On the auction week of Robin Boyd’s final home design, it’s only fitting we take a look at another property he created with a remarkable story behind it, located less than an hour’s drive from Melbourne at 305 Long Forest Road, Bacchus Marsh. While it isn’t exactly in the heart of suburbia, the seclusion only amplifies the charm of The Boyd Baker House, described as “one of Australia’s most important post-war houses and possibly architect Robin Boyd’s masterpiece”.
The property was originally commissioned by Englishman Dr. Michael Baker – a gifted mathematician that graduated from both Eton and Cambridge University – who moved to Australia with his wife while working for the RAAF Academy and Melbourne University. After receiving advice that the best architect in Melbourne was Robin Boyd he bought a 320-acre block of untouched bushland — equidistant between his two workplaces — and engaged Boyd to create a spacious home for his family.
Eventually, Boyd returned with plans for a square home that surrounded a central courtyard, and construction got underway, using locally quarried Bacchus Marsh stone and polished green-tinted concrete floors. Baker originally planned to plant an English garden around the residence but resisted the urge to destroy the native vegetation, opting for a modest English-inspired garden in the courtyard.
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“As well as the usual accommodation for the family, the house was to contain a schoolroom where the children could be taught at home,” Boyd said in his book, Living In Australia. “No public services were available when the building started, although electricity came soon after. Rainwater had to be caught and stored, and it seemed necessary to supplement the thin shade from the profuse of gums. A strong brown slate that split into thick chunks was available locally.”Â
“Somehow it was like designing a building for Robinson Crusoe. This would be the only manmade thing to disturb the calm of the bush. So despite the romantic materials, a classical closed formality seemed called for in the form of the structure.”
Eventually completed in 1966, The Boyd Baker House remained the home of the original family (though they also commissioned another Boyd home to be built nearby) until 2006 when Baker relocated to the inner north of Melbourne and auctioned the property. Since then it has only sold one other time, in 2014, and arrives on the market now as one of Victoria’s most important heritage classified homes.
Containing five bedrooms (four and a study, if you like), five bathrooms and space to park at least five cars, its square shape is unusual in the way it requires you to move through the home. Three sides essentially comprise living and dining spaces, with the fourth side home to the bedrooms. Thanks to its large overhanging roof, and verandah that goes around the entire house, every room has a door that opens to the outside.
A truly special home, its next caretaker will enjoy the privilege of living inside a work of mid-century architectural art. The property at 305 Long Forest Road, Bacchus Marsh, is represented by the team at Jellis Craig and is advertised with a price guide between $1.5 million and $1.65 million.
