Eblana, the 1880s East Melbourne house of publican Thomas Jackson, listed

Eblana, the 1880s East Melbourne residence built as the residence for Thomas Jackson of Young and Jackson's Hotel fame, has been listed for sale.

The boom-period Italianate-style terrace dwelling with a grand entry approached by a flight of substantial bluestone steps is zoned Business 5 under the Melbourne Planning Scheme, allowing its varied use including office or residential.

It is to be sold with vacant possession through Marcus Quinn and Langton McHarg at Knight Frank, who are expecting around $4 million when expressions of interest close October 4.

Jackson’s name first appears in connection with Jolimont Road in Sands & McDougall’s Melbourne and suburban directory in 1879.

In 1879 he had just vacant land on Jolimont Road.

By 1881 he was living in one of three six-bedroom brick houses that he then owned, according to the records of the Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV), authored by Peter Fielding.

In December 1882, Jackson’s architect, James Gall, placed an advertisement in the newspapers calling for tenders to erect a villa residence.

Jackson called the house Eblana, believed at that time to be the Latin spelling for Dublin.

It was a comfortable two-storey home, complete with tiled balcony and hall, vaulted timber ceilings, leadlight windows, and horse stables with access from Jolimont Lane. 

From its rear balcony Jackson could look out across the East Melbourne Cricket Ground to his hotel at the corner of Flinders and Swanton streets.

Jackson later added a single-storey extension, in which he installed a billiard table. The house sits on a 510 square metre block.

Following the death of her husband in 1901, Sarah Jackson remained at Eblana.

After her death on Christmas Day, 1924, aged 84,  Sarah Jackson was buried with Thomas Jackson and her son James in Kew Cemetery.

In October 1925, Eblana was sold – described as a magnificent brick residence – to the Commonwealth of Australia, with it used as the head office of the Post Master General.

The then neglected house was bought by travel agency entrepreneurs Peter and Nancy Fielding, who restored Jackson’s house extensively, after paying $837,500 in 1997.

It had traded at $640,000 in a 1993 Westpac mortgagee auction.

It had traded at $1.1 million in 1990.