This property is an unusual two storey Georgian style house with French doors to both levels suggesting a missing verandah. The location of the entrance door at one end of the main facade is also unusual. The house sits on a fine corner site with commanding views of the Derwent River.
John Blackwell was granted 300 acres of land on the northern side of the New Town Rivulet in July 1821. Thomas Haskell purchased 20 acres at the eastern corner of the grant from Blackwell for ₤35 in July 1828. Prospect House was built around 1834 and had a series of short-term owners before William Rout, an ironmonger, purchased it for ₤850 in May 1843. Rout also bought adjoining land so that the property extended to over 100 acres. Rout did not live at Prospect House but rented it out.
A notice in the Hobart Town Daily Mercury in March 1858 advertising the lease of Prospect House described a 'commodious and pleasantly situated mansion … suitable for the residence of a respectable family, with coach-house, stables, and all necessary out-offices… The house commands a fine view of the Derwent and the surrounding country.'
Prospect House remained in Rout family ownership until September 1909, when it was sold on 14 acres. Subsequent owners included: Thomas Widdicombe, a storekeeper (1910-1926); Archibald Eiszele, a contractor (1926-1935); and Marmion Beamish, a dairyman (1935-1946). Frank Morley, a dairyman, purchased the property in September 1946 and in the mid-1950s created Sinclair Avenue and subdivided the area for residential development.
Fortunately the original house has survived and is in good condition and is currently a private residence.
Information Source: Australian Heritage Database.
