Extract from ABC News
Labassa today sits out of view in a quiet cul-de-sac. (Compass: Danielle Bonica)
At the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in Caulfield North stands a luscious secret waiting to be discovered, a hidden monument to Melbourne's history.
The majestic mansion, Labassa, holds the memories of hundreds of people who once called it home.
Following the devastation of WWII, approximately 25,000 Jewish refugees arrived in Australia, desperate for a safe, secure place to rebuild their lives.
Among them, some 9,000 Jewish refugees landed in Melbourne, where the splendid building at the end of the cul-de-sac became home to the fortunate few who inhabited the top floor.
For Rachel Apfelbaum, who lived in the mansion as a child, returning to her former home, Labassa, rekindled the memories of her time there.
"It's hard to fathom that we actually lived in this magnificent place," she said.
"I can't believe I'm back here after 70 odd years. Wow, wow, wow."
Origins and high society
In 1887, millionaire Alexander Robertson bought a modest home with a desire to create "the most magnificent house in Melbourne" and indeed it did become a centrepiece of Melbourne's high society.
Labassa, then Ontario, became a lavishly designed 35-room mansion, surrounded by 6 hectares of manicured gardens featuring tennis courts, stables and a conservatory. It was an elegant estate ready to welcome guests of the most noble variety.
Labassa is a historic mansion located in North Caulfield, Melbourne. (Supplied: National Trust)
In 1904 Ontario was bought by the son of gold mining millionaire John Boyd Watson II, and though he renamed the mansion Labassa, the flair and extravagance of high society flowed on with grand dinner parties and elite social gatherings.
Shortly after Watson II's death in 1911, Labassa was subdivided and by the mid-1930s the mansion contained at least 10 flats.
It was at this time caretakers James and Emily Brearley were employed.
Emily took care of the delicate furnishings as thoughtfully as she did the people who lived there. She spent 43 years at Labassa, and her name, when spoken, continues to bring a smile to the faces of those who remember her.
Louise Lovely, a silent film star, lived in Labassa during the 1920s and 1930s. (Supplied: National Library of Australia)
Even after the mansion had been converted to flats, its grand drawing and dining rooms were preserved, continuing to provide a background for extravagant parties.
The mansion's staircase, intricate marblework and ornate ceilings also continued to attract a glamorous crowd of tenants.
Socialites, war heroes and movie stars, including Louise Lovely, also known as Nellie Cowen, a star of the silver screen, all called Labassa home.
Transition to a home for Jewish refugees
Between 1945 and 1961 approximately 25,000 Jewish refugees migrated to Australia after the war, and the entire first floor of Labassa was converted to flats to provide safe homes.
Rachel remembers sliding down the banner with her cousin as a child.
"I still remember everything, beautiful leadlight windows, my favourite banister … I'm so excited to be back."
The stairway banisters Rachel Apfelbaum and Susan Gruner would ride down. (Compass: Danielle Bonica)
Rachel returned to Labassa in 2025 after 70 years. She first came as a child with her family after the war.
"I remember this beautiful big room and the window," said Rachel as she wandered through the old mansion.
"When I first saw Labassa, I got a shock," Rachel's mother Helen recalled.
Helen and Rachel Apfelbaum return to Labassa with Vicki Shuttleworth. (Compass: Danielle Bonica)
"That they built such a beautiful home … one of the ladies said to me, 'Touch the walls, you'll see, practically like gold.'
"And we did. It was beautiful."
The hallway was partitioned to make flats to welcome Jewish refugees after World War II. (Compass: Danielle Bonica)
Many families arrived with nothing after surviving the Holocaust.
With just a mattress on the floor and no hot water, Helen still felt she was going "from hell … back to life".
"We had one big room. No furniture. Just a mattress. But it was beautiful … we came from nothing," she said.
Helen, now nearly 100 years old, can no longer climb the magnificent staircase to her old number-four flat, "So I am going to see it for her," Rachel said.
The staircase and the wallpaper show the grandeur of Labassa. (Compass: Danielle Bonica)
Rachel wanders upstairs and gently touches the doorway.
"This is the indentation of a mezuzah, which my father would have put up," she said.
A mezuzah is a small decorative case holding a scroll inscribed with Torah verses, affixed to the front door as a sign of faith.
"Wow, it's still there after all these years," Rachel said.
The mark left on the doorway from the mezuzah from the Apfelbaum family. (Compass: Danielle Bonica)
Rachel fondly remembers Mrs Brearley, the legendary caretaker of the mansion.
"I can still see her. She always wore an apron.
"I can't remember if she had a stick or a strap but there was always something that she would tap."
Mrs Brearley is remembered as an abiding presence and a keeper of secrets as the flats filled with sounds of children running and playing.
Susan Gruner came to Labassa in 1957 with her family when she was 11 years old.
Susan Gruner revisits Labassa. (Compass: Tracey Spring)
As she retraced the steps to her old flat memories come flooding back.
"I made friends really easily. Everybody was just lovely," Susan said.
"Nobody asked me, 'What's your religion?' They just said, 'Can you play skippy?'"
Some of Susan's childhood secrets remain hidden in the mansion.
"We used to look for hidden treasure. At the time I didn't realise it was the whole house that was the treasure."
The Gruners arrived from Hungary in 1957. (Compass)
Over time the residents saved small deposits to purchase their own homes in the area, forming the "little bagel" area of Melbourne.
Labassa was ready for the next wave of residents.
Labassa's bohemian epoque
Melbourne became a hub for the counterculture movement in the 60s and 70s.
University crowds, beatniks, hippies, rockers, poets, musicians and artists were drawn to the soul of the mansion.
The bohemians who took over iconic Melbourne mansion Labassa. (Compass)
Performer Jane Clifton, widely recognised for her iconic role as Margo Gaffney in the TV series Prisoner, was a resident at the mansion in the early 70s.
"There used to be magnificent parties here," she said.
Jane Clifton lived at the mansion in the early 1970s. (Compass: Danielle Bonica)
"The Doors would be playing and strobe lights going, with people in crushed velvet dancing."
Jane lived in the former servants quarters and recalled: "Many of the people who came to Labassa were drawn to the house because they appreciated its beauty, its aesthetic."
Jane rehearsed in the grand rooms, sharing her life, shaped by creativity and community.
"It was a time of happiness and hope and freedom," she said.
With no longer any oversight from Mrs Brearley, nor from real estate agents, the atmosphere could get a little rowdy.
"One young man used to ride his motorcycle up the stairwell," said Vicki Shuttleworth, author of Labassa, House of Dreams.
Melbourne was very much "a party town", she said.
Yet this wave of occupants also saw the mansion as a sentient being and looked after it well.
"The hippies … saw it in humanistic terms … some people even saw it as living breathing being that was mystical and restless, and other people saw it as a conscious entity, so people related to the house in a very personal way,"Vicki said.
Rescued in the 80s
By 1980, Labassa faced an uncertain future, and the National Trust, wanting to preserve the mansion's significant history, bought it for $282,500.
"It's not just a building, it's a story. The humanity of the house has survived," said Vicki, who created the Labassa Lives project, a collection of more than 700 stories of personal connection to the mansion.
Labassa stands as a time capsule of legacies, a house of dreams for Melbourne's elites, a sanctuary for the Jewish community, and a studio of creative freedom for bohemians.
Its romantic nostalgia fills visitors with curiosity about the architecture, and the memories of those who called it home.
Today, Labassa is cared for by an army of dedicated volunteers and is open to the public.
Peter, a volunteer rings the bell.
The tour begins.
And the stories continue to be told.
Watch From Labassa — If These Walls Could Talk on Compass tonight at 6:30pm on ABC TV or stream now on iview.
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