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An architect-designed modernist 1960s house
in a quiet Toorak cul-de-sac gives little hint as
to the unusual trove that lies within. Upon entry,
an exotic oriental world unfolds, the singular
stylistic vision of Harry and Masha Flicker.
Born in Bratislava (now the capital of Slovakia),
Harry and Masha grew up in the same circle,
their respective grandfathers worked in business
together and there was a warm friendship
between the two families.
Between 1939-1941, the dislocation and threat
of German occupied Europe forced movement
of Jewish populations further east. Harry and
Masha’s families were sent first to collective
farms in Kazakhstan in Central Asia and then to
Siberian labour camps. Post-war, Harry’s family
secured passage to Australia, while Masha’s
family sought sanctuary and a new life in Israel.
The geographical separation did not diminish
the great bond between the families. About
eight years after the teenage Masha arrived
in Israel, Harry visited, returning to Australia
with Masha as his bride-to-be, aged about 22.
A new country, new language, and new customs,
while at times challenging, didn’t deter Masha as
she reconnected with extended family, friends
and acquaintances who bonded through their
wartime experiences.
Businessman, Harry, purchased the Toorak
family home in 1966, and it proved sufficiently
large to accommodate a family of two boys,
while leaving two rooms vacant and unused for
several years. Things were soon to change.
In 1970 Masha and Harry attended Expo in
Osaka, Japan. Despite the forward-looking
theme of the expo, Progress and Harmony
for Mankind, it was old Japan that captivated
the Flickers. Women in traditional kimono still
graced the local streets as they went about daily
life, and Masha, especially, was captivated.
Upon returning to Melbourne, she set about
transforming the unused rooms into exotic
galleries for her new-found interest. The rooms
were extended, a talented local joiner created
oriental-inspired fitted cabinetry and suitable
furnishings. The walls, windows and floors were
suitably adorned with papers and tatami mats
to create a moody interior. Oriental inspired
stained glass windows were commissioned.
Over the course of the next two decades
Masha collected woodblock prints, bronzes,
carvings, ivories, cloisonné, satsuma and
other porcelains – her interest broadening to
also embrace Chinese decorative arts and
furnishings. The exotic rooms were not merely
showpieces. They were the core of family life,
dinners and entertainment, and items were
used and enjoyed.
Masha developed a reputation as a willing buyer
amongst Melbourne dealers, one of whom
visited the house twice a week with suitable
objects, happy to relieve Mrs Flicker of her
housekeeping money, a practice that was both
meticulously recorded in a Spirax cash book and
warmly encouraged by the adoring Harry.
The love of the orient extended also to the
exterior with both Masha and Harry becoming
afficionados and collectors of bonsai of which
they had over fifty highly regarded specimens.
The back yard, too, was transformed into a
Japanese garden with bamboos, maples and
conifers set within gravel paths, water features
and a rockery.
Harry Flicker worked in business from 1959-1974
helping to build Worsted Finishers Australia
Pty Ltd. He acquired the business in 1975
renaming it, Flickers Dye House, which he grew
and diversified to become a noted supplier of
world-class services and products to the textile
and other industries. Flicker’s Pty Ltd continues
today and remains family owned.
Harry’s beloved Masha died in 1992 and Harry
passed away in 2021. This is their collection.
Dennice Collett,
Senior Specialist, Decorative Arts