Boomerang, Mediterranean Revival mansion in Elizabeth Bay, Australia.
Boomerang is a two-storey Mediterranean Revival house and garden at 42 Billyard Avenue, Elizabeth Bay, built 1926–1928 to designs by architect Neville Hampson, with grounds laid out by Max Shelley. It replaced an earlier house of the same name on the site, part of the former Macleay estate orchard. Behind the street wall, an old avocado and a large mango grow near the entry gate, and a camellia stands by the carriage drive.
Music publisher Frank Albert commissioned architect Neville Hampson to design and construct this house between 1926 and 1928. It was built during a period when Elizabeth Bay became an affluent residential area, reflecting the architectural trends of that era.
The name comes from the Boomerang mouth organ that Frank Albert's music company imported from Germany and trademarked; by 1897 it sold 800 a week. The garden holds trees from the earlier Macleay estate, including an old avocado and a large mango on the street-side front wall and a camellia near the gate, the Macleays being noted camellia growers.
Boomerang is a private residence and garden at 42 Billyard Avenue and is not open to the public, so visits are limited to viewing the house from the street. The garden was redesigned by Myles Baldwin in 2011. Nearby Beare Park, extended by Sydney City Council after part of the site was acquired, offers harbour-side public space in the same block.
The property contains a private cinema from 1928, which once served as an exclusive entertainment venue for high society gatherings. This early cinema room shows how advanced home entertainment technology was for wealthy households in the 1920s.
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