name from a large house that originally stood on the property, which was built by Mr. Harnett, a Bermudian. Mr. Harnett left Bermuda at a young age to settle in Melbourne, Australia, where he made his fortune in the newspaper business.

He returned to Bermuda, built Melbourne House and lived in it until his death at the beginning of this century. The building was subsequently used as a doctor's office followed by a commission agents facility. Later it was used as a boarding house, where the back yard had extensive horse stables as well as a blacksmith shop. Today the property is made up of two separate buildings, which were joined together when Melbourne House opened up as a rental building. It has recently been given a complete facelift and has raised its status from a Class E to a Class B building, according to spokesperson Mr.

Dennis Chin, who noted that Melbourne House will continue to be used for rental purposes.