Aldborough, Charters Towers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Aldborough |
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Aldborough, 2006
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| Location | 25 Deane Street, Charters Towers, Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1900 |
| Architect | William Henry Allan Munro |
| Official name: Aldborough | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 14 August 2008 |
| Reference no. | 602668 |
| Significant period | 1900 |
| Significant components | fernery, shed/s, store/s / storeroom / storehouse |
| Builders | Thomas Barry O'Meara |
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Aldborough is a beautiful old house in Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1900 and is known for its unique design. This house is important because it shows what life was like during the gold rush era in Charters Towers. It was designed by William Henry Allan Munro and built by Thomas Barry O'Meara. Today, Aldborough is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register, which means it's a special place protected for its history.
Contents
History
Aldborough is a large timber house located on Deane Street in Charters Towers. It was built in 1896 for a very successful businessman named Alfred Edwin Daking-Smith. The house is a well-known landmark in the town. It shows what homes were like for important people in Charters Towers during its busiest times.
The Gold Rush Era
From 1872 to 1917, Charters Towers was one of Queensland's most important goldfields. In 1899, it produced more than a third of all the gold in Queensland. By 1901, it was Queensland's second-largest town.
Gold was first found near Towers Hill in December 1871. The Charters Towers Goldfield officially started in August 1872. The town became a municipality (a self-governing town) in 1877. Gold was found in deep rock veins, which led to larger mining companies taking over. The town became even richer after the "Day Dawn" gold reef was found in 1878. The railway from Townsville reached Charters Towers in 1882. This made it cheaper to bring in supplies and building materials.
Charters Towers grew rapidly in the 1880s. It became the most important mining town in North Queensland. In 1886, Charters Towers gold was shown in London. This brought in money from English investors. In 1889, the "Brilliant Reef," the richest gold source, was discovered. Many timber buildings were rebuilt with bricks during this time. Charters Towers continued to do well even when other places struggled in the 1890s. In 1899, it produced a huge amount of gold. The town had about 26,500 people and was known as "the World" because of its many different cultures.
After 1899, gold production slowly went down. By 1912, it was too deep to mine profitably. Most mines closed by 1916. The last big mine closed in 1917. By 1921, Charters Towers' population had dropped to 5,682. Many timber buildings were moved to Townsville. Some large houses became schools as Charters Towers became a learning center for North Queensland.
A Home for a Successful Businessman
Alfred Daking-Smith arrived in Charters Towers in 1891 when the town was still booming. He was born in England in 1866. He moved to Australia in 1887, first to Melbourne, then to Brisbane. He worked for a drapery (fabric and clothing) company. In 1891, he moved to Charters Towers and started his own drapery business.
He started in a small shop on Mosman Street. Around 1895, he moved to a larger building. This new shop was a two-story warehouse with many departments and 35 staff. Daking-Smith named his new home "Aldborough" after his childhood home in England. He bought the land for the house in June 1896.
In October 1896, a local newspaper reported that Aldborough was almost finished. It was one of the finest houses in town. The house was built facing the corner to get good views and more privacy. Its "bungalow" style was perfect for the local climate.
The house had many special features:
- A grand set of front steps.
- A large verandah (porch) with fancy iron railings.
- Glass doors with side windows.
- Arches in the hallway and between the dining and drawing rooms.
- Fancy cedar wood trim and patterned wallpaper in some rooms.
- Two large bay windows on the front verandah.
- Varnished wood inside.
- Three large bedrooms in the main part of the house.
- Special vents in the ceilings for air flow.
- Bedrooms on the back verandah, separate from the main house.
- A separate pantry (food storage room) on stilts in water to keep out ants.
- A kitchen wing with a kitchen, bathroom, and three bedrooms.
Thomas Barry O'Meara was the builder, and William Henry Allan Munro was the architect.
Part of the property had a stable for horses and a large two-story storage building. This storage building was later kept by Daking-Smith when he sold Aldborough. Daking-Smith lived in Aldborough from about 1900.
Aldborough was built with common Charters Towers building styles. Houses often had single timber walls with exposed timber frames outside. This was good for the hot climate. Aldborough also had metal decorations on the roof and special screens on the verandahs. These included latticework, timber louvres, and canvas blinds. These features helped keep the house cool.
Changes Over Time
In 1906, Alfred Daking-Smith married Beryl Maud Hooke. They soon moved to Sydney, where he became even wealthier. In 1909, he built a large mansion in Sydney. That same year, he built the impressive Daking-Smith Building in Charters Towers. This was a modern department store designed to be very elegant. It was unique for a town in North Queensland. Daking-Smith continued to run his business in Charters Towers even after moving.
Daking-Smith sold Aldborough in 1919 to a doctor named Thomas Roy Edmeades. Dr. Edmeades used Aldborough as both his home and his medical office. One of the bedrooms on the verandah was said to be his waiting room. Dr. Edmeades was a respected doctor in Charters Towers. A park in town is named after him.
In 1922, Aldborough was sold to Jessie Mary Beach. Jessie lived in Aldborough so her three children could go to school in Charters Towers. The house stayed in her family until 2008. When it was auctioned, many people came to see what would happen to this important building.
Sometime in the 1920s or 1930s, the main part of the house was painted inside. Stenciled patterns were added over the original varnished wood. This paint later cracked, creating a unique pattern that can still be seen today. The bedrooms, which were not varnished, have more intact stenciled designs. Aldborough was also said to be the first house in Charters Towers to have electric lights, powered by a generator under the house.
What Aldborough Looks Like
Aldborough is located on a large corner block where Deane and Hodgkinson Streets meet. It faces the corner, looking towards the main part of town. The ground slopes up to the house, creating a small terrace.
Outside the House
The main entrance has wide steps and a projecting porch with a pointed roof. This porch has metal decorations and a fancy top ornament. It also has a decorative front with a name board. Double timber columns support the porch.
To the side of the house, there are stone walls. There's also an old chicken shed and what might have been a pond. Behind the main house, there's a fernery made of rough timber and wire mesh. You can also see two corrugated iron rainwater tanks and two corrugated iron sheds at the back of the property.
Aldborough is a large, single-story timber house. It sits on a mix of thick timber and steel stumps. There's a small shed for a generator under the house. The house has a pyramid-shaped roof made of corrugated iron, with some metal decorations and a large roof vent. The roof extends out to cover the verandahs on all four sides.
The outside walls of the main house are made of single vertical timber boards with the timber frame showing. The kitchen wing, which is a separate part of the house, has horizontal timber boards.
The front verandah has decorative iron railings and timber latticework or timber-slat blinds above them. The side verandahs also have railings and blinds. The back verandah is screened by timber latticework. Hedges grow in front of some verandahs, providing shade.
Inside the House
You enter the house through a large door with side windows and a fanlight (a window above the door). A central hallway runs through the house. To one side of the hall are three bedrooms. The largest bedroom has a bay window with three large windows that open from the floor. This room also has French doors leading to a verandah. The other bedrooms also have French doors to the verandahs.
On the other side of the hallway is a large living and dining room, separated by an archway. Each part of the room has a decorative ceiling center. The dining area has French doors to the back verandah. There's also a decorative border in both rooms, which looks like pressed metal. The living room also has a bay window with large windows. French doors lead to the side verandah from both parts of this large room.
A separate pantry (food storage room) is located off the back verandah. It's a small, square building with its own pyramid roof. Its walls are partly made of fly-screen mesh and partly of timber boards with fixed louvres. The pantry sits on low concrete stumps that are placed in small concrete water wells. This was a clever way to keep ants away from food.
The kitchen wing has three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a large kitchen at the back. The kitchen has a large brick fireplace. There's also an outdoor laundry area with a sloped roof, which has a built-in copper (a large pot for boiling clothes).
All the rooms in the main house have very high ceilings, about 13.5 feet (4.1 meters) tall. Many rooms have old linoleum flooring. The house still has many original features, like light switches, coat hooks, and window latches.
Why Aldborough is Special
Aldborough was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 2008. This means it's recognized as an important historical place.
- It shows how Queensland's history developed. Aldborough was built for a successful businessman during Charters Towers' gold rush boom. It shows the wealth and growth of the town when it was Queensland's second-largest city.
- It's a great example of its type. Aldborough is a very well-preserved example of a large, high-quality house built for the North Queensland climate. It has single-skin timber walls, high ceilings, wide eaves, and verandah shading like lattice work and blinds. It still has old paintwork, original fittings, and early linoleum floors. The separate kitchen wing with servant rooms shows how society was organized back then. The special pantry shows how people kept food safe from pests.
- It's beautiful to look at. Aldborough is on a large, easily seen corner block. It's very well-preserved. The timber lattices, blinds, and hedges help keep it cool. The impressive entrance porch, decorative iron railings, and roof decorations make the house look grand.
See Also
- List of heritage-listed places in Charters Towers Region
Images for kids
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Aldborough, 2006
