Description

A great yellow house standingat the threshold of VictoriaPark, Beaconsfield is a local landmark.By Island standards, it is amansion, the elegant symmetry ofits facade disguising its considerablebulk. It was built at a timewhen people delighted in givingtheir houses impressive names:Westbourne, Edgewater, Watermere,Ravenwood. Contemporariesdescribed it as the most luxuriousprivate residence of its day.At first glance, perhaps themost curious thing about thehouse is the direction it faces.Unlike its neighbours, Beaconsfieldfronts the harbour, the longnarrow lawn sloping down fromthe verandah to where the shorelinebends in to catch the outflowfrom Government Pond. In termsof Beaconsfield's origins, positionis everything. The original ownerbuilt his house — and his life —around the shipping that oncecrowded the harbour basin.