Moorlands 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 451

Coronation Drive Coronation Drive, popularly known as Coro Drive, is a road in Brisbane, Queensland which connects the Central Business District to the suburb of Toowong. It follows the Brisbane River from the Riverside Expressway, through the suburbs of Milt ...

, Auchenflower,

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

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 was built by contractor Arthur Smith. 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 21 August 1992.

History

Moorlands was constructed in 1892 for the Mayne family of

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 ...

. It replaced an earlier timber residence on the site which was known as Moorlands Villa. StateLibQld 1 118236 Moorland Park in Auchenflower, Brisbane, in 1948

StateLibQld 1 118236 Moorland Park in Auchenflower, Brisbane, in 1948

Mary Mayne, widow of

Patrick Mayne ''The Mayne Inheritance'' is a non-fiction book written by Queensland author Rosamond Siemon. It was first published in 1997 by University of Queensland Press, and a new edition with updated information was issued by the same publisher in 200 ...

, had purchased the earlier house and in 1876. Patrick Mayne was a prominent Brisbane resident in the 1860s-1870s who owned a butcher shop in Queen Street, served as an alderman of the

Brisbane Municipal Council The Town of Brisbane was a local government area for Brisbane in Queensland, Australia from 1859 to 1903. History The Municipality of Brisbane was gazetted on 25 May 1859 and proclaimed by the Governor of New South Wales on 7 September 1859 ...

and speculated in property. Mary Mayne and her five children resided in Moorlands Villa until her death in September 1889. Dr James ONeill Mayne

Four of the children,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, William, Isaac and Mary Emelia, continued to occupy the property and decided to build a new house. The

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

was laid by Mary Emelia Mayne on 3 June 1892. Beneath this was placed a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...

, enclosing newspapers of the day and a statement explaining why the house was being built. The building was designed by architect Richard Gailey, and erected by contractor Arthur Smith. The ground floor contained

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 ...

, vestibule, staircase hall,

drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...

parlour A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...

, dining room,

smoking room A smoking room (or smoking lounge) is a room which is specifically provided and furnished for smoking, generally in buildings where smoking is otherwise prohibited. Locations and facilities Smoking rooms can be found in public buildings suc ...

cloakroom A cloakroom, or sometimes coatroom, is a room for people to hang their coats, cloaks or other outerwear when they enter a building. Cloakrooms are typically found inside large buildings, such as gymnasiums, schools, churches or meeting halls. ...

, serving room, pantries and kitchen. The basement housed cellars, dairy, stores and laundry. A vestibule, ten bedrooms and several bathrooms were located on the first floor. Moorlands remained the property of the Mayne family until 1940, when it was bequeathed to the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, to which the family also had donated funds in the 1920s to purchase the

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

campus. United States service personnel occupied Moorlands 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 ...

and several army-style huts remain in the grounds. In 1947 the building was sold to the Brisbane branch of the Legacy War Widows and Orphans Fund, and accommodated war-orphaned children and widows until 1971. The Methodist (later Uniting) Church bought the property in 1971 and the Wesley Hospital, which opened in March 1977, was built in the grounds behind the house. Moorlands was renovated and converted to office accommodation for the Blue Nursing Service. It is now the head office of the Uniting Church's Division of Aged Care and Domiciliary Services. Following road widening in the 1970s the front fencing was removed and the gates and gate posts (replicas of the originals) were relocated higher up the hill.

Description

Moorlands is a large, two storeyed, rendered brick building, with timber

belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

and an attached service wing to the rear. It stands prominently on a hill 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 Go ...

at the

Toowong Reach 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 ...

, in substantial grounds fronting

. The main roof is clad with

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

, but the steep turreted roof of a corner observation tower is sheeted in broad-profile

galvanised iron Galvanization or galvanizing (American and British English spelling differences, also spelled galvanisation or galvanising) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot ...

. Four double

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 ...

stacks rise above the roofline. Moorlands, varandah

The southeast and northeast elevations, with views of the river, feature verandahs on both levels, an elaborate timber belvedere at the corner, and 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 ...

with

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 in the front (southeastern)

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

. The verandahs and tower are detailed with double timber posts with shared capitals and 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 ...

, a

balustrading 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 co ...

of fine

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 impuriti ...

, and a timber valance. Internally the walls and high ceilings are plastered and painted, with plaster ceiling roses in every room and arches in the hallways and in front of the bay windows. The principal rooms feature elaborate

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

s, paper

frieze 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 ...

s and timber moulding picture rails, which once were decorated in polychrome and gilding. Only the principal front room retains the original decoration. Most rooms contain a

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

with glazed ceramic tiles and a marble surround. Extensive cedar

joinery Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

(particularly the fine staircase and folding doors on the ground floor), is employed throughout the interior.

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 used ...

balustrading panels in the stairwell feature the intertwined letters PM and on the base

newel A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar of a staircase. It can also refer to an upright post that supports and/or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post"). In stairs having st ...

are carved the

Latin words This is a list of Latin words with derivatives in English (and other modern languages). Ancient orthography did not distinguish between ''i'' and ''j'' or between ''u'' and ''v''. Many modern works distinguish u from v but not i from j. In this ...

"''sursum corda"'' (translation "Lift up your hearts")''.'' The stairwell is lit by a large

stained glass window 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 ...

of elaborate design. The internal arrangement of rooms survives, including the cellars beneath the kitchen. A number of mature trees including bunya, poinciana and jacaranda are remnants of an earlier landscaped garden. The multi-storeyed Wesley Hospital complex is situated adjacent to the building.

Heritage listing

Moorlands was listed on the

on 21 August 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. Moorlands is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a substantial 1890s brick residence. Moorlands is important in exhibiting aesthetic characteristics valued by thecommunity, in particular its landmark quality, contribution to the Coronation Drive streetscape and to the riverscape of the Toowong Reach of the Brisbane River. Moorlands has special association with the Mayne family, major benefactors of the University of Queensland, and with the domestic work of architect Richard Gailey. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. Moorlands is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a substantial 1890s brick residence. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. Moorlands is important in exhibiting aesthetic characteristics valued by thecommunity, in particular its landmark quality, contribution to the Coronation Drive streetscape and to the riverscape of the Toowong Reach of the Brisbane River. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. Moorlands has special association with the Mayne family, major benefactors of the University of Queensland, and with the domestic work of architect Richard Gailey.

References

Attribution

External links