James Hird Toorak mansion the home of 1930s high society
No other home has starred on the nightly news over the past six months more than the Toorak home of James Hird.
And the Essendon coach's daily questioning at the address has been easy for the media due to the home's exposed front door and drive way.
Title Tattle recalls James Hird bought the property in 1998 for $2.4 million, but didn't move in until the mid-2000s.
On his 1998 purchase James Hird gave his address as Regency Towers, 2010/265 Exhbition Street, Melbourne.
In 2005 James Hird transferred the Toorak house entirely to his wife, Tania, with the nominated price being $4.8 million.
Source: Fairfax Media, News Limited.
The Hird's are only the fourth owners of the 1,436 square metre Toorak property.
Behind its imposing facade, it comes with just a 110 square metre floor plate, according to official records, so most of the property is tennis court and lap pool.
It had previously traded in 1987 at $2,105,800 when bought by John Shergold, who owned the brickmaking company Brick and Pipe Industries, and his wife, Michelle.
Normal Carlyon, the horse breeder, owned the property between 1969 and 1987.
It dates back to the merchant Edward Hayne who bought the building block for 2150 pounds in 1933 from John Dixon of the Armadale estate, Moana. Edward Hayne lived there with his wife, Pamela, nee Crowther, elder daughter of Mr and Mrs O'Dell Crowther of Toorak. The approaching wedding and their marriage in 1932 were in the society pages. They had sons born at the house in 1934 and 1940.
Edward Hayne's younger brother, John married into the Syme, Melbourne establishment family in 1934.
His sister Helen married into the Manifold pastoralist family in 1933.
James Hayne, the shipping merchant family patriach gave his home as the Caroline Street, South Yarra residence, Shipley House and his business address as 34 Queen Street, Melbourne. James Hayne and then his son Edward ran Gibbs, Brights and Co.
It was in mid-1800s that the trading partnership of Gibbs, Bright and Co established a branch in Melbourne which rapidly became a leading colonial shipping agent and merchant in mining, stevedoring and pastoral interests and exporting wool and timber. In 1981 the group was acquired by the Hong Kong, Shanghai Bank.
The Hayne family connection to the business went back to Lima, Peru in the 1820s.
Before Toorak, the Hird's had previously lived in east Melbourne. The early 1930s terrace house at 26 Berry Street, was sold for $2.45 million in 2006, but not before the actor Susan Sarandon, star of such films as Thelma & Louise and Dead Man Walking, rented the property while she was in Melbourne filming Irresistible. The house with a lap pool and off-street parking for three cars.
The Hird's also rented out their Toorak house before taking up their mid-2000s occupancy. It initially was leased to the Crown Casino boss, Robert Riley, who paid about $11,000 per month, and also spent about $100,000 renovating the house during his 12-month lease.
Then Brian Watson, the director at investment house JP Morgan's equity capital markets group, and his wife, Edwina Le Maistre, rented it for several years at about $14,000 a month.
Watson and Le Maistre were in the news recently when they sold their subsequent Toorak abode, One Towers Road.
