Boomerang is a heritage-listed private house and garden located at 42 Billyard Avenue in the inner eastern Sydney suburb of Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales, Australia.

From 1978-96 a range of owners bought and subdivided it, creating lots to the east on Ithaca Gardens, and part was acquired by Sydney City Council to extend Beare Park to avert an unsympathetic proposed block of flats to its north-east.

[3] Elizabeth Bay had been the site of a fishing village established by Governor Macquarie (1810–21) in c. 1815 for a composite group of Cadigal people – the indigenous inhabitants of the area surrounding Sydney Harbour – under the leadership of Bungaree (d.1830).

From 1826–1926 the subject land was part of the Macleay family's Elizabeth Bay estate garden, in which Alexander built his mansion in the 1830s to the west.

This allowed him to build his Macleayan Museum for his natural history collections, which had been previously stored in Elizabeth Bay House.

Several trees possibly from the grounds of the Linnean Hall remain today - some on Boomerang include an old avocado (Persea gratissima) and a large mango (Mangifera indica) on the external southern (street-side) front wall on the south-east side of the entry gate.

[6]: 121  Frank Albert himself had married and built a two-storey brick house in 1902, which he demolished to make way for the newer homestead, also called Boomerang.

[7] Mr A. J. Doust, a landscape gardener active in the Eastern Suburbs in the late 1920s and 1930s is also known to have worked on Boomerangs grounds, perhaps on its maintenance or adaptations as plantings matured.

A contemporary film magazine, commenting at the time of its opening, described the set up as the most extravagant in Australia and went on to call it "the best motion picture outfit in the world".

Clearly based on Hollywood mansions of the period and well known in Sydney society at the time, Boomerang was the scene of much entertaining (Albert had a private cinema built in the basement for guests) and subsequent to his death, to much land speculation.

A 1936 aerial photograph by J M Leonard shows Boomerang's formal cruciform harbour-front garden, flanked by palms and shrubberies, with Berthongs open lawn to the west, and another house (later demolished) immediately to the east on what is today Beare Park.

[1][6]: 124 [11] In 1978 Boomerang was sold to speculators Tom Hayson and son Ian, who quickly subdivided the estate (creating the lots to the east on Ithaca Road), and part which was acquired by Sydney City Council for an extension of Beare Park.

(2008–09 works by the City of Sydney Council have interpreted Boomerang's former tennis court on this part of the park, along with earlier slip ways and accesses to the harbour.

[1] Warren Anderson, a property developer from Western Australia, bought Boomerang in 1981 (as well as Glenmore and Fernhill estates in the Mulgoa Valley south of Penrith and Tipperary pastoral stations in the Northern Territory ).

In July 1982 it was sold after Fox's death in a car accident to bookmaker Mark Read, who installed the swimming pool on the northern lawn, relocating the sundial to a garden bed in the north-east corner.

[1] In 1985 it was sold to property developer Warren Anderson, and expansively furnished with Regency antiques, paintings and French empire clocks.

Tense competing teams of security guards had a stand off before the auction, triggering Supreme Court of New South Wales proceedings to evict Anderson.

[13][1] Boomerang was sold in March 2005 for $20m to billionaire Melbourne trucking magnate, Lindsay Fox of Linfox, who placed the property in his daughter Katrina's name.

The property has much external and internal detail work in wrought iron - window grilles, door screens, and light fittings.

The house has bespoke decorative panel work on walls, floors and ceilings in coloured glazed ceramic tiles, timber, plaster and terrazzo.

Shelley's liberal use of subtropical species - Lord Howe (Howea fosteriana/H.belmoreana) & Cocos Island (Syragus romanzoffianum) palms, ornamental bananas (Musa spp./cv.s), araucarias (Norfolk Island pine - A.heterophylla in particular), Mediterranean cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens), Chusan or Chinese fan palms (Trachycarpus fortunei), New Zealand cabbage trees (Cordyline australis) and a Mediterranean/Hollywood/Islamic flavour remains today.

[1][20][19]: 312 Many landscape details remain intact from the 1926 original, including multicoloured herringbone brick paving carriage loop and other brick/tile/concrete paving, sandstone crazy paved base to sundial and benches, wrought iron railings, fences and gates, colonnaded courtyard to west, service courtyard to east, matching sandstone benches on the northern lawn, sandstone and bronze sundial, square Moorish concrete and multicoloured ceramic tile planter tubs north of the house on the terrace, original plastered walls with window grills, doors (e.g.: to south street side, to the north east to former tennis court now public park), former tennis court sheds attached to walls (now within public park), northern terrace, standard steel pole lights throughout, sandstone steps to northern lawn, SE corner colonnaded pergola in iron and timber, boatshed/house/studio (now part of neighbouring property), sea wall, jetty, ceramic tiled and sandstone ponds, fountains (one in courtyard to south, another in courtyard to west, one on entrance lobby wall with Aboriginal face), terrazzo steps (to western courtyard, to northern terrace, in porte cochere.

[1] Older elements predating 1926 may remain from Alexander Macleay's former Elizabeth Bay estate, of which this section formed part of the orangery/orchard, and was close to the former Linnean Society Hall and garden.

These include a large mango tree, Mangifera indica and an avocado, Persea gratissima growing against the external wall on the south-east side of the eastern entry gate.

[1] Many landscape details remain intact from the 1926 original, including multicoloured herringbone brick paving carriage loop and other brick/tile/concrete paving, sandstone crazy paved base to sundial and benches, wrought iron railings, fences and gates, colonnaded courtyard to west, service courtyard to east, matching sandstone benches on the northern lawn, sandstone and bronze sundial, square Moorish concrete and multicoloured ceramic tile planter tubs north of the house on the terrace, original plastered walls with window grills, doors (e.g.: to south street side, to NE to former tennis court now public park), former tennis court sheds attached to walls (now within public park), northern terrace, standard steel pole lights throughout, sandstone steps to northern lawn, SE corner colonnaded pergola in iron and timber, boatshed/house/studio (now part of neighbouring property), sea wall, jetty, ceramic tiled and sandstone ponds, fountains (one in courtyard to south, another in courtyard to west, one on entrance lobby wall with Aboriginal face), terrazzo steps (to western courtyard, to northern terrace, in porte cochere).

[1] Mr A. J. Doust, a landscape gardener active in the Eastern Suburbs in the late 1920s and 1930s is also known to have worked on Boomerang's grounds, perhaps on its maintenance or adaptations as plantings matured.

Clearly based on Hollywood mansions of the period and well known in Sydney society at the time, Boomerang was the scene of much entertaining (Albert had a private cinema built in the basement for guests) and subsequent to his death, to much land speculation.

A 1936 aerial photograph by J M Leonard shows Boomerang's formal cruciform harbour-front garden, flanked by palms and shrubberies, with Berthong's open lawn to the west, and another house (later demolished) immediately to the east (on what is today Beare Park.

Then-owner Mr Mount noted he could've put in (more of the) wider-growing Bhutan cypresses (Cupressus torulosa) to gain more privacy, but didn't - recognising that neighbours enjoy the front garden too/outlook.

[1][17] Boomerang has historic, aesthetic and social significance as an exemplary example of large scale Spanish Mission/ Hollywood Spanish mansion and garden in an urban setting, in relatively intact condition, demonstrating the lifestyle possible of wealthy merchant of the 1920s, and the kind of social milieu possible and popular among that class at the time.