Significant 20th-century Sydney residence for sale

The Fishwick House by Walter Burley Griffin in Sydney's Castlecrag is on the market for the first time in nearly half a century since it was purchased by its current owners in 1976.

The house was designed in 1929 and on the newly developed peninsula suburb of Castlecrag at the end of a cul-de-sac. The site is identified by its irregular shape that falls steeply from west to east. On the wedge-shaped block with panoramic views over the peninsula, the Fishwick House has become a canonical instance of early-20th-century residential architecture and has even been attributed with the birth of modern architecture in Australia.

The house was built predominantly out of sandstone, quarried from the natural rock escarpment onsite and on a site nearby. Rock-faced stone has been used for external walling to give the house the appearance of rising out of the rock on which it is built. This stone has also been used to form the internal walls, the grand fireplaces and the chimneys.

As well as its sandstone rockface, the home is renowned for its split floor levels and its boundary-pushing interior design innovations. Its notable features include open planning, a spacious colonnaded reception area and a sunken study.

The study can be opened fully to the entrance hall through a pair of double glass doors - a concept that did not become popular until mid-century. In the large entrance hall, floor-to-ceiling pillars were painted the deep greens and browns of Australian eucalypts, with metallic gold highlights.

On the first floor are four bedrooms and two bathrooms, including the master bedroom, which incorporates a unique semicircular design with a row of north-facing windows that provide ample natural light and bush views.

Added to the NSW State Heritage Register in 2006, Fishwick is a rarity as one of only 13 remaining Griffin-designed houses. Its current condition is the result of more than 30 years of careful restoration by its current owners.

The home will be listed on the Modern House website, with viewings available by appointment.

For more coverage, see Peter Salhani's story about the Fishwick House from Houses Issue 152.