By Cathy Jones
The land bounded by Ardittos Lane to the north, Elva Street to the east, Redmyre Road to the south and Homebush Road to the west was purchased by Robert Joshua King and Mary Ann Balmain, wife of surveyor and Strathfield Council Town Clerk John Hope Balmain, in 1903. Prior to this time, it was largely considered unusable due to the presence of a watercourse and creek (which is now a Sydney Water closed stormwater conduit). King and Balmain subdivided the two allotments into 66 feet wide blocks fronting Redmyre Road and The Avenue (later Churchill Avenue), a new street to link Elva Street and Homebush Road. The land was auctioned as the ‘King Estate’.
The land was gradually taken up with the last allotments sold in 1914. Many of the sales did not correspond with the original subdivisions, a number of purchasers preferring narrower frontages. A convenant was placed on most sales requiring ‘one main building only on the said land and such building shall be a double fronted…and be built of brick and/stone with roof of slates and/or tiles and shall not cost less than £300”.
21 to 67 Redmyre Road are built on the ‘King Estate’.
33 Redmyre Road is built on part Lots 56 and 57. These lots were sold in 1911 by King and Balmain to civil servant, William Edward Burke and his wife Florence. In June 1911, Strathfield Council approved construction of a brick cottage for W Burke. It is assumed this approval relates to this house.
After completion, the house was sold to Angelo Ramacotti, a business manager, in August 1912. The house appears in the 1913 Sands Directory occupied by Mrs C Ramacciotti and named ‘Boncie’;
Ramacotti sold the house in February 1914 to James Stewart, a merchant.
In February 1920, the house was sold to Charles Edward Maltby, a bank manager. The Maltby family continued to own the house until 1949 when it was sold to Alan William Palmer, a clerk. From 1971 to 1977, the house was owned by Eric Hetreles, a company director.
References
Department of the Valuer General NSW – Valuation List – Valuation District of Strathfield 1924, 1930 and 1960
Fox & Associates, Strathfield Heritage Study, 1986
Sands Directory for Sydney and Suburbs 1900-1932
Strathfield Council Valuation Lists 1894 to 1920
Strathfield Council Notices of Land Transfer (1927-1960s)
