Clive James' former Kogarah home now a palace

The Kogarah neighbours recall the limousine dropping off Clive James whenever he visited the home of his late mother Minora.

The Kid from Kogarah’s father, machinist Albert, bought the building block for £199 in 1938, with a £810 mortgage from the Rural Bank.

In those days the street was mostly market gardens.

Albert died in 1945 with the home (below) retained until 2003 by his widow whose executors secured $582,000 after her death.

The red-brick cottage (pictured below) was replaced by a cookie-cutter contemporary two-storey mansion in 2016 (pictured above).

Its demolition met with no uprising from Bayside Council in connection to heritage considerations. It sold at $2,175,000 two years ago.

Thongs were strewn at its front door yesterday, though they were not part of any social media hashtag homage following his death last Sunday.

There were no floral wreaths out front, either. James was, it seems, not quite the people’s poet. 

This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.