Page 69 - Issue_17_Mirvac Residential Magazine_COMBINED_v6B_SPREADS

For more than four decades red carpet openings, instead
Brian Henderson was a nightly entertaining on weekends in their
presence reading the News at sprawling Killara home. After the
Channel 9 but even before then children had grown up and left,
he claimed the title “teen idol” they planned their next move
as the host of Bandstand, where knowing that it would be their
“To think the park he rubbed shoulders with all “retirement home”.
the top Australian and touring
“Killara was the fun house that
international acts.
is being named after He had a media profile not our children have incredibly fond
memories of,” says Mardi. “It was
like a big country house with a
dissimilar to more contemporary
Brian makes me idols, his bookish good looks, horn- tennis court and pool, so we did
a lot of entertaining, whereas the
rimmed glasses and trademark
conservative suits, making him
home we built in Middle Cove was
have goosebumps. quite the star. Mardi met Brian in quieter, not as raucous.”
1964 and they were engaged a year
Filled with art and artefacts they
He would have been later, beginning a blissful 55-year had collected over the years, one
partnership.
of the most striking features of
so chuffed.” Their “celebrity wedding” featured the Middle Cove home was its
connection to nature.
in newspapers and magazines and
as the family grew, their life was
documented in countless cover “You could be in the shower and
MARDI HENDERSON stories – their home renovations, feel like you were in the outdoors
family life, all made compelling with floor to ceiling windows
news. looking into a private garden and
the sky,” says Mardi of their home
Mardi says they never sought the of 24 years.
limelight, steering away from

Above: Mardi and Brian shared a love of nature Planted with a mix of natives
Below: Brian on the Bandstand set and perennial favourites like
Left: The Lawn leading from Henderson Park agapanthus and camellias, the
gardens were a magnet for birdlife.
“We didn’t have a pet when we
moved to Middle Cove but the birds
became our pets,” recalls Mardi.
“There were five kookaburras that
we fed twice a day. Before Brian
became unwell, we would walk
along the reserve track to Sugarloaf
Bay which was full of birds.”
Many of the trees and shrubs that
attracted the birds that Brian and
Mardi loved so much at Middle
Cove will feature in Henderson
Park. Over 70 per cent of the
planting palette is composed of
native and endemic species such
as acacias, banksia, grevilleas,
melaleucas, eucalypts, angophoras
and lillypillies.
A jacaranda will stand at The
Gateway to Henderson Park where
a canopy of tall trees will provide
welcome shade with seating and
lawn beneath, inviting young and
old to sit a while and appreciate the
beauty of nature.

Artist’s impression. Indicative for illustrative purposes only, and not intended to be representative of the final product. Amenity and other aspects of the project may differ from this image. Design of Parabol Playground
is an indicative design and its materials, colours, shape, size and design are not finalised and subject to change. The view depicted is not to be taken as a representation of views available from apartments.
66 ISSUE 17 SPRING/SUMMER 2023 The Right Place by Mirvac The Right Place by Mirvac ISSUE 17 SPRING/SUMMER 2023 67