Historic Duncan House, Castlecrag, sold

Historic Duncan House, Castlecrag, sold
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

Historic Duncan House, which is quintessential Castlecrag, has been sold.

It was the last house in the suburb designed by architect Walter Burley Griffin when built in 1934 for Frank and Anice Duncan.

It features a distinctive facade of sandstone and knitlock concrete blocks. 

It has only had the three owners selling first in 1989 at $430,000.

The late Dick Crebbin, who was chairman of the Marrickville Holdings margarine manufacturing company, and his wife Joan purchased it in 1997 for $1,075,000, having sold their nearby Penhallows estate.

Heidi King, of LJ Hooker Castlecrag had the offering listed for recent auctions with expectations around $3 million.

King said it was the vision of the original Castlecrag where closeness to the garden and nature were integral elements of housing design.

"A rare opportunity to secure one of the 14 Burley Griffin designed homes," she said of the waterfront reserve home which has an 1989 addition at the front of the four bedroom house.

The Duncan's inspired the formation of the Walter Burley Griffin Society.

This article first appeared in the Sunday Telegraph.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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