The Pinschofs as patrons at home: Belmont, Studley Hall, Hohe Warte

Herr Carl Ludwig Pinschof (18551926) was an Austrian-born merchant, industrialist, economist, art patron and former consul for Austro-Hungary in Victoria. His wife, Elise Wiedermann-Pinschof (18511922), was a feted Viennese soprano and the first teacher of singing at the University Conservatorium of Music in Melbourne.1 Theirs was a remarkable story of endeavour to enrich the cultural life of Melbourne during the late-Victorian and Edwardian period. This article brings to life an unknown yet significant period in the history of these continental European-born patrons of art and music when the Pinschofs lived at the large property, Belmont, facing Studley Park Rd, Kew, from 18941900.2 It identifies the Pinschofs residency at Belmont for the first time, and surveys the historic context of the Studley Park area before, during, and after the Pinschofs residency at Belmont. Further, the article considers some of the circumstances behind the rise of the Pinschofs as ambassadors of art, culture and industry. As well as Belmont, the Pinschof residences in Windsor (Heliantus), their country property at Mount Macedon (Hohe Warte), and their other Kew residence, Studley Hall, are brought into the picture