Tuesday, 7 March 2017

Wolli Creek, Tempe House

Tempe House sits on the southern shore of the Cooks River, in the southern suburb of Wolli Creek. This heritage listed house was designed by John Verge and built in 1836 in the Neo-Classical Georgian architectural style. The estate was owned by merchant Alexander Brodie Spark and named after the 'Vale of Tempe', a beautiful valley in ancient Greek legend set at the foot of Mount Olympus in Greece. The small hill on the eastern side is also known as Mount Olympus and the estate gave its name to the suburb of Tempe, on the northern shore of Cooks River. In 1863, philanthropist Caroline Chisholm ran an educational establishment for young ladies in Tempe House. From 1887, along with the nearby St Magdalen's Chapel, it was part of The Retreat, a charitable refuge for women known run by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.

14 comments:

  1. As always, a beautiful capture of Melbourne! Keeping fingers crossed to submit this comment:) Oh, a kind reminder to link up to ALL SEASONS this week before Wednesday night - thank you!

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  2. yes it does look very greek, I can see why it was named vale of tempe.

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  3. Great post about history of the building and wonderful photo to go with it ~ thanks

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  4. A beautifully designed house, well used over the decades.

    I love the idea of being able to name the suburb. I would call my suburb Rudyville, after the gorgeous black labrador :) Nothing classical about that name, I realise.

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  5. Thank you Jim! Also commented on your other share this week. Have a lovely week!

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    1. Thanks, Jesh. Great to see you are able to post comments again.

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  6. So serene...I need some serene about now.
    Thanks, Jim.
    Kay
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  7. That's beautiful, with the pillars. Wonderful architecture.

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