Address:

140 Aphrasia Street

Suburb:

Newtown, Geelong

Postcode:

3220

Phone:

03 5221 3510

Opening Hours:

Wednesdays and Sunday, 1 pm - 4 pm June to August, 12 noon to 4 pm September to May.

Details:

The Heights was home to three generations of the one Geelong family, from the 1850s to 1975.

The original part of the house, pre–fabricated in Hamburg, Germany, was erected in Newtown in 1854 and is the largest dwelling of its kind in Victoria.

The first owners were Charles and Mary Anne Ibbotson. Charles migrated from England via Sydney in 1831 and was a business partner of well known identity Federick Dalgety, and Mayor of the local Borough of Newtown and Chilwell from 1866 to 1869. He passed away in 1883, and his wife the previous year, and left the property to his daughter Minna who lived at The Heights with her second husband Louis Australia Whyte, a keen sportsman. On a visit to England in 1890, Minna gave birth to her only child, Louis Melville Whyte.

Louis was educated at Geelong College and, like his father, was a keen sportsman, being one of the first surfers in Victoria in the 1920s.

His other passion was collecting and driving motor cars. The last of his collection, a 1957 Daimler can be seen in the stables at The Heights.

Minna Whyte died in 1938 and her husband in 1911, leaving Louis to inherit the property.

Louis married Ella Layton Wyett (known as Marnie) of Merchiston Hall, East Geelong, in 1936. Marnie was a keen gardener and her legacy is still evident today in the garden.

In 1938 Louis and Marnie Whyte transformed the 19th century appearance of the house with a modernisation according to the fashion of the day.

The Whytes both died in 1975, and bequeathed the property to the National Trust.

The Heights survives today as an interesting example of a 1930s remodeling of a Victorian-era home with a fine collection of Georgian furniture.

Many of the older outbuildings, including the 1850s bluestone groom’s cottage, the water tower, the extensive stable complex and an unusual dovecote, remain intact.

The garden, which occupies two and a half acres, is one of the oldest private gardens in Geelong, and the Heights remains an important link with Geelong’s early history.

Would you like to join the volunteer team that presents the property to the public? Volunteers are always welcome at all Trust properties. More details.