Boondah is a heritage-listed

detached house A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelling ...

at 50 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 Paddi ...

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 mainl ...

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 , established_ ...

, Australia. It was apparently designed by

Richard Gailey Richard Gailey, Sr. (22 April 1834 – 24 April 1924) was an Irish-born Australian architect. Gailey was born in Donegal, Ireland and emigrated to Australia in 1864, becoming an influential and prolific architect in colonial-era Brisbane. He di ...

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. As a ...

on 11 June 1993.

History

This single-storeyed weatherboard house stands on land which was alienated in 1879 by George Blaxland Mott and subdivided after his death in 1882. Ellen Wickham, widow of Captain

John Clements Wickham John Clements Wickham (21 November 17986 January 1864) was a Scottish explorer, naval officer, magistrate and administrator. He was first lieutenant on during its second survey mission, 1831–1836, under captain Robert FitzRoy. The young ...

, the governing official of

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

settlement until 1859, bought the site and lived there in a house called Manchonlas until her death in 1896. This dwelling was razed about 1906 and was replaced by Boondah c.1907, apparently to a design by notable architect Richard Gailey. By 1907 Fenton Robinson was living at this address and the property remained with the Robinson family until 1967 and was acquired by the present owners in 1972.

Description

Boondah is a single-storeyed weatherboard house with a corrugated iron gabled roof. The building sits on concrete stumps with timber batten infill and is sited on a ridge with the ground sloping to the northeast. The symmetrical north elevation has two corner octagonal ogee shaped

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

's with tall timber finials and a central front 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 a projecting

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 ...

roof. The building has verandahs with corrugated iron skillion roofs to the north, east and west which encircle the octagonal shaped corner bays. The verandahs have cast iron balustrades with a timber valance and

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

. The verandah walls have single skin vertically jointed boards with French doors and sash windows. The front entrance has leadlight fanlight and

sidelight A sidelight or sidelite in a building is a window, usually with a vertical emphasis, that flanks a door or a larger window. Sidelights are narrow, usually stationary and found immediately adjacent doorways.Barr, Peter.Illustrated Glossary, 19th ...

s, and opens to a central corridor leading to the rear of the building. A rear verandah has been enclosed and the rear subfloor space has been bricked in. The grounds include an inground concrete swimming pool in the southeast and a large camphor laurel tree to the southwest. Entry to the site is from the north via a

driveway A driveway (also called ''drive'' in UK English) is a type of private road for local access to one or a small group of structures, and is owned and maintained by an individual or group. Driveways rarely have traffic lights, but some that bear ...

cut into a steep earth embankment.

Heritage listing

Boondah was listed on the

on 11 June 1993 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. Boondah is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a federation period timber house. Boondah, both the house and grounds, is important in exhibiting aesthetic characteristics valued by the Brisbane community, in particular as a striking timber house composed with elaborate verandahs and roofline and for the streetscape contribution of the building and grounds. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. Boondah is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a federation period timber house. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. Boondah, both the house and grounds, is important in exhibiting aesthetic characteristics valued by the Brisbane community, in particular as a striking timber house composed with elaborate verandahs and roofline and for the streetscape contribution of the building and grounds.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Boondah Queensland Heritage Register Heritage of Brisbane Paddington, Queensland Houses in Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Richard Gailey buildings Houses completed in 1907