Ernest Leviny's unrealised dreams for his Castlemaine villa

摘要

Ernest Leviny, best known for his estate Buda at Castlemaine in Victoria's central goldfields, also owned land nearby where he planned and partially planted a magnificent new villa garden, recalled in a set of superb watercoloured plans. For most of us, Ernest Leviny is a name we associate only with Buda, the historic house and garden in the central Victorian goldfields town of Castlemaine. When Leviny bought the property in 1863 (then known as Delhi Villa) it seems that he did not intend Buda to bethe family home we know today, a home occupied by the Leviny's until the youngest daughter Hilda died in 1981. Indeed, Ernest Leviny, by then a retired gold- and silversmith with investments in property and mining ventures, aspired to building a much grander home for his large family. Between 1874 and 1876, Leviny purchased approximately six acres of land on Hargraves Street, only a short walk from Buda. The land incorporated the residential allotments bounded by the Kaweka Flora Reserve, and Hargraves, Myring, and Kaweka Streets. His plans for the property are simply inscribed 'The Villa'. Today, the property is called Kaweka.