"Jack" Tallis
John Morton "Jack" Tallis
Sir George Tallis, who, in one way or another had been associated for 56 years with the famous J.C. Williamson’s that he had joined as enterprising office boy in 1886, died on 15 August 1948. On his passing, Beleura was left to his youngest son Jack who lived there until he passed away in 1996 at the age of 85.
John Morton ‘Jack’ Tallis, was a reclusive composer, musician, historian and gardener. In 1952 Ballet Guild danced The Sentimental Bloke to a score by John Tallis, a fact reflected on his headstone.
When he died in 1996 he bequeathed the Italianate mansion, with its fascinating family memorabilia and its ornate gardens, to the people of Victoria, together with a substantial trust to finance their restoration and maintenance. Under the management of the Tallis Foundation, the property opened to the public in 2004.
Built in 1863 by William Grover, for James Butchard, Beleura House is an Italian style villa and it stands in a commanding position looking over Port Philip Bay at Mornington.
James Butchart was a businessman, being a partner in Kaye, Butchart & Co a stock and agency company. He had pastoral holdings in Victoria and New South Wales.
Beleura House
Butchart sold Beleura to Charles Edward Bright, founder of Bright Brothers & Co Steamship & General Agents. Beleura was used as a summer retreat by Bright's father-in-law, the Viscount Canterbury, KCB., Governor of Victoria from 1866 until 1873.
The next owner was the Caleb Joshua Jenner. A businessman, he was chairman of Langlands Foundry Co and the first chairman of the Land Mortgage Bank. In the 1870s he was on the boards of the National Insurance Co, the Commercial Bank of Australia and the Land Mortgage Bank. He was a commissioner for the savings banks of Victoria and a member of the Legislative Council of The Parliament of Victoria. Jenner sold the house to Robert Smith, a pastorlist in 1899. Beleura consisted of 182 acres then.
The Smith family used Beleura as a summer house. Robert's wife Jane inherited the property on his passing and later put it up for auction. It was then purchased by George Tallis in 1916. Tallis was Chairman of the J.C. Williamson theatre company.
