Gowrie House 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 112 Mary Street,

East Toowoomba East Toowoomba is a residential locality in Toowoomba in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , East Toowoomba had a population of 5,244 people. Geography East Toowoomba is by road from the Toowoomba central business district. ...

in the Toowoomba Region of

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 designed by architect Henry James (Harry) Marks and built . It is also known as Largo. 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 25 August 2000.

History

The low-set brick house, Largo, on the corner of Arthur and Mary Street was designed by Harry Marks for prominent Toowoomba businessman

Alexander Mayes Alexander Mayes (1859–1941) was a builder and politician in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He was Mayor of Toowoomba. Early life Alexander Mayes was born on 17 July 1859 in Largo, Fifeshire, Scotland. He learned his trade as a builder ...

and built in 1901 or 1902. Architect Harry Marks was born and trained in Toowoomba and he and his father James Marks have been described by the

Toowoomba Regional Council The Toowoomba Region is a local government area located in the Darling Downs part of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the early 1900s and beyo ...

as dominating the architectural profession in Toowoomba for more than half a century. While Harry Marks designed a number of buildings on the Darling Downs and in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, most of his work was in Toowoomba. His designs included Rodway, St James Parish Hall, St Luke's Church Hall and Gladstone House and Cottage. Marks was not only a good architect, he was an inventive one, and he patented some of his innovative solutions such as the Austral window. Alexander Mayes born at Largo, Fifeshire, Scotland, in 1859 came out to Queensland and established himself as a Toowoomba builder and contractor in 1886. He worked on the

Toowoomba City Hall Toowoomba City Hall is a heritage-listed town hall at 541 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Willoughby Powell and built in 1900 by Alexander Mayne. It is also known as Toowoomba Town Hall. It ...

Toowoomba Post Office Toowoomba Post Office is a heritage-listed former post office at 136 Margaret Street, Toowoomba City, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built from 1878 to 1908 by John ...

, Tooowoomba Masonic Hall, Commercial Bank,

Toowoomba Technical College Toowoomba Technical College is a heritage-listed former technical college at 124 Margaret Street, East Toowoomba, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Thomas Pye and built in 1911. It is also known as Southern ...

Vacy Hall Vacy Hall is a heritage-listed villa at 135 Russell Street, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built . It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. History This single storeyed brick residence ...

and many private homes. He was mayor of Toowoomba in 1896, 1903, and 1912, and was the first mayor of the enlarged city of Toowoomba in 1916–1917. He was also active in the community serving on the School of Arts and Technical College Committee, the

School Committee, he was a staunch Mason, and was honorary superintendent of the Toowoomba Fire Brigade for 42 years. He was also involved with the Austral Association. Successful and prosperous, Alexander Mayes and his wife Helena Agnes, daughter of grazier William Grieve, had moved into their new architect designed home by 1902. This large masonry house reflected the status of the Mayes in Toowoomba's society. One of Mayes' sons described his boyhood home in The Toowoomba Chronicle of 4 July 1985. He remembered three large bedrooms, the drawing room and the dining room all opening off the central hallway. At the rear was a large room "furnished with three beds and two long tables end-to-end", while the kitchen, pantry and maid's quarters were at the rear. Sons Emeritus Professor Bruce Toowoomba Mayes, Dr Alexander Mayes (involved with founding of St Andrew's Hospital Brisbane), Rev Charles Mayes and Hector Mayes were all born in this house. In 1922 Mayes retired to northern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and Walter Watts occupied the house until Dr Albert Furness acquired it in 1936 when he employed noted Toowoomba architect

William Hodgen William Hodgen (1866–1943) was an architect in Queensland, Australia. Many of his works are now heritage-listed. He is also known as William Hodgen, junior. Early life William Hodgen was born in Toowoomba on 9 September 1866, the son of pione ...

for alterations. Hodgen's specifications include changes to the garage and laundry, adding panelling in the dining room, installing electric light switches and polishing woodwork in the dining room, drawing room and master bedroom. Dr Furness sold it to the

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

(YWCA) of Toowoomba in 1945. The Young Women's Christian Association was founded in the 1850s in England to provide accommodation for women and girls. It soon spread to America and Europe, and is now an international organisation. The first Queensland branch was formed in

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 the ...

in 1888 and Brisbane in 1890. A branch was established in Toowoomba in 1932 due to the initiatives of Lady Groom, wife of the local

Member of the Australian House of Representatives Following are lists of members of the Australian House of Representatives: *Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1901–1903 * Members of the Australian House of Representatives, 1903–1906 * Members of the Australian House of Rep ...

Littleton Groom Sir Littleton Ernest Groom KCMG KC (22 April 18676 November 1936) was an Australian politician. He held ministerial office under four prime ministers between 1905 and 1925, and subsequently served as Speaker of the House of Representatives fr ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the Toowoomba YWCA offered leave accommodation to servicewomen. The need for their own large premises saw the 1945 president and South Girls School headmistress, Miss Aileen Myfanwy Wadley, with a deposit of , able to acquire a loan to purchase Largo for the YWCA. Renamed Gowrie House after

Lady Gowrie Zara Hore-Ruthven, Countess of Gowrie ( Zara Eileen Pollok; 20 January 1879 – 19 July 1965) was the Anglo-Irish wife of the 1st Earl of Gowrie, Governor of South Australia 1928–34, Governor of New South Wales 1935–36 and the longest servi ...

, the wife of the

Australian Governor General The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, the site became the Toowoomba Young Women's Christian Association hostel. Mayor JD Annand officially opened it on 10 November 1945 as a hostel for young working and service girls. The Toowoomba Chronicle of 12 November 1945 described the new hostel, saying how it was ideally situated on an acre of ground with mature shady trees and turf lawn and "should provide a happy atmosphere for many students and Service girls away from home". The solid brick house had a central hall off which were four spacious rooms with fireplaces and large windows and doors which opened onto wide verandahs. These large rooms with cedar-framed windows, doors and mantle pieces had been converted into dormitories sleeping four to six girls. The veranda on the northern side had also been converted into a dormitory. Just off this sleepout was "the bathroom with gas heater, set-in basin, bath and shower". Of three smaller rooms, one would be used for the matron and the others for dressing rooms. At the end of the hall was a huge cedar-panelled dining room with eight tables each seating six girls. Facing east it opened onto a fernery and side garden. The staff room, servery and well-equipped kitchen opened off the south side of the dining room. An increase in country girls wanting secondary education and needing accommodation in Toowoomba resulted in construction of the Wadley Wing in the late 1950s. An increase in the accommodation needs of business and secondary students necessitated further expansion, with a new wing named after past president Margaret Hofmann opened by 1971 — it replaced a couple of army huts that had been used by senior girls. With the Education Department's policy of building country high schools, the number of girls requiring accommodation in Toowoomba reduced. However, there was a need for male apprentice accommodation, so in 1979 the branch adjusted the YWCA policy to allow the admission of both males and females to Gowrie House. Due to the growth in tertiary education facilities and students in Toowoomba, and the growth in disabled students needing accommodation in the late 1980s, the YWCA launched a major building appeal programme. The aim was to increase accommodation to 42, erect a new ablution and laundry block, and additions of kitchen, dining room and activities room plus wheelchair facilities. Fund raising, donations and a grant through the Queensland Government Housing Accommodation Assistance Scheme enabled the expansion. Extra facilities and accommodation have been added to the house over time so that it could cope with pressure of changing times. This included, for example, the addition of wheel chair access, increased accommodation by adding new wings, as well as modernising and maintaining the complex. The Gowrie House complex is the association's Toowoomba headquarters and is the only remaining Queensland YWCA owned hostel that continues to provide accommodation to students, disabled persons, travellers and members with its 42 rooms that include single, double and twin rooms. A 1995 survey of Toowoomba's heritage places, the Toowoomba inner residential area heritage study, included Gowrie House as a place of special consideration site.

Description

Gowrie House is a large, low-set brick residence located on a large block on the corner of Mary and Arthur Streets, Toowoomba. The core of this brick house has a symmetrical front facade; a central 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 ...

separating

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or r ...

s which extend through the

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 ''veran ...

roof and are surmounted by a

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

. The steep hipped corrugated iron roof rises to a lace-trimmed

widow's walk A widow's walk, also known as a widow's watch or roofwalk, is a railed rooftop platform often having an inner cupola/turret frequently found on 19th-century North American coastal houses. The name is said to come from the wives of mariners, who ...

. It is built of thick cavity bricks on

foundations Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

of bluestone from the Harlaxton quarry, and the limited subfloor has hit-and-miss brick infill. Wide concrete steps lead up to a prominent

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

with "Largo" etched in the fretwork

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 ...

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

which is supported by paired timber posts while the wide veranda is edged by intricate iron lace. Use of lighter coloured bricks for quoins framing windows and wall edges are also employed, and this emphasises the separation of higher and lower gutter lines, as do the timber

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 ...

supporting the superior roof. An arch with a timber panelled base and

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

above frames the wide six-panel front door. The arch above the door consists of three arcs, stained glass separated by concrete. The U-shaped veranda is enclosed on the northern side, while on the southern side it terminates at a

-roofed room. Concrete

stairs Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

from the veranda give access to the garden while a door surmounted by a

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

give entrance to a bay-windowed room. The

has sash windows with a concrete

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

and

sill Sill may refer to: * Sill (dock), a weir at the low water mark retaining water within a dock * Sill (geology), a subhorizontal sheet intrusion of molten or solidified magma * Sill (geostatistics) * Sill (river), a river in Austria * Sill plate, a ...

. Attention is drawn to the crenellated roof by the use of coloured brickwork. Above this is a flying gable with a finial. As is typical with such houses, the service facilities are less ornate, so that the room on the other side of this gable-roofed room has the same double

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...

s, lintel and sill, but has a shallower hip roof. A small porch gives access to this room. The three vented

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...

s, unusual exterior sash windows and window decorations are typical of Harry Marks designs. Internally, the building is largely intact. Apart from the modern kitchen, and a door opening between two of the former bedrooms, there are few changes. Surviving details in the house include doors, skirtings, all fire surrounds, plaster ceilings, coving, windows and stained glass. The original gas lamp remains in the entry. Gowrie House is set back from the road and a new garden has been constructed around its western and southern elevations, while the grounds include several mature trees.

Heritage listing

Gowrie House was listed on the

on 25 August 2000 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. Acquired by the Young Women's Christian Association of Toowoomba in 1945, it offered secure accommodation to young women working and studying in Toowoomba until 1979 when societal changes meant that both sexes could obtain lodgings in this old house. It is the only YWCA owned hostel still operating in Queensland. The use of the building and subsequent additions reflect the changes in accommodation needs for females and value of the YWCA to the community. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. Gowrie House displays the inventiveness and creativity typical of Marks' design work and is an excellent example of the architects work. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. It is one of a number of extant buildings designed by the Mark's family that contribute to the architectural character of Toowoomba. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. Gowrie House, a large low-set brick building designed by prominent Toowoomba architect HJ Marks for leading building contractor Alexander Mayes . Mayes was a Mayor of Toowoomba and active in community organisations. Gowrie House is significant for its association with both these Toowoomba identities.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Gowrie House Queensland Heritage Register Buildings and structures in Toowoomba Houses in Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Houses completed in 1901 1901 establishments in Australia YWCA buildings East Toowoomba, Queensland