A raging fire that destroyed a $24 million landmark mansion is being treated as suspicious, police say.
The fire broke out just after 11pm on Saturday at the mansion at 62 Cliff Road in Northwood, on Sydney’s lower north coast.
Detectives from the North Shore Area Command and the Financial Crimes Squad Arson Unit were in the area Monday, speaking with neighbors and trying to find out what happened.
Built in 1915, the house featured a tennis court, boathouse, and private cellar. It used to be owned by travel industry pioneer Mary Rossi, her husband Theo and their ten children.
When Mrs. Rossi died, her family was hesitant to sell it, but it was eventually sold to their neighbors – fund manager ‘Owen’ Ouyang Chen and his wife Xiao Hong Li.
Pictured: The charred remains of 62 Cliff Rd in Northwood, in Sydney’s lower North Shore
Firefighters ran to the burning house at about 11 p.m. on Saturday night (pictured)
The house (pictured, before the fire) was built in 1915 and sold for $24 million last year
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that Mr Chen had anything to do with the fire at his house.
In August, about three months before the house was sold, Mr. Chen submitted a development application to Lane Cove Council, seeking permission to demolish his home and rebuild a four-story mansion with a $5 million pool.
The proposal was rejected in October for various reasons related to the immense size of the building and the ‘unacceptable impact on the heritage’ adjacent to the house.
Mr Chen was seen outside his home Monday morning and then left to talk to police about the fire.
Pictured: An artist’s impression of Mr Chen’s proposal, next to Grade II listed 62 Cliff Rd (left)
Pictured: Mr. Chen’s home at 60 Cliff Road, Northwood. He applied to demolish it and rebuild it
Neighbors said that before the Rossi family sold Mr. Chen the historic home, members of the Rossi family themselves had objected to his development plans to demolish the house next door, along with a number of other close neighbors.
In the development application, Mr. Chen said that he wanted to build a bigger house for his children and other family members.
When that was rejected, he submitted an amended proposal in July of this year, which was also rejected by neighbors.
Despite the best efforts of two trucks and 50 firefighters, the house was gutted by the massive fire, which broke out Saturday night.
Ms. Rossi, a TV pioneer and travel company owner, lived there until she died in 2021 at the age of 95, after raising her children in the home with Theo, who died in 2010.
Police searched the area on Monday, spoke to neighbors and tried to get an idea of what happened
Neighbors told Daily Mail Australia Rossi family had a problem with Chen .’s development proposal
“It’s funny to see it being written in the media as a mansion,” said Emma Rossi, 55, the ninth of the clan and works as a communications consultant.
“We never thought of it as a mansion, it was just a house.
“It was a house where you walked in and got this feeling of love from the moment you walked through the front door. It was palpable.
‘It’s the end of an era. That’s for sure.’
Mary lived in the house until the end of her life, and Emma said she was kept up with modern TV watching to entertain her forty-plus grandchildren.
“All the grandchildren, including mine, loved going up and spending the night with her, eating Maltesers and watching Game of Thrones,” Emma told Daily Mail Australia.
Emma Rossi, second from right, with other members of her family at the fire-destroyed Northwood home
The last big family gathering in the house was in December, when the sales contract was settled.
“We had a really long table along that beautiful porch and the whole family was there,” Emma said.
“There were almost 100 people and we all had to stand up and say a few things.
“It was just hilarious and a lot of fun. It was a very fitting farewell, especially now that we’ve lost the house.’