Historical information

Fortuna Villa was initially commenced as a modest single storey home in 1861 next to the 180 Mine by Theodore
Ballerstedt, who sold the mine and house to George Lansell in 1869. Lansell already owned the adjacent Fortuna
Mine, and through deeper mining techniques greatly expanded the mine's operation, his personal wealth, and the
house and grounds. Lansell was soon known as the 'Quartz King', Australia's first gold mining millionaire and
credited as the driving force behind much of Bendigo's prosperity. He continuously added to and expanded the
villa, decorating it extravagantly with the finest of artworks and materials, into a sprawling mansion with extensive
landscaped grounds, to create a house and grounds of a size and grandeur with few rivals in Australia. After his
death in 1907, his second wife Edith carried on with improvements, creating a house and grounds developed
over 50 years. The attached mine also contributes to its significance, being one of the richest mines in Bendigo,
and at one stage probably the deepest gold mine in the world at 3176 feet. The 1875 crushing works are attached
directly to the mansion, and the mine's tailings and settling ponds (turned into ornamental lakes) represent a
direct link between George Lansell's wealth and its source. Fortuna was compulsorily acquired by the
Commonwealth in 1942 as the Cartographic Headquarters of the Australian Survey Corps during World War II,
and many ancillary structures were added while preserving the main house and ornamental grounds.
Victorian Heritage Database Report https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/68334/download-report

Physical description

Conservation report for the Pompeii Fountain & Adjacent Structures at "Fortuna" Chum Street, Golden Square, Victoria. Prepared for Fortuna Historical Committee. March 1996.

Inscriptions & markings

Halina Eckersley, Architect & Conservation Planner, Kew