Northwood home fire: Rossi family and friends share memories of Sydney mansion

The $24million sprawling Sydney mansion that was destroyed in a furious blaze has taken a treasure trove of family memories with it.

Until late last year when it was reluctantly sold, the 5000-square-metre waterfront estate on Cliff Road in Northwood was the home of the Rossi family, which Mary and Theo Rossi bought in 1961.

The family sold the lower north shore seven-bedroom house with a tennis court and boatshed in November for $24million.

Emma Rossi, who is second from the right, with other members of her family at the home in Northwood, which has been destroyed by fire

Despite the best efforts of two trucks and 50 firefighters, the house was gutted by a huge fire, which broke out around 11pm on Saturday.

Mary, a TV pioneer and travel business owner, lived there until she passed away at the age of 95 in 2021 having raised 10 children in the house with Theo, who died in 2010.

‘It’s funny seeing it written up in the media as a mansion,’ said Emma Rossi, 55, who was the ninth-born of the clan and works as a communications consultant.

‘We never thought of it as a mansion, it was just a home.

‘It was a home you walked in and just got this sense of love the minute you walked in the front door. It was palpable.

‘It’s the end of an era. That’s for sure.’ 

Firefighters raced to the burning home (pictured) at about 11pm on Saturday night

Firefighters raced to the burning home (pictured) at about 11pm on Saturday night

Mary lived in the house until the end of her life and Emma said she was kept up with modern TV viewing to entertain her 40-odd grandchildren.

‘All the grandkids, including my own, used to love going up and spending the night with her and eating Maltesers and watching Game of Thrones,’ Emma told Daily Mail Australia.

The last major family gathering at the house was in December, as the sale contract was being settled.

‘We had a very long table along that gorgeous verandah and all the family were there,’ Emma said.

‘There were close to 100 people and we all had to stand up and say a few things.

‘It was just hilarious and great fun. It was a very fitting farewell, especially now that we have lost the house.’

The house (pictured, before the fire) was built in 1915 and sold last year for $24million

The house (pictured, before the fire) was built in 1915 and sold last year for $24million

Emma, who lives only 300 metres away and saw the home being burnt down, said the family felt the loss.

‘We were obviously devastated,’ she said.

‘The home has so many happy memories for us and for the wider community, our friends. 

‘It was a place of gathering and represented community and fun and family. It’s a loss not to just us but the community I think.

‘It’s more than just a family house burning down. 

‘It is a representation of family and what that means. Meaning and purpose and happiness and joy and a bit naughty.’

Theo and Mary Rossi bought the Northwood home in 1961 and had their family life there for 60 years

Theo and Mary Rossi bought the Northwood home in 1961 and had their family life there for 60 years

The naughtiness, Emma said, were all the  ‘unauthorised parties that we had when mum and dad were away’.

 ‘There were plenty of those. Don’t tell mum and dad,’ she joked.

There were plenty of authorised gatherings as well.   

‘Mum and dad were great entertainers,’ Emma said.

‘We had a lot of parties. It really was a party house.

‘Even at mum’s wake we had a beautiful wake for her at home. We had a rock ‘n’ roll band – the John Field band, they used to be the Cockroaches, you know the Wiggles. She (Mary) just loved the band.’

The Rossi family at the Northwood house in 1967. Credit: The Australian Woman's Weekly

The Rossi family at the Northwood house in 1967. Credit: The Australian Woman’s Weekly

Former Cockroaches members Anthony and Paul Field along with Jeff Fatt formed children’s entertainment mega-brand the Wiggles in 1991. 

Emma said she was walking the dog when she saw the smoke.

‘I came home, took the dog back and ran out and told my husband “Oh my God the family home is on fire”,’ she said.

The morning after Emma said the Rossi family WhatsApp group, which has over a 100 members, ‘is going off with very funny memories and lovely memories’. 

One particular fondly recalled memory is the way the 10 siblings were summoned to the table.

‘There was a big gong that used to rung for dinners,’ Mary said. 

It wasn’t all fun and games though.

Theo, a second generation Australian whose grandparents had migrated from Italy, instilled a strong work ethic. 

It took emergency workers about two hours to douse the flames. The home was almost completely destroyed

It took emergency workers about two hours to douse the flames. The home was almost completely destroyed

‘My father used to love getting us up,’ Emma said.

‘All 10 of us had to get up and go to work in the garden to do chores every Saturday morning. 

‘There was lots of work. We weren’t allowed to be slackers and sleep in.’

Emma said the house also became imbued with the staunchly Catholic Mary and Theo’s ‘sense of public service’.

‘It’s was just embedded in everything we did. So we had lots of fund-raisers at the house,’ she said. 

Mary became the first woman to host a show on Australian TV, Women’s World in 1953.

In 1970 she established ‘Mary Rossi Travel’, which still operates today and specialises in luxury travel to Europe, often visiting sites of Christian significance.

Emergency workers said the cause of the blaze is yet to be determined, but investigations are underway (the burning mansion is pictured)

Emergency workers said the cause of the blaze is yet to be determined, but investigations are underway (the burning mansion is pictured)

Edward Wright, 26, who was Mary’s live-in carer from 2015 to 2020 said she remained a lively presence even into her 90s.

‘She was very mentally alert,’ Mr Wright said.

He moved into the house at age 18 to find somewhere boarding while he studied business at university.

‘She used to help me with assignments, she was a very good writer,’ Mr Wright said.

‘She used to help all her grandkids.’

Mary was a speechwriter and policy paper author for former NSW premier Sir Bertram Stevens, a job she quit when asked to make tea.

Mr Wright, who is now a pub venue manager, said on the recommendation of a priest and family friend he took on the role of Mary’s carer but it was more a pleasure than duty. 

 ‘She ended up becoming one of my best friends,’ he said.

‘It never felt like a job to me. I was cooking dinner at nights, helping her get to bed and helping look after her.

Mary Rossi (pictured left) holds hands with Maggie Tabberer at the 2006 launch of a book about the pioneering women of Australian television

Mary Rossi (pictured left) holds hands with Maggie Tabberer at the 2006 launch of a book about the pioneering women of Australian television

‘It was more looking after a friend then anything else.

 ‘She was an amazing lady. We had all our guilty pleasures and we would watch TV shows such as Father Brown and Game of Thrones.’

Mr Wright said besides crime mysteries, such as those solved by Father Brown, Mary was very interested in matters of the heart. 

‘She was a hopeless romantic. She would always talk about love,’ he said, noting Mary was very keen to vet any of his potential partners. 

Mr Wright said he was shocked to hear the house had burnt down. 

 ‘It was an amazing house,’ he said.

‘There was a very old sandstone balcony. 

 ‘She had a great big library – and the living room, lounge room area was a big open room basically.

‘It had a very old-fashioned one of those big wooden desks. And it had a gemstone globe, a big huge one.  

 ‘The first layer was the house that came off the street and then it would drop down to another little garden section and with the tennis court off the edge – sort of a cliff.

‘Below that was another open plan garden and you would follow it forward even further than that and it would take you down to the boatshed down at the bottom.

‘There’s a lot of sailing that goes on in that cove and Mary told me they used to have a big bell and they used to ring it when all the family would go sailing by.

Mr Wright said the house had  ‘stunning views’. 

‘The gardens were amazing as well,’ he said. 

‘They spent about $30,000 a year on gardens.’

Mr Wright, who left the house in 2020, also remembers Mary as being a great entertainer. 

 ‘She would have dinner parties every week and some very interesting people,’ Mr Wright said.

‘I am sure there are a lot of people who have very fond memories of the place.

‘They are stunning memories.’

Authorities are still investigating what caused the blaze on Saturday night. 

Originally built with sandstone in 1915, the home sits on one acre of land and features an orchard, boathouse, and its own cellar.

It also had panoramic views of the Lane Cove River, Sydney’s CBD, and the Anzac Bridge.

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