Townshend Homes Pty. Ltd.
Formerly | Thomas Townshend & Co. |
|---|---|
| Real estate | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Founded 📆 | 18 August 1954 |
| Founder 👔 | |
| Defunct | 2024 |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| Subsidiaries | Bundoora Industrial Park P/L Canterbury Hills P/L Fendall Farms P/L Nth Sunbury Dev. P/L Townshend & Grant P/L Townshend Contract Builders Victory Views P/L |
| 🌐 Website | [Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). ] |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Townshend Homes was a family-owned real estate and construction group based in Melbourne, Australia. The firm built thousands of houses across Victoria and was among Melbourne's top-competing display home operators of the 1970s and 80s.
Corporate history
Formation and early years (1951–1966)
In 1951, Melbourne auctioneer Vernon Townshend founded a real estate business at Ivanhoe. It began in the early stages of city's post-war boom, which saw its population and economy more than double. His brother, Mervyn Townshend, joined the agency in 1954. The firm experienced steady growth, catering to Melbourne's fast-growing northern suburbs.
After a few years of initial success, they began building homes and packaging them with land to sell. This started as a side activity but soon became the company's primary profit maker.[1]
Diversification and relocation (1966–1968)
In 1966, the directors moved to severe the firm's auctioneering and estate agent activities, shifting full attention on property development. The name Townshend Homes was adopted to reflect this change. The company began also building apartment blocks, factories and offices, which were either resold or retained as a means of permanent investment.
During this period, the directors began searching for sites to develop a long-term company headquarters. They eventually settled on an overgrown farm in western Vermont, which fronted the busy Canterbury Road. A modern low-rise headquarters with purpose-built facilities opened here in March 1970, formalising the company's shift to Melbourne's outer-eastern suburbs.[2]
Later years (1994–2024)
Operations began to slow down after Mervn Townshend died in 1997. The company continued operations until 2024, citing that they were "no longer trading in the building industry."[3][4]
Developments
Townshend and it's affiliate companies invested heavily into large-scale residential subdivisions. The Rawdon Hill Estate off Gladstone Road in Dandenong North, comprised 263 lots, was among the company's first and was developed between 1973–75. Townshend began developing a large landholding at Gisborne on the bank of Jacksons Creek in the mid-1970s. The first release of land occurred around 1974, consisting of 50 ten-acre sites in and around Panorama Drive – designated as the Emmeline Vale Estate.[5] More lots were offered as demand increased, and a large part of the development was called the "Jacksons Creek Estate[6]".[7] One of, if not their largest developments was the "Canterbury Hills" estate at Sunbury. Land sales began in 2001 and continued until 2023 when the remaining lots were divested. Development here was controversial, as it allegedly destroyed sacred aboriginal heritage sites.[8]
Townhouse developments or "cluster housing" formed a large part of the company's operations in the 1970s. Notable examples include the beachfront Banksia Close complex at 595 Nepean Highway in Bonbeach (1975) and Carcoola Place off Rattray Road in Montmorency (1977).[9] The latter came first place in the HIA's House 77 Contest.[10] A complex of six single-storey townhouses at 16 Thomas Street, Ringwood also received two HIA awards in 1977.[11] Other identified cluster developments by Townshend include Wirreanda Close off Yarbat Avenue in Balwyn North (built c. 1977, reached The Age-MBA New Home Award finals),[12] eight townhouses at 25 Barnesbury Road in Deepdene (auctioned 1971), Acacia Terrace comprising seven beachfront townhouses at 202 Nepean Highway in Aspendale (1975) and eight townhouses at 20 Kireep Road in Balwyn (1978).[13][9][14]
Residential design
Townshend Homes were among the first in a wave of Melbourne builders to offer homes designed in Spanish/Mediterranean themes, a trend which remained popular well into the following decade. The style, which had been pioneered locally by the Inge Bros, was characterised by a mix of traditional Spanish visual charm with modernist suburban functionality. Townshend debuted their Spanish-influenced "President" display home in 1968, which had a unique white-painted brick facade and rustic timber accents.
List of prominent home designs offered by Townshend Homes
| Debuted | Name | Styles/themes | Displayed at | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Valour | Multi-fronted brick veneer | 268 Highbury Road, Mount Waverley | [15] |
| 1968 | President Mk. I | Mid-century modern, Spanish Revival | High Street Road, Ashwood | [16] |
| 1970 | Kingswood | Post-war modernist | 165 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley | [17] |
| 1970 | Oxley | Mid-century modern | 167 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley | [17] |
| 1981 | Homesteader Mk. I | Australian Nostalgic | Sheedy Road, Gisborne | |
| 1982 | Homesteader Mk. II | Australian Nostalgic | 65A Smiths Road, Templestowe | [18] |
| 1981 | Pioneer | Australian Nostalgic | 209 Sheedy Road, Gisborne | |
| 1973 | Woodleigh | Mediterranean, Split Level | 511 Springvale Road, Vermont South | [19] |
| 1984 | Claremont | Australian Nostalgic | 22 Jenkins Drive, Templestowe | [18] |
| 1984 | Woodforde | Modernist, conventional | 24 Jenkins Drive, Templestowe | [18] |
| 1984 | Homesteader 2-S | Australian Nostalgic, Colonial | 65 Smiths Road, Templestowe | |
| 1983 | New Pioneer | Australian Nostalgic | Gisborne, Vermont South, Doncaster East | |
| 1984 | Flinders Homestead | Australian Nostalgic | ||
| 1988 | New Homesteader | Australian Nostalgic |
- The "Homesteader Mk. III " at 65A Smiths Road, Templestowe (displayed between 1982–84)
- The "New Pioneer" floor plan was unveiled in June 1983 and was perhaps the company's most successful design. It was displayed at 333 Serpells Road in Doncaster East, 60-62 Livingstone Road in Vermont South and on the Calder Highway (city side) in Gisborne.[18]
- Three-home display village at Springvale Road, Vermont South including the "Woodleigh" at no. 511 (debuted early 1973)
- Seven-home display village at Springvale Road, Glen Waverley including the "Kingswood" at no. 165 and the "Oxley" at no. 167 (debuted 1970)
Key developments
Townhouses
| Constructed | Name | Intended use | Adress | Specifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | – | Leasehold apartments | 9 Cooma Street, Preston | 3 floors; 31 units | [20] |
| 1970 | – | Corporate headquarters | 395 Canterbury Road, Vermont South | 2 floors, | |
| 1970 | – | Townhouses | 27 Thomas Street, Camberwell | 8 units | |
| 1970 | – | Townhouses | 17 Hazel Street, Camberwell | 4 units | |
| 1975 | Acacia Terrace | Townhouses | 202 Nepean Highway, Aspendale | ||
| 1975 | Park View Court | Townhouses | 101 Albion Road, Box Hill | ||
| 1975 | Ridge View | Townhouses | Cnr. Ridgeay & Latham Streets, Ivanhoe | ||
| 1975? | Banksia Close | Townhouses | 595 Nepean Highway, Bonbeach |
References
- ↑ "About us". www.townshend.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Townshend Homes Australia P/L – Female clerks, Vermont area". The Age. 28 February 1970. p. 56.
- ↑ "Townshend Homes is no longer trading in the building industry". www.townshend.com.au.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240214122409/https://www.townshend.com.au/
- ↑ "Gisborne – housing on 10 acres". The Age. 13 December 1975. p. 52.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20060820004824/http://www.townshend.com.au/secure/downloadfile.asp?fileid=1001299
- ↑ "Townshend Homes (Austtralia) Pty Ltd v Macedon Ranges SC (VCAT 1177)". www8.austlii.edu.au. Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. 2 July 2007.
- ↑ "Sunbury - Canterbury Hills Development and Woodburne Hills on the NW outskirts of Melbourne". Bad Developers.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "A beachfront prizewinner". The Age. 16 October 1975. p. 8. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ "Luxury villas among mature trees". The Age. 3 February 1978. p. 11. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ "Ringwood Townhouses have winning ways". The Age. 7 October 1977. p. 23. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
- ↑ "House and unit in competition". The Age. 4 August 1978. p. 13.
- ↑ Davie, Ray (30 October 1971). "Eight units in Balwyn". The Age. p. 29.
- ↑ "Balwyn townhouses with space & style". The Age. 10 February 1978. p. 20.
- ↑ "Superb family home". The Age. 16 November 1966. p. 30 – via State Library Victoria.
- ↑ Graham, Burton (22 November 1968). "A touch of Spain". The Age. p. 19 – via State Library Victoria.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Dingle, Rob (11 December 1970). "Here's a house with lots of elbow room". The Age. p. 18.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 "No two are the same!". The Age. 30 March 1985. p. 16.
- ↑ Dingle, Rob (10 March 1973). "Designed for split-level comfort". The Age. p. 46.
- ↑ O'donell, I. (7 December 1969). "Tenders, Painters". The Age (State Library Victoria ed.). p. 63.
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