Zelman Cottage - Love, Art & Music in Hepburn Springs

Victor Zelman's father, Alberto, a prominent musician from Austria moved to Australia in the early 1870's and established himself as a pivotal figure in the Australian classical music scene. After marrying his wife Harriet, also a musician, and having four boys, they became much-loved figures in the growing classical music scene. One son, Alberto (Junior) went on to found The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, whilst another, Victor, also an accomplished musician, went on to establish a stellar career as a landscape artist, with a number of small paintings and etchings located in public galleries the likes of, National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, and The Art Gallery of NSW

A prominent Melbourne figure, Victor first became interested in the Hepburn Springs area when he married into the Borsa family who had property throughout the district. His new wife Clara and Victor built a holiday cottage and painting studio around 1910 and enjoyed holidays spent with the Italian residents of the area. They moved there permanently in the 1940s when Victor painted a frieze in the lounge room of his home, a beautiful landscape piece still there today.

Zelman Cottage is now again a holiday cottage. A sensitive refurbishment has been undertaken to keep the frieze intact and present the cottage in a neutral and calming palette. Not much has changed except the addition of modern luxurious bathrooms and beautiful furniture and linen.

Three bedrooms sleep six, with lovely entertaining areas to the back looking out onto the beautiful gardens that the Zelman's tended to and loved spending their time in. A north-facing deck is there for entertaining in the summer and a cosy wood heater is situated in the lounge where you can sit with a glass of red wine and study the work of the hand-painted frieze and imagine days gone by.

This is a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in a place of historical significance and stay in a cottage where so much art, music, love and big conversations took place under the ownership of, Victor Alexander Zelman, Australian Artist, 1877 to 1958.