Baroona is a heritage-listed

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

at 90 Howard Street,

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of the metropolitan area of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. Unlike LGAs in the other mainlan ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. It was designed by

Benjamin Backhouse Benjamin Backhouse (182929 July 1904) was an architect and politician in Australia. He was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Early life Benjamin Backhouse was born in England in 1829. He was a Bachelor of Arts and was educa ...

and built . It was added to the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. A ...

on 21 October 1992.

History

The original residence, called Baroona, was designed by Benjamin Backhouse and built in 1866 for William Draper Box on land which the architect had alienated in 1861 and Box acquired in 1865. The property extended from Baroona Road on one side to the outskirts of

Torwood Torwood ( gd, Coille Tor) is a small village located north-northwest of Larbert, north-west of Falkirk and south-southeast of Stirling. Torwood lies within the Falkirk Council area of Scotland. The population recorded in the 2011 UK Census ...

on the other. Box had arrived in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

in 1862 to establish a Queensland branch of his father's mercantile firm, and lived at Baroona until 1885. He was a member of the

Queensland Club Queensland Club is a heritage-listed club house at 19 George Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built from 1882 to 1888 by J Smith & Sons. It was added to ...

and of the

Queensland Legislative Council The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which to ...

from 1874 until his death in 1904. During subsequent years the house was rented by two prominent politicians. Hon. John Donaldson

Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly This is a list of members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the state parliament of Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivis ...

was in residence from about 1886 to 1889, followed by Sir

Robert Philp Sir Robert Philp, (28 December 1851 – 17 June 1922) was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908. Early life Philp was born in ...

of Burns Philp and Co, the

Queensland Premier The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is a ...

from 1899 to 1901. William Melbourne Watts, Land Commissioner, purchased the house in 1899 and sold it to Emily and Cornelius Geaney in 1919. Geaney was the City Mutual Life Insurance Company manager and his family retained the property until 1951 when Dr and Mrs Hill became the owners. It was sold again in 1984. The building was extensively modified by successive owners including the addition of rooms, brick render, eastern verandahs, fretwork gable, northern porch and a modern kitchen. The name Baroona is also used for the main road, the locality and the municipal ward.

Description

Baroona is a single-storeyed rendered masonry building with a

corrugated iron Corrugated galvanised iron or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America) and occasionally abbreviated CGI is a ...

gabled roof. The building sits on a level hilltop site and has verandahs to the east and southeast, and to portions of the north and south elevations. The

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s have timber finials and decorative

bargeboard Bargeboard (probably from Medieval Latin ''bargus'', or ''barcus'', a scaffold, and not from the now obsolete synonym "vergeboard") or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to ...

s with the eastern bay

featuring timber

fretwork Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly use ...

Veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''vera ...

hs have corrugated iron

skillion roof A shed roof, also known variously as a pent roof, lean-to roof, outshot, catslide, skillion roof (in Australia and New Zealand), and, rarely, a mono-pitched roof,Cowan, Henry J., and Peter R. Smith. ''Dictionary of Architectural and Building Te ...

s and the north verandah has an entrance

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

with projecting gable. The east and southeast verandahs sit on timber stumps and have latticed valance and

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

balustrades A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

. The south verandah has timber arches with lattice infill and opens off a hall with a corrugated iron barrel vault roof which is lined with

tongue and groove Tongue and groove is a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood, in flooring, parquetry, panelling, and similar constructions. Tongue and groove joints allow two flat pieces to be joined strongly together ...

boards. This vault has glazing to the western end and a central square raised skylight. The building has sash windows and French doors open onto the verandahs with exposed windows having timber shutters. A brick cellar is located on the southern side, a

carport A carport is a covered structure used to offer limited protection to vehicles, primarily cars, from rain and snow. The structure can either be free standing or attached to a wall. Unlike most structures, a carport does not have four walls, and us ...

is attached to the southwest and a separate rendered masonry garage with a corrugated iron gabled roof and decorative timber finials and bargeboards is located to the west. The grounds include a lawn tennis court to the north, mature trees to the west and south and a stone embankment to the northeast.

Heritage listing

Baroona was listed on the

on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. The association with Sir Robert Philp, Hon. John Donaldson and William Draper Box. Community association with the name Baroona being used for the main road, the locality and the municipal ward. Landmark value as the areas original house and its siting on the crest of the hill. Evidence of the domestic work of Benjamin Backhouse. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. Landmark value as the areas original house and its siting on the crest of the hill. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. Community association with the name Baroona being used for the main road, the locality and the municipal ward. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. The association with Sir Robert Philp, Hon. John Donaldson and William Draper Box. Evidence of the domestic work of B Backhouse.

References

Attribution

External links

* {{cite news , url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23139559 , title=BRISBANE'S HISTORIC HOMES. , newspaper=

The Queenslander ''The Queenslander'' was the weekly summary and literary edition of the '' Brisbane Courier'', the leading journal in the colony—and later, federal state—of Queensland since the 1850s. ''The Queenslander'' was launched by the Brisbane New ...

, date=28 May 1931 , page=47 , via=National Library of Australia — 1931 newspaper article by

Florence Eliza Lord Florence Eliza Lord (1879–1942) was a journalist in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She is best known for her long-running series of articles on ''Brisbane's Historic Homes'' in The Queenslander newspaper. She sometimes published under the pse ...

Queensland Heritage Register Heritage of Brisbane Paddington, Queensland Houses in Brisbane Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Benjamin Backhouse buildings