Kenmore House is a heritage-listed

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

at 31 Ward Street, The Range,

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

Rockhampton Region The Rockhampton Region is a local government area (LGA) in Central Queensland, Australia, located on the Tropic of Capricorn about north of Brisbane. Rockhampton is the region's major city; the region also includes the Fitzroy River, Mount ...

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. The design is attributed to James Flint and it was built from onwards. It is also known as Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Pinehurst and The Mansion. 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

Kenmore House is a two storeyed brick building erected as a residence for John Ferguson on the Athelstane Range overlooking Rockhampton. Its design is attributed to Rockhampton architect, James Flint. Ferguson arrived in Rockhampton during the 1860s and quickly established himself as a builder and contractor. In 1884, he purchased a large share in the

Mount Morgan mine Mount Morgan Mine was a copper, gold and silver mine in Queensland, Australia. Mining began at Mount Morgan, Queensland, Mount Morgan in 1882 and continued until 1981. Over its lifespan, the mine yielded approximately of gold, of silver and ...

, becoming very wealthy when the public company was floated. In 1888, he retired from building. Ferguson served on the Rockhampton Municipal Council from 1878-1890, becoming Mayor in 1880-81 and 1882-83. From 1881-88 he was the local Member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

, and from 1894-1906 he was a Member 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, ...

. In 1901, he was elected a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

in the first

Australian federal parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch of Australia (represented by the governor ...

. "Honest John" Ferguson (as he was known) was also the President of the Central Queensland Separation League, founded in 1890. Kenmore, which reputedly cost , was according to traditions intended as a future

government house Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...

for the new state. After meeting with British officials in London in 1892 as a delegate of the Separation League, Ferguson reputedly ordered monogrammed china and gold plate for the future official residence. Known locally as the "Mansion", the house was set in ten acres of land laid out with ornamental trees and gardens including rose trellises, hedges, and pergolas, Norfolk pines, a tamarind tree, and mango trees. The house contained a ballroom tiled with locally quarried black and white marble and a reception hall on the first floor. In 1894 it was described as one of the finest homes in Queensland with few equals in any of the colonies of Australia. At this time the house may have been named Pinehurst, although by 1896 it was known as Kenmore, the name of Ferguson's birthplace in Scotland. In 1894, after the death of architect Flint, tenders were called by Eaton and Bates for the erection of two sets of grand entrance gates. From , Ferguson's brother-in-law, David Wiley, and his family resided at the house. After the death of Ferguson in 1906, the house was sold to pastoralist Stuart McDonald, whose family lived there until 1915, when it was sold to the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

for for use as a hospital. The sale included Kenmore House together with the three and a half acres in which it stood including the whole of the gardens and tennis court. A lower paddock was retained by the McDonald's and a house later erected on that site. On 14 November, the Mater Misericordiae Hospital was officially opened. In 1940, a new maternity wing designed by Donoghue and Fulton was erected on the eastern side of Kenmore. After the opening in 1959 of a new convent and chapel, the upper rooms of Kenmore were converted into wards and nursing accommodation. After the opening of a new building in 1985, Kenmore became the administrative core of the hospital and a radiography and outpatients unit was established there. The upper floor houses a number of retired nuns and the Sisters' heritage centre.

Description

Kenmore House, located on a northeast sloping site on the Athelstane Range, is a two-storeyed residence and administration centre built of

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

brickwork with rendered detailing and a hipped corrugated iron roof. The asymmetrically massed building shows Classical influences in its design, including a Corinthian columned

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 cu ...

on the north with a tower above, large

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

, arcaded

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

quoining Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, t ...

pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

, projecting

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, bracketed

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

and rendered

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 ...

. The arcaded loggias have been enclosed on both floors with partition walls and windows set back from the arches. The single-storeyed former hospital reception area is attached as a lean-to on the northeast with a brick hydraulic lift shaft standing proud of the building's facade and a glass walkway linked to the first floor. A planted

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

surrounds the eastern bay with the former ambulance bay at the southeast. A two-storeyed brick medical centre is attached via a covered ramp to the west of the building. A single-storeyed steel framed laundry

shed A shed is typically a simple, single-storey (though some sheds may have two or more stories and or a loft) roofed structure, often used for storage, for hobby, hobbies, or as a workshop, and typically serving as outbuilding, such as in a bac ...

is attached to the rear of the building to the south. A two-storeyed masonry kitchen wing can be seen at the rear of the building, with a two-storeyed toilet block attached on the east side and a laundry and accommodation addition to the west. Internally, the north entrance leads into a large, columned central hall containing a carved cedar staircase with a twin return and a large

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window, ornate plaster ceilings, marble floors with decorative tiled borders and converted gas lanterns. The front and rear entries feature an arched

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

and

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

etched glass Glass etching, or "French embossing", is a popular technique developed during the mid-1800s that is still widely used in both residential and commercial spaces today. Glass etching comprises the techniques of creating art on the surface of glass ...

, with panelled doors to principal rooms featuring carved cedar

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

s and

architraves In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, of ...

. Principal rooms have been subdivided into offices, but retain fireplace surrounds and joinery. Most rooms have

false ceiling False or falsehood may refer to: *False (logic), the negation of truth in classical logic *Lie or falsehood, a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement *False statement, aka a falsehood, falsity, misstatement or untruth, is a state ...

s and air conditioning has been installed. The rear of the building has been altered, with a large laundry area being created within the original kitchen wing and later additions. The first floor contains the Sisters' living quarters with bedrooms and a museum in the main house, and bathrooms, bedrooms and a communal room above the kitchen and laundry at the rear. The two-storeyed timber, former canteen building is linked to this level at the southwest via an enclosed verandah above a rear service entrance. The north grounds, bounded by the recent hospital extensions to the northeast and the two-storeyed brick medical centre to the west, include a large Tamarind Tree to the northwest surrounded by bitumen carpark. The original banded, rendered brick entrance gate posts with

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

gates and balustrade, stand at the northwest corner of the site. Two large pine trees are located to the rear of the gates.

Heritage listing

Kenmore House 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. Kenmore House, erected , is important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland's history, in particular the development of Rockhampton and Central Queensland, particularly after the establishment of the Mount Morgan Mine. It is also significant for its association with the longstanding role of the Sisters of Mercy and their Mater Misericordiae Hospitals in the state's health system. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a late 19th century villa residence. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. It exhibits a range of aesthetic characteristics valued by the community, in particular the asymmetrical massing of the building's classical elements; the contribution of building and grounds to the streetscape of Ward Street and to the Rockhampton townscape; and the quality of the building's interior, including the timber joinery, plasterwork, and floor finishes. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. It has a special association with the community of the Sisters of Mercy and the Mater Misericordiae Hospital since 1915, and with Rockhampton as a historic landmark for the city and district. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. It has a special association with the life and work of people of importance in Queensland's history, in particular John Ferguson, builder, businessman, politician and separationist; Rockhampton architect James Flint; and the Sisters of Mercy.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Kenmore House, Rockhampton Queensland Heritage Register The Range, Queensland Houses in Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Houses completed in 1894 1894 establishments in Australia