easy - the walk back up gives you a good workout, Apparently the boathouse on the lake is said to be the most photographed spot on Mt Dandenong. I was also lucky enough to visit the Empire Exhibition by street artist Rone which finally got me into the mansion which I'd only seen through the fence before. Walking through the rooms and experiencing his immersive recreation/vision of a vanished time was dreamlike. Each room was set up as I'd the people who lived there had suddenly left - leaving everything as it was. Rone added the extra touch of making it look as if nature (twigs, webs, leaves) was slowly claiming the mansion. Atmospheric music was especially composed and piped throughout (mostly cello and violin) which made the walkabout a truly mesmerizing, melancholic and unforgettable experience. It is a special place. Thank you for posting this video, Brought back welcome memories.
This was lovely to watch. I was lucky enough to go and see the Rone exhibition. So very well done. To be able to walk around that building evoked many emotions. An experience I will always remember.
I loved this garden. My wife and I visited this property numerous times until 2019, when I suffered a brain aneurism and shortly thereafter a massive heart attack that resulted in a triple by pass. That was the end of my walking. I really miss the Alfred Nichols gardens and mansion, so thanks for sharing your footage with me mate!
I grew up in the Dandenong Ranges. My grandfather was the local doctor. No matter what he did, the police were told not to pull him up. He was a terrible driver, but he was the doc, and he was delivering babies, and he was very fond of the local vagabonds! Anti-war, and a lover of classical music. If you didn't like it then he knew where you stood 😂❤. Elef Jorgensen
Had a couple of meals there when it was running as a restaurant and accommodation in the 80's... Spectacular property and great food. I believe Shannon Bennett of Vue De Monde bought the property in 2010 and sold in 2022 not acting on the investment so the aging and neglect is recent and not of a forgotten gem. Was always known as the Aspro house by anyone who grew up around the Dandenongs. Great to see it again. Thank you.
My fiance and I had a meal there in 1979 to celebrate our engagement... magnificent building such a pity it can't be restored and used as a tourist attraction
we had our honeymoon there in 1984 and a gorgeous dinner..loved the gardens..we had our wedding at Sherbrooke Lodge in the dandenongs so it was natural to spend our honeymoon in style at this beautiful art deco hotel...i wish someone would buy it and restore it and give the building the respect it deserves. Sad about the bad decisions made on behalf of this beautiful corner of Melbourne..
In the mid 1980’s before the company bought it to make it into a hotel we used to go on Sundays and have high tea in the ballroom. Then we organised our end of the year work function. This building is a fabulous 1920 era building. Now that it has the new hotel addition why doesn’t the company who own it sell it so that some one else can buy it and resurrect it. The new building and house can be saved and be made into a beautiful country hotel. I am very upset about this! I wonder who the architect was that designed it in the 1920s. I remember that the company who bought it was a Swiss hotel chain. I would love to go inside one day. Thank you for doing this video. I loved the photos and Mr Nicholas even built an indoor swimming poll in the 1920s! Wow! He also owned the Officeworks hill on the corner of warrigal and waverley roads in Chadstone. I remember it in 1984 when we started living in the area. It was sold and demolished land you have the retail centre now. It had his name Nicholas Aspro on it. What a nice trip down memory lane …thanks Vicki
Harry Norris was the designer, he also designed Mitchell House in Melbourne. The Trenerry Property groups acquired Burnham Beeches from Shannon Bennett. This group recently transformed the Continental Hotel in Sorento, so there is reason to be optimistic that Burnham Beeches will be restored. I worked there when it was a Relais et Chateau property and then had a high tea 21st birthday there, and I babysat the owners kids. So many memories.
I went there as a younger me on a bus trip to see the beautiful gardens,many beautiful Rhododendrons,thank you and so lovely to hear about all the wonderful memories people have of it 🇦🇺
Remarkable, how lavish, far more so than what is visible in our hometown Napier, NZ. Rebuilt Art Deco & Spanish Bungalow after 1931 earthquake … 100 years on, the bones are still good 🙏🏼😇
I took my mum and dad to the restaurant at Burnham beeches mansion for lunch here for their 30th wedding anniversary... We had a sensational lunch meal for 4 for $250. The food was sensational and the atmosphere was lush and decadent creating a memorable event for my dear old mum and dad.... In the mid 80s... Have always been disappointed that the venue did not continue as the gardens and house were very memorable.... From memory it was built and own by the Nicholas aspro foundation who were the inventors of aspirin pain killers.
Absolutely fabulous Alvin. What a masterpiece. Such a waste that it wasn't made better use of. It's hard to believe no-one would want to bring it back up to scratch and live there, it's such a perfect, secluded location. If only I had the money. I guess a lot of the interior is spoiled after it was used for research. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment, Looks like it has been rebought by new owners recently lets see if they will restore the property its very sad now . Alvin.
My early childhood years were in the Dandenongs at Olinda before the family moved to Tasmania when I was 11. I remember the name being spoken of a lot and we sometimes drove past this property, I always used to wonder what it be like to play in the gardens. It's really sad to see the place having fallen into a state of neglect, although I have just read another post here saying the property is apparently up for renovation. It just silently begs to be put to use again, so much could be done here.
Having grown up quite near Slough where Aspro Nicholas was based in the UK, I had always (wrongly) assumed that it was the parent company and that when they built Burnham Beeches in the Dandenongs that they’d named it after the beautiful area of woodland that I was led to believe had originally been a royal hunting ground but now belongs to the City of London. Ironically those types of beech trees, particularly the gorgeous copper beech, don’t grow in Australia. I was fascinated to learn that they’d developed Aspirin in Melbourne before settling up production in the UK.
It is truly a beautiful place and so sad it’s been vacant for so long. My wife stayed there for a couple of nights in 90 or 91 and would definitely go back if the opportunity ever arose
Just to update this. The mansion was purchased by consortium that is rebuilding it as a luxury boutique property. I believe it’s the people who redirected the continental in Sorrento
Thankyou for doing this.. I remember when I used to walk around the beautiful house and gardens in the early 90s, even then I thought why isn't anyone saving this glorious place.. Why the Vic government doesn't step in and make it a museum to The Victorian people for arts and culture is disappointing. I wished then as I do now somebody save this mansion....
We stayed at Burnham Beeches in the late 1970s it was being run by John and Penny Guy it is a beautiful property, we enjoyed our stay and the beautiful food!
The architecture is of the same style as Villa Isola in Indonesia, the residence of the former media tycoon Dominique Berretty designed by Wolff Schoemaker in the early 30's. Isola was also built on the top of a mountain, but a lot larger. It has been donated to a university in Indonesia for its administration office now.
THis was renovated beautifully in the 1980’s when it was called Burnham Beeches. My wife and I stayed there on our first wedding anniversary in 1984. T was magnificent. Sadly it went broke.
It certainly was magnificent. My husband and I got married at the end of 1984 and spent the whole of our short honeymoon there! Our suite was in the original wing of the house and it was very special.
Thanks for this Alvin. I miss my Mt Dandenong home every day (albeit not the winter cold) and your wandering around Burnham Beeches reminds me of what I loved about the area, especially the gardens and bluestone paths. The sound of the birds in the background is beautiful.
This is incredibly sad to see and you just wish you could wave a magic wand and bring it all back to life! Thank you so much for showing us around, truly appreciated.
not forgotten at all. Rone the artist used it -it is owned by a couple, but they are yet to renovate it, supposed to being made back into a guest house.
I found this video mesmerising. It's the first one I have ever seen of your series and work. Congratulations I was totally immersed in every detail that I could see and your commentary was excellent. I had so many many questions and you answered them one by one. I was so astonished to discovered this rare treasure with you. I would loveto see it in person Thank you so much for the work you put into this. I wonder if there are any descendants to the this amazing family. I would love to keep watching your work and have subscribed. Congratulations from Sydney historian.
Thank you for a very interesting video tour. You did an amazing job getting the shots you did. Thank you for sharing the Street Artist paintings, they were breath-taking and look amazing in this setting.
This house is probably the inspiration for the one built in Bendigo in 1936 at 17 Eaglehawk Rd, for Clark Jeffrey, a butcher, who was also once Mayor of Bendigo. It's a bit smaller, still 4 bedrooms, 3 toilets, and in the rounded roof at the front was a swimming pool.
Absolutely exquisite. I just want to live in this sort of rainforest I'm not a fan of the Australian bush mostly certainly the not the dry dead summer sort of outback bush but I could live here forever ❤️
I live near here and looked at it in the early nineties as a venue for a gathering. I remember walking through the restaurant which was all art deco, and it was breath taking. Then it was closed for years, then bought by some stupid chef who opened a very crazy cafe on the land which is so overpriced. And again, the building lays fallow. Just shameful. It should be opened at a restaurant again and accommodation or some community centre so everyone can enjoy this magnificent property. It should be used in the spirit of Apso who built it and gave half away for the Nicholas Gardens next door. Not everything should be about the bottom line. Just a waste it is sitting there unused when people need shelter, and assistance.
There is also another house hidden on the property. Also in the Deco style and it was the Nicholas family home. Complete with large indoor pool and squash courts. It is now occupied by a musician and the squash court is a recording studio now available for rent for recording or production rehearsals.
Theres a beautiful old house in Coburg, the Grange , well worth the look of an old traditional dairy which would have been originally on the outskirts of melbourne , under heritage ..xx enjoy
That is a kind and lovely thought but I think this place needs some joy put back into it. Not sickness and sadness. It would have to cost a fortune for sick people to stay there as well I would think...
Coincidentally I just happened to be walking around the gardens on one of the days when the Rone exhibit was on, I managed to sneak inside and have a bit of a wonder around inside, fantastic building
I use to dine here in the 80's was a sublime restaurant. Since 91 it has been owned by a few investment groups, the latest is they are trying to sub-divide the mansion of which would be a total debacle, i truly wish it will never happen.
Such a pity that in Australia buildings like this that form part of our history are just let go to rack and ruin. Europe is a lot older, but at least they preserve their history! Someone Government or whoever should do something with this beautiful building and preserve it and the surrounding park!
Beautiful house & gardens what a waste very sad. But thank you for showing this place. The birds sounds were wonderful.Should be made into a wedding reception slash accommodation what do you think. 😀
