Como House

After touring Rippon Lea we headed over to the Como Historic House & Gardens in South Yarra.  Como is one of the earliest mansions in Melbourne and was built in 1847 and is an intriguing mixture of Australian Regency and classic Italianate architecture.

There is a romantic tale that suggests that Edward Erye Williams named Como after Lake Como in Italy after proposing to his wife Jessie Gibbon on the shores of that lake in honor of that occasion.  Both Edward and Jessie were members of the colonial elite and many a gathering was hosted for the social elite while they resided at Como. 

 But by 1852 the estate changed hands several times until in 1864 Charles Armytage bought the estate at auction and he and his wife Caroline proceeded to raise their 10 children there.  Como would remain in the Armytage family until 1959 when it was handed over to the National Trust.

Como

I had a personal tour of the estate, not because of preferential treatment for a 'Yank in Aus' but because I was the only one there at that time!!  Como House was beautiful inside with original furniture and decorations but sadly absolutely no photography was allowed and though I would have tried to sneak a photo or two it was virtually impossible being the only one on the tour.  So I have only a handful of pictures from Como...it was fairly busy there as they were preparing for a wedding on the grounds.  I was going to use some lovely pictures Natalie had taken but I have misplaced them so once I get them again I will add them to the slideshow.  (Please resend them to me Natalie!!)

They also had a lovely little restaurant there where we had lunch...well, I had breakfast.  I particularly like breakfast pretty much any time of the day and on thing is for sure I was never disappointed in any breakfast I ordered while in Australia...yum!!

Now...wherever you are...have a great day!!

If you would like to see pictures of the Como House here is a link to that photo album on Picasa:  Play slideshow