26/01/2026
'Once Upon a Time' was the home of William A. Crowle and Lorna Crowle... they originally were living in one of the grand Victorian homes of Potts Point, named Wyldefel House. A pair of large wrought iron gates at the drive entry, found and purchased in Britain, see previous post.
This house was demolished and a collection of modernist apartments were designed by Richard Brogan (1904-1987) and built in 1936, named Wyldefel Gardens. The Crowle's home was the building on the Sydney Harbour foreshore... two levels with a boat shed, they loved to have parties on the harbour... can you imagine Sydney Harbour at this time, pre-war... dreamy...
In 1941 after two options were put forward to Mr Crowle by the Australian Navy... they wanted the foreshore area land for their Sydney base, Garden Island, now that WWII was underway. Demolish or move to a new site... the Crowles chose to have their home barged across the harbour to Neutral Bay... the other apartments would remain and are still there in a glorious condition.
I found a article from February 14 1941 about this happening, but no photos or details about how many barge trips it took!
So that's a summary of how the building came to be in its current location, it's quite a tale...
