Mona Vale is a large heritage listed 1860s country house in

Ross Ross may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ross (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan Places Antarctica * Ross Sea ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. Completed in 1867, it is well known locally as the "

Calendar House A calendar house is a house that symbolically contains architectural elements in quantities that represent the respective numbers of days in a year, weeks in a year, months in a year and days in a week. For example, Avon Tyrrell, Avon Tyrrell Hou ...

", for its reportedly 365 windows, 52 rooms, 12 chimneys and seven entrances. The property is on the Tasmanian Heritage Register and the Register of the National Estate (since 1978).

Etymology

The origin of the name of Mona Vale is disputed. Jupp, J lists it as named after Castle Mona, a historic home of the

Duke of Atholl Duke of Atholl, named after Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray. It was created by Queen Anne in 1703 for John Murray, 2nd Marquess of Atholl, with a special remainder to the heir male ...

and presently a hotel. Bennet, A states that the name is derived from Monaeoda, the Latin name for the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

History

Mona Vale was built by

Robert Kermode Robert Quayle Kermode (1812 – 4 May 1870) was a British politician. He was a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council and the Tasmanian House of Assembly in the 1850s and 1860s. In 1852 Godfrey Mundy claimed Kermode to be the richest Ma ...

and designed by William Archer, his brother-in-law. At the time of its completion, it became the largest private house in Australia. It has received multiple royal visits over its lifetime. In 1868,

Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh Alfred (Alfred Ernest Albert; 6 August 184430 July 1900) was sovereign Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 22 August 1893 until his death in 1900. He was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He was known as the Duk ...

visited, and later the then Duke of York (future King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

) and the Duchess of York visited in 1927, with then Princess Elizabeth (

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

). It was purchased by the Cameron family in the 1920s. The estate was also the site of a military training ground, and the camp of a light horse regiment during WWII.

External links

Trove collection of pictures and paintings of Mona Vale

References

{{coord , -42.09251 , 147.50262, type:landmark_region:AU-TAS, display=title 1867 establishments in Australia Tasmanian Heritage Register Houses in Tasmania Italianate architecture in Australia