Coombe Farm: A stroll through at Dame Nellie Melba's gardens

It takes real skill to make a legend come alive. A stroll through Coombe gardens with manager Daniel Johnson gives a glimpse into the personality of Australia’s opera diva Dame Nellie Melba, once the most famous singer in the world.

Hidden behind its giant cypress hedges for decades, Coombe Farm, the home of Melba, was opened to the public about five years ago. Today the 2.8-hectare cottage gardens, a restaurant and cellar door are one of the first stops for those exploring the Yarra Valley.

When Melba travelled the world, she brought her 14 Louis Vuitton trunks (note trunks – not suitcases) with her. These are perfectly preserved in the small gallery at Coombe alongside a series of portraits by artist Hans Heysen. In the background, Melba surveys the transformation of her estate from the flickering newsreel on the wall.

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Interestingly, she was a supporter of the suffragettes and was one of the first Australian women to drive, Johnson says.

Nellie Melba was born Helen Mitchell in 1861 in Richmond; she later changed her name in honour of her home city. Her father was a Scottish stonemason who made his fortune as a builder with Carlton’s Royal Exhibition Building his greatest achievement.

After a brief failed marriage, Melba left her husband and son to move to Paris and embark on a singing career. In 1888, she became the leading soprano at Covent Garden and she made her debut in New York in 1893.

Returning to Australia, she bought a property to be closer to her father and built Coombe farm and cottage in 1912.

This was a relatively modest retreat for such a famous singer, who turned a small farmhouse into a nine-bedroom, seven-bathroom rural retreat – still used by the family.

Through the gates to the cottage gardens, the giant oak tree is rumoured to be 180 years old and is considered one of the best specimens in the country, while the 10-metre-high cypress hedges have developed the most amazing curves over the past 100 years.

These verdant gardens, possibly at their best when the roses are in bloom in October, were designed by William Guilfoyle (creator of Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens) in 1911.

The cottage grounds are especially pretty with an Italianate garden, a French-style rose garden and a native garden.

The gorgeous pool, rumoured to be the oldest inground pool in Victoria, saw the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson and Douglas Fairbanks don their cossies and dive in.

Coombe Farm is also one of the largest vineyards in the Yarra Valley producing some of the finest drops in the region, including the latest innovation, a Dame Nellie Melba gin.

Heavens knows what Melba would think about that.

Garden tours and seasonal cottage tours can be booked at Coombe Yarra Valley