Twenty Macleay Street is one of a number of a large number of apartment blocks built in the highly fashionable Potts Point of the 1930s.

A substantial house, named Exeter, was built on the site in 1865 at 20 Macleay Street and later used for the Welford Private Hospital. The Australasian Medical Dictionary and Hand Book of 1896 notes the proprietor was Miss Bendett. The hospital contained “twelve beds for surgical, gynaecological, Weir-Mitchell, and non-contagious medical cases. Terms, from three to eight guineas per week. Tel. 1497. Open to all practitioners.”

It was then converted into apartments and later sub-divided into two separate titles, Cranstoune at 20 Macleay Street and Dunmore at 20A.

In 1936 William Raymond Laforest, aged 42, and formerly a building draughtsman, lodged an application as owner for a new block of flats on the site at number 20. This is today’s building.

Prior to that, in 1915, with World War I raging in Europe, Laforest, who had been living at 240 Edgecliff Road, Woollahra, with his parents, enlisted with the Australian Imperial Forces after Christmas in December 1915. He embarked on the transport ship Nestor as a gunner in the 36th Australian Heavy Artillery Group (Siege Artillery Brigade). He was single, aged just 21. By 1919 he was a 2nd Lieutenant and returned home in May 1919.

After the war he became a property developer building flats throughout Elizabeth Bay and Potts Point. The drawings for Twenty were prepared by William Tarrant Broome.

Although not registered as an architect, Mr Broome designed a substantial number of flats in North Sydney and Crows Nest until the 1940s. He also designed 4 Macleay Street and 7 Greenknowe Avenue about 1938. At the same time Mr Broome was embroiled in charges involving dodgy cheques, according to the Law Notices in The Sydney Morning Herald of 30^th August, 1938. He stole over £3,000, a large sum for the time, over three years from the property sales office where he worked, using false cheques.

The ‘zig-zag’ windows used on the 1936 façade at Twenty are an interesting feature of the jazz-age Art Déco period. They were previously used by the famous architect, Emil Sodersten for his chic 1934 City Mutual Life Building, Bligh Street, CBD, and his design for Bryant House at 80 Pitt Street (built 1936-40) The same design was also later used by distinguished architect,

Samuel Lipson, at 199-201 Victoria Street in 1938, whose partner had worked for Sodersten. Email Sodersten had no known involvement with Twenty Macleay Street.

Laforest sold the building in 1948 to Henry Taylor. In the 1950s it was purchased by David Sebel who lived in two joined apartments on the second floor with his wife, Bessie. One of his daughters, Tilley, lived with her husband on the third floor. David’s brother also lived in another apartment. The two brothers built the Sebel Townhouse Hotel (demolished in 2000), a local Elizabeth Bay landmark and described as Sydney’s most luxurious hotel.

In 1958, the company of Twenty Macleay Street was incorporated with members of the Sebel family owning the majority shareholding.

Today, it remains largely intact with many period features adding to its charm and location.

By Andrew Woodhouse

Heritage Solutions