Filigree architecture is a modern term given to a phase in the history of Australian architecture. The phase was an embellishment of the "Australian verandah tradition", where the verandah evolved from its functional usages in the Old Colonial period to become highly ornamental.
The filigree style was a vernacular tradition of buildings possessing prominent
verandahs
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 ...
that screened the facade, cloaking the exterior in an ornamental veil that obscured the rest of building. On filigree-style buildings, the verandah was the main visual element. The name "
filigree
Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork.
In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver ...
" refers to the intricate texture of this screen-like verandah, which was often perforated to let air and light pass through, creating dazzling displays of shadows.
In the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edward ...
, the style exploded into popularity. Double and triple-storey verandahs lined the main streets, with some rare examples reaching up to four storeys. Victorian Filigree-style verandahs were made almost exclusively from
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 impu ...
, and their delicate appearance gave rise to the term: ''"cast iron lacework"''. In the Federation era, the style evolved into the Federation Filigree style, when timber eclipsed cast iron as the material of choice, and the shape and form of the verandah became more novel.Apperly, Irving, & Reynolds (1994), pg 108-111
The style was mainly popularised by speculative builders, but it also did not have a class consciousness, being used both on humble workers cottage developments, as well as by prominent commercial architects such as
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 ...
and
Andrea Stombuco
Andrea Giovanni Stombuco (1820-1907) was an Italian-born Australian sculptor and architect. Many of the buildings he designed are listed on the heritage registers in Australia.
Early life
Andrea Stombuco travelled widely and was involved in var ...
. Neither was it reserved for a single setting, being used in domestic, commercial, and governmental settings,Apperly, Irving, & Reynolds (1994), pg 63 becoming particularly well associated with the Australian terrace house, and the Australian verandah'd pub.Turner (1885), pg 115-136
These strong associations have led to the filigree style being "regarded as distinctly Australian." And while both ornamental cast iron and verandahs can be found elsewhere in the world, Australia possesses a unique interpretation of the design and form of this style, as well as a prevalence unseen elsewhere.
Terminology History
"Filigree" was first proposed as a style descriptor by architectural historian Richard Apperly, and was popularised in A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present''' (1989) by Richard Apperly, Robert Irving & Peter Reynolds. With the book, they attempted to establish a series of guidelines governing Australian architectural styles. Australian architectural history was split into six distinct, chronological eras: Old Colonial; Victorian; Federation; Inter-War; Post-War; and Late-Twentieth Century.
A particular focus of Apperly, Irving, & Reynolds was recognising unique, Australian trends that had so far been unrecognised in academia. They coined the term "Filigree" to describe the prevalence of buildings possessing prominent
verandah
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 ...
and
balcony
A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor.
Types
The traditional Maltese balcony is ...
structures that dominate the facade, hiding the building's external walls behind an intricately-textured verandah screen that subsumed the building.Apperly, Irving, & Reynolds (1994), pg 60 The name "
filigree
Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork.
In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver ...
" refers to the intricate texture of the
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 ...
,
columns
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...
,
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 ' ...
and freizes that made up that verandah screen, which was often perforated to let air and light pass through. This lacy, filigree screen was designed to stand proud of the mass of the main building, creating an in-between space that was both public and private.
Apperly, Irving, & Reynolds divided Filigree architecture into two main phases. Victorian Filigree described architecture with a visually dominant verandah or balcony constructed during the Victorian era between – . The primary verandah construction material in this era was
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 impu ...
, often referred to as ''"cast iron lacework"'' .E. G. Robertson (1962), pg 5 Federation Filigree describes the continuation of this verandah tradition into the Federation era ( – ). In this period cast iron (though still in usage) was eclipsed by the demand for novel, naturalised materials such as
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including Beam (structure), beams and plank (wood), planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as fini ...
and hand-worked
wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...
.
Verandah structures and decorative cast iron were common components of Victorian and Federation architecture, and the prevalence of these components on
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italia ...
,
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
, and Second Empire styled buildings indicates their popularity at the time. However their presence did not necessarily characterise a building as being of the filigree style, this term being reserved for buildings whereby the lacework verandah is the main external design feature.
Origins
The first verandah structures built by European colonisers were ''bungalow-type'' buildings perhaps inspired by examples found in other parts of the British Empire through the connection of military officers who had served in
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
and North America.Miles Lewis, ‘10.02.1 The Verandah in Australia’, in The Culture of Australian Building ynamic web publication as at April 2023 The
Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
War of Independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which resi ...
and likely would have encountered the verandah during his time there. In 1893, Grose added a verandah to the frontage of the house in which he was residing. Later, during Grose's tenure as governor a single storey verandah was added along the front of Government House, and in 1802 it was extended along the side of the new eastern additions. Captain John Macarthur and his wife Elizabeth built their
farmhouse
FarmHouse (FH) is a social fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 33 active chapters and four associate chapters (formerly colonies) in the United State ...
at
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
in 1894 with a verandah running along the northern aspect overlooking the river. The verandah in this early period often acted as an external passageway, serving as the access point to rooms which did not connect to each other internally. Most crucially, the verandah also served to protect against both harsh sun and torrential rain.
Early double-storey verandahs were often constructed out timber and stone, such as the ''" Rum Hospital"'' (c.1810-1816), which ran in a long ribbon along a prominent ridgeline on the eastern fringe of Sydney. Another prominent early example of the style was the quadruple-storeyed ''Royal Hotel'' on
George Street, Sydney
George Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney.
It was Sydney's original high street, and remains one of the busiest streets in the city centre. It connects a number of the city's most important buildings and precincts. ...
(c.1840), whose heavy, towering appearance was much remarked upon by visitors. In 1841,
Samuel Lyons
Samuel Lyons (1791 – 3 August 1851) was a pardoned convict from London who rose to prominence in the Australian colony of New South Wales as a landowner and businessman. A tailor by trade, Lyons was sentenced to transportation for life in 1814 ...
, a successful auctioneer and former convict, built the masionistic ''Lyons Terrace'' overlooking Hyde Park. It was one of the first terraces which had raised party walls that projected above the roofline, as required by the Building Act 1837, which had been passed by the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales three years earlier. Lyons Terrace was three storeys, with a long double-storey verandah draped in cast ironwork running along the breadth of it. It was a humongous and marvelous building, and it obviously had an effect on the young city. It was repeatedly painted and photographed by locals and visitors alike, and curiously, time and time again it is marked in maps of the city, as if considered a landmark. The double-storey verandah of
Como
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has m ...
,
South Yarra
South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popu ...
(1847) is of unusual design, consisting of spiked fence railings. On '' Strickland House'',
Vaucluse
Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label=Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.John Frederick Hilly, a masonry colonnade of Doric columns wraps around the lower level, while the upper level balcony features cast iron railings and Sydney-style cast iron openwork columns.
Victorian Filigree
Starting with the period of the gold rushes of New South Wales and Victoria, the economy entered into a boom period which lasted until the 1890s. During this time, and often at the expense of the original Aboriginal inhabitants, European-Australians prospered. With this prosperity came a growing demand for more and more ornate styles of architecture, and this boom-time optimism found its physical expression in florid explosions of cast iron lacework decorating the facades of the most triumphant buildings.Apperly, Irving, & Reynolds (1994), pg 60-63
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 impu ...
was not a new material, but technological advances in its production meant that it could now reach a mass market. These lacy filigree screens were at first simple; on ''Lyons Terrace'' only the
balustrade
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 ...
was made from cast iron lacework, but the style eventually developed to include
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 ' ...
,
friezes
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
, fringes, and sometimes even double-friezes. Some examples in East Melbourne show the change in materials over time: ''Burlington Terrace'',
East Melbourne
East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...
(), designed by Charles Webb, features a cast iron balustrade with timber brackets and columns; ''Lawson Terrace'',
East Melbourne
East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...
(), features cast iron balustrade and key-frieze, with timber columns and brackets; and ''Hepburn Terrace'',
East Melbourne
East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...
(), features balustrade, frieze, brackets and columns all made from ornamental cast iron.
The basic silhouette of ''Lyons Terrace'' (three-storeys with a two-storey verandah) was incredibly influential, and copied repeatedly by terrace rows around the country such as ''Fitzroy Terrace,''
East Melbourne
East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...
''(c. 1855);'' ''Carlton Terrace'',
Wynyard Wynyard may refer to:
Australia:
*Wynyard, Sydney, the district of Sydney CBD around Wynyard railway station, Sydney
*Wynyard Park, Sydney
*Wynyard, Tasmania
*County of Wynyard, in the Murrumbidgee–Tumut region of New South Wales
Canada:
*Wynya ...
Surry Hills
Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is sur ...
(c. 1868-69); ''Tasma Terrace'',
East Melbourne
East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...
(); ''Lawrenny Terrace'',
Surry Hills
Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is sur ...
(c. 1882); ''Hughenden Terrace'', Petersham (1884); and ''Herberto Terrace'',
Glebe
Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...
(1885). However, not all multi-storey terraces followed the ''Lyons'' silhouette. ''Holcombe Terrace'', Carlton (1884), designed by Norman Hitchcock, is a three-storey terrace draped in a matching three-storey veil of lacework. Its polychrome brick facade shimmers underneath the cast ironwork verandah, and the lacework has been painted in cream and maroon to mirror the brickwork, creating a blur of colour that astonishes an onlooker. Other notable, still-standing terraces with triple-storey verandahs include ''Marine Terrace'',
Grange Beach
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austr ...
(1884); ''Waverly Terrace'',
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...
Surry Hills
Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is sur ...
(). The four-storey '' Milton Terrace'', Millers Point (1880-82) features three levels above ground, and a basement level below. Perhaps one of the finest terrace rows in Sydney is the four-storeyed ''Brent Terrace'', Elizabeth Bay (c.1897). Praised for its "''florid ornateness''," this magnificent row of eight features three levels of matching of cast iron lace from the foundry of Dash & Wise.
In this era, the Filigree style became well associated with hotels and pubs. The verandah was a space that was both public and private, and encouraged shady relaxation for its visitors, and so was thus immensely suited for hotels. Initially, timber verandahs were employed. Later, cast iron started to make an appearance. On the double-storey verandah of the ''Royal Hotel'', Hill End () a cast iron balustrade graces the upper level, with the roof being held up by Sydney-style openwork columns. The ''
Regatta Hotel
Regatta Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 543 Coronation Drive on the corner of Sylvan Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It faces the Toowong Reach of the Brisbane River and was named after the rowing regattas held ...
'',
Toowong
Toowong is a riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 10,830 people.
Geography
Toowong is situated between Mount Coot-tha and the Brisbane River and is made up of rolling hills ...
(1886) presents a three-layered screen of filigree to onlookers. Situated overlooking the
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the G ...
, the hotel makes great use of its assets, and patrons can often be seen partying in the cool tropical air on its verandahs. The ''Regatta'' was designed by architect
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 ...
, who practiced extensively in the Filigree style. Other triple-storey pubs designed by Gailey include the ''Kangaroo Point Hotel'', Kangaroo Point (1886);''Empire Hotel'',
Fortitude Valley
Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedest ...
(1888) and ''
Prince Consort Hotel
Prince Consort Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 230 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey and built from 1887 to 1888 with later extensions. It was added to the Queenslan ...
'',
Fortitude Valley
Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedest ...
(1888) and he also designed the Filigree style Moorlands, Auchenflower (1892) The triple-storey verandah of the ''Kangaroo Point Hotel'' was removed in 1924, when Filigree-style verandahs were falling out of fashion, but was re-added in a restoration in 1994. Victorian Filigree style pubs were found right across the country, often clothed in locally-cast ornamental iron. The ''Australian Hotel'',
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...
(1888) features a local Queensland pattern. The '' Palace Hotel'',
Broken Hill
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. I ...
(1889), was designed by architect Alfred Dunn, and features a pattern common in Sydney, while the ''Post Office Hotel'', Bourke (1888) features a pattern from the Sun foundry from
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...
. These two examples show the competing influence of various Australian cities in the remote outback. Most pubs verandahs sported the same, stock-standard patterns as other buildings, but an exception is the ''Royal Hotel'', Bathurst () whose custom-cast ironwork is emblazoned with its initial "R".
Examples of the Victorian Filigree style
File:Mollison House in East Melbourne, Australia.jpg, ''Burlington Terrace'',
East Melbourne
East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...
(1867).
File:Winsbury Terrace 75-79 Kent Street Millers Point.jpg, ''
Winsbury Terrace
Winsbury Terrace are heritage-listed terrace houses located at 75–79 Kent Street, in the inner city Sydney suburb of Millers Point, New South Wales, Millers Point in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It w ...
,'' Millers Point (c. 1875)
File:Rupertswood mansion side angle shot.jpg, ''
Rupertswood
Rupertswood is a mansion and country estate located in Sunbury, 50km north-northwest of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is well known as the birthplace of The Ashes urn which was humorously presented to English cricket captain Ivo Bligh ...
'', Sunbury (1874-76); architect George Brown.
File:Government House in Darwin photographed in June 2011.jpg, ''
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries.
Gover ...
'', Darwin ().
File:Tasma Terrace East Melbourne.jpg, ''Tasma Terrace'',
East Melbourne
East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...
(1879). Victorian Free Classical terrace with filigree verandahs.
File:Eynesbury 002.jpg, ''Eynesbury House'', Kingswood (1881)
File:Townhouses at Grange 2.jpg, ''Marine Terrace'',
Grange Beach
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austr ...
(1884). A key example of the Adelaide-style, with three storeys of setback filigree verandahs.
File:CBC Bank building, Narrandera, NSW, 2022.jpg, ''
Commercial Banking Company of Sydney
The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, also known as the CBC, or CBC Bank, was a bank based in Sydney, Australia. It was established in 1834, and in 1982 merged with the National Bank of Australasia to form National Australia Bank.
...
Bank Building'',
Narrandera
Narrandera ( ) until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell and Sturt highways, adjacent to the Murrumbidgee River, an ...
. Built 1884-1885.
File:(1) Boronia(1885).JPG, ''
Boronia
''Boronia'' is a genus of about 160 species of flowering plants in the citrus family Rutaceae. Most are endemic to Australia with a few species in New Caledonia, which were previously placed in the genus ''Boronella''. They occur in all Aust ...
'',
Mosman
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local gov ...
Ballarat
Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
Within months of Vi ...
(1886)
File:Rockhampton Railway Administration Building (former) (2008).jpg, ''
Railway Administration Building
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
'',
Rockhampton
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of ...
(1886).
File:"Wardlow", Parkville, Victoria Australia (4596152014).jpg, ''Wardlow'', Parkville (1888).
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italia ...
mansion with canted verandah screens.
File:Empire Hotel, Brunswick Street facade, Fortitude Valley, 2023.jpg, '' Empire Hotel'',
Fortitude Valley
Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedest ...
(1888) Smith and Ball, builders.
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 ...
, architect.
File:London Chartered Bank of Australia Building, Bourke, 2021, 01.jpg, ''London Chartered Bank of Australia Building'', Bourke (1888).
File:Kirkston at Windsor, Queensland.jpg, '' Kirkston'', Windsor (1889).
File:Alpha Terrace, Launceston (late-1880s), Pic 1.jpg, ''Alpha Terrace'', Launceston (late-1880s).
Federation Filigree
The Federation Era saw a change in the materials used to construct the verandah screen. For the most part, the style remained essentially the same; large filigree'd verandahs standing proud of the building and dominating the facade. What changed was the materials.
Red-brick buildings were a hallmark of the Federation Filigree style. In the Victorian-Era, the facades of buildings varied: they could be unrendered face-brick or they could be rendered and painted in a myriad of colours; the bricks could be pale blonde, or hawthorn blacks, or any manner of polychrome arrangement. In contrast, one of the defining characteristics of Federation architecture is its affection for an unrendered, red brick facade. This was driven by a historicist interest in the architecture of the Queen Anne period, a kind of reactionary homage to an imagined England of the past. In red brick, the Federation Era had found its staple ingredient, spreading it on every external-facing wall, from train stations to substations, from mansions to terrace houses.
A quest for novelty and eclecticism often marked architecture in this period, and influences were drawn from Romanesque, Moorish, and Art Nouveau traditions to create eccentric and idiosyncratic facades. Contrast was often created through using clashing materials such as red-brick broken up by bands of white/cream stone or stucco. This is sometimes called a ''"blood-and-bandages"'' or ''"bacon-rind"'' effect. On the ''Imperial Hotel,'' Ravenswood (1901), the verandah is composed of an eclectic mix of timber and cast iron. Each section of the verandah plays with light and colour in different ways. Underneath the verandah, bands of red and white are striped horizontally across the facade. This ''"blood-and-bandages"'' design is a key part of the Filigree Style, as it combines with the verandah to dazzle an onlooker with contrasting shapes and colours. Other notable examples of Federation Filigree-styled buildings employing the ''"blood-and-bandages"'' effect for dazzlement purposes include the ''Kurri Kurri Hotel'',
Kurri Kurri
Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the , its population was 6,044. Kurri Kurri is the largest town in a group of towns and hamlets, including Stanford Merthyr, Pelaw Main, ...
(1904); and the ''Broadway Hotel'',
Junee
Junee () is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in par ...
(1914);.
The most marked and relevant change in the Filigree Style was to the filigree itself, with timber becoming the primary material with which verandahs and balconies were constructed. A reactionary dismay at the standardised, industrial nature of the Victorian Era had led to a demand for novel, naturalised materials such as timber and wrought iron. Timber had a natural feeling to it, it was a organic material alluded to thousands of years of carpentry and craftmanship, but in truth it was just as manufactured as cast ironwork. Advancements in technology lead to steam-powered and, later, electricity-powered machines such as bandsaws, jigsaws, and
lathes
A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to ...
. Suddenly, timber could be carved, fretted, and turned, quickly and cheaply, and vast quantities of timber verandah ornamentation became available to the mass market. Areas that experienced large amounts of upper-middle class development in the Federation era contain some of the best surviving domestic examples of the timbered-verandah style. Notable areas include Sydney's North Shore,
Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
, and Launceston which contains many examples including ''Hargate'' (-03); ''Kilmarnock'' (); ''Victoria League House'' (); ''Werona'' ().
Wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...
, worked by hand and containing the all the individual quirks of a crafted commodity, was perhaps the truer expression of this desire for natural forms. ''Eastbourne House and terraces'',
East Melbourne
East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...
(1906), likely designed by Robert Haddon in a florid'','' personal interpretation of a ''Federation
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Moder ...
-Filigree style'', uses wrought iron to smash apart established understanding of lacework balcony norms, drawing the balustrade out and down in a tendril to link up with the frieze beneath it. One of the most famous usages of wrought iron on a Federation verandah was ''
Buchanan's Hotel
Buchanan's Hotel (nicknamed "Buchs"Gibson-Wilde, Dorothy M. and Bruce C. ''A Pattern of Pubs: Hotels of Townsville 1864-1914''. James Cook University, 1988.) was a hotel on Sturt Street located in the Townsville City, Queensland, CBD of Townsvi ...
'',
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...
(1902). The triple-storey verandah featured cast iron balustrading; timber columns and ventilation panels; deep wrought iron friezes; and coloured glass insert panels, and was considered by many to be the pinnacle of the Filigree style. The wrought iron frieze panels were manufactured locally by Green's Foundry.Turner (1985), pg 92 In late 1982, a tragic fire tore through the rear section of the hotel leaving it severely damaged, but the brick facade and the verandah sustained only "limited damage". However the council panicked and started demolishing the rear of the building, and when confronted by members of the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
destroyed the frontage under the cover of nighttime. Glass was a fairly rare verandah component, but another notable Federation Filigree building to employ it was Soden's ''Hotel Australia'',
Albury
Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...
, which incorporates curvaceous
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Moder ...
-style stained glass and wrought iron. The verandah was quite late construction, with the hotel's licensee James Soden first constructing the grand entryway porch in 1920, then extending it into a whole wraparound verandah in 1925.
Federation Filigree-style verandahs were often combined with the Queen Anne style, marrying turned-timbered verandahs with Tudor-esque gables and a cottage-like feel. On
Beaufort Street
Beaufort Street is a major road in the inner north-eastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting the Morley area to the Perth central business district. For most of its length, it is a single-carriageway, two-way road with two lanes ...
in West Perth is a row of Federation Queen Anne-Filigree grand-terraces built c.1897. The grandeur of the turreted row contrasts with the quaont Queen Anne detailing.
Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
(1897). Designed by Joseph John Talbot Hobbs.
File:237 Beaufort St, Perth2.jpg, A row of Federation Queen Anne-Filigree grand-terraces,
Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
Woollahra
Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollah ...
, (c.1900). A Queen Anne style house with strong Federation Filigree elements.
File:Ballarat George Hotel 002.JPG, George Hotel,
Ballarat
Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
Within months of Vi ...
. Built 1902.
File:Wolverton, 2005.jpg, ''
Wolverton
Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and G ...
'',
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...
. Built c. 1903.
File:Fulham Terrace, Croydon (1904).jpg, ''Fulham Terrace'',
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...
(1904)
File:CastleHotelYork.jpg, ''Castle Hotel'', York (c. 1905).
File:Eastbourne terrace.jpg, ''Eastbourne House and terraces'',
East Melbourne
East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...
(1906), a private hospital with attached terrace pair, likely designed by Robert Haddon.
File:Werona 33 Trevallyn Road, Trevallyn, Launceston Tasmania 7250.JPG, ''Werona'', Launceston (1908)''.''
File:Charters Towers Police Station, Gill Street elevation (1997).jpg, ''Police Station'',
Charters Towers
Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits unde ...
(1910). Architect,
Thomas Pye
Sir Thomas Pye ( – 26 December 1785) was an admiral of the Royal Navy who served during the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, and the American War of Independence. He was briefly Member of Parliament for Rochester, and se ...
.
File:Rochester Shamrock Hotel 001.JPG, ''Shamrock Hotel'',
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
(c.1912)
File:Thorby Buildings, Leichhardt (1912).jpg, ''Thorby Buildings'', Leichhardt (1912)
File:Queenslander house in Roderick Street, Ipswich, Queensland 01.jpg, ''Kameruka'',
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
(1917). ''Federation Filigree-style Queenslander'' with double access stairs.
File:Criterion Hotel facade, Warwick, Queensland, June 2020.jpg, ''Criterion Hotel'', Warwick; built 1917.Apperly, Irving, Reynolds (1989), pg 108
References
Bibliography
* Apperly, Richard; Irving, Robert; Reynolds, Peter ''A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present'', 1989, Angus & Robertson.
* Howells, Trevor; Morris, Colleen ''The Terrace Houses in Australia'', 1999, Lansdowne Publishing Pty Ltd,
* Turner, Brian ''Australia's Iron Lace'', 1985, George Allen & Unwin Australia Pty Ltd,
* Turner, Brian ''The Australian Terrace House'', 1995, Angus & Robertson,
* Robertson, E. Graeme ''Sydney Lace'', 1962, Georgian House, Melbourne
* Robertson, E. Graeme ''Adelaide Lace'', 1973, Rigby Limited
* Robertson, E. Graeme; Robertson, Joan ''Decorative Cast Iron In Australia'', 1884, Currey O'Neil Ross Pty Ltd, {{ISBN, 0-670-90253-5
Architecture in AustraliaArchitecture in Australia by period or style