Baroona is a heritage-listed

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

at 90 Howard Street,

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

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

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, 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. As ...

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 () 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 was 245. The A9 ...

on the other. Box had arrived in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

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 (organization), club house at 19 George Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built from 18 ...

and of the

Queensland Legislative Council Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

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, sorted by parliament. See also * Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral districts This is a list of current and former Electoral dis ...

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 G ...

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 Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

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 (CGI) or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America), zinc (in Cyprus and Nigeria) or ...

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

finial A finial () 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 dome, spire, tower, roo ...

s and decorative

bargeboard A bargeboard or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to conceal the otherwise exposed end grain of the horizontal timbers or purlins of the roof. The word ''bargeboard'' is pr ...

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 u ...

Veranda A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

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 (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

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

valance A Valance is a decorative apron used to conceal mechanical or structural framework for aesthetic purposes. Valance may refer to: Furnishings * Window valance, used above a window to conceal hardware or other window treatments * Bed skirt, a pie ...

and

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

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 c ...

. The south verandah has timber arches with lattice infill and opens off a hall with a corrugated iron

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

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. A strong joint, it allows two flat pieces to be joined strongly together to mak ...

boards. This vault has glazing to the western end and a central square raised

skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...

. 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 u ...

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=https://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 (later state) of Queensland since the 1850s. ''The Queenslander'' was launched by the Brisbane Newspaper Company in ...

, date=28 May 1931 , page=47 , via=National Library of Australia — 1931 newspaper article by Florence Eliza Lord Queensland Heritage Register Heritage of Brisbane Paddington, Queensland Houses in Brisbane Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Benjamin Backhouse buildings