Cromwell Road

Cromwell Road is a long residential street running from Toorak Road all the way to Malvern Road. The street was originally only a fraction of the size and was known as Dunster Road. Originally swampland the area was plagued with drainage problems and it wasn’t until improvements to drainage in the area in the 1860s that the southern three quarters of the block was surveyed and Cromwell Road was created. Through the 1870s several new houses were constructed on the large allotments in Surrey and Cromwell Roads however the land on Cromwell Road was particularly slow in selling and the Railways Department was able to purchase a tract through the northern sections of the subdivision to allow the construction of the Oakleigh Railway in 1879. In 1879 Hawksburn Railway Station was constructed and the land in the surrounding areas became more desirable. In the early 1880s the Presbyterian and Anglican Churches both found good allotments on Cromwell Road.

With the railway and church construction came an increase in demand for property in the area and large allotments, unsold since their release in the 1870s, were purchased and subdivided paving the way for the building of a number of villas many of which remain intact today.

Notable landmarks on Cromwell Road include Barwon (formerly Cromwell House) a Victorian mansion at 38 Cromwell Road South Yarra was constructed c1881 on 1,266sqm of land. It is a substantial two-storied rendered brick residence with Italianate and Georgian influences.

Built in 1855 and set on four acres a mansion named “Bunablo” stood at 56 Cromwell Road until 1981 when it was demolished. In its time the mansion acted as Consulate for Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Located behind the Anglican Church is the Polyglot Theatre, an internationally renowned creator of interactive theatre for children aged up to twelve years.  A Cub and Boy Scout Troup used to meet in the hall under the church in the 1950s. http://www.polyglot.org.au

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