Fairview, Maleny facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fairview |
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South-west corner of Fairview, 2003
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| Location | 15 Porter's Lane, Maleny, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1907 |
| Official name: Fairview, Armstrong's House, Pattemore House | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 4 September 2003 |
| Reference no. | 602105 |
| Significant period | 1907 (fabric) 1900s-1940s (historical) |
| Significant components | pathway/walkway, trees/plantings, farmhouse |
| Builders | Pattemore family |
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Fairview is a special old house located at 15 Porter's Lane in Maleny, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The Pattemore family designed and built it in 1907. It's also known as Armstrong's House or Pattemore House. This historic home was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on September 4, 2003.
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A Look Back at Fairview's History
Fairview is a timber house with four main rooms. It also has four more rooms under its surrounding verandahs. The house was built in 1907 for John Robert and Emily Pattemore. All the timber, which was beech wood, was cut and prepared right there on their property.
Early Days in Maleny
Long ago, Aboriginal people knew the Maleny area well. They knew it was a place where important Bunya Pine trees grew. The first Europeans to arrive were timber cutters. They heard about huge red cedar trees in the Blackall Range. These early settlers built their homes using timber from their own land. They would dig pits near the trees to saw the wood by hand.
By 1886, enough people lived in the area for the Blackall Range School to open. Around 1890, the area became known as Maleny. Farmers in the late 1890s started dairying. They sent cream to Landsborough by pack horse. From there, it went by train to Brisbane.
Maleny's Dairy Boom
Because it took so long to send cream to Brisbane, Maleny farmers started their own dairy factory. The Maleny Butter Factory opened on December 19, 1904. It was very successful and helped the town grow. By 1912, Maleny was listed as a township. It had about 510 people and businesses like a baker, butcher, and hotel.
The Pattemore Family Arrives
The Pattemore family moved to Maleny from New South Wales around 1906-1908. John Robert (Robert) Pattemore was born in England in 1850. He became a butcher. He and his wife, Emily, had four sons and three daughters.
A big drought in 1902 made the Pattemores decide to move. They wanted to find a farming area with more rain. Two of their sons, Bill and Stan, heard about the rich Blackall Range in Queensland. It was known for its great dairying chances. By 1906, Bill and Stan were cutting timber there.
In 1906-1907, Bill and Stan bought five farm blocks in Maleny for their family. One was for their father and one for each of the four sons. The land where Fairview was built was bought by John Robert Pattemore in September 1907.
Building Fairview
The Pattemore sons built Fairview in 1907 for their parents, Robert and Emily. Robert and Emily moved to Maleny in 1908. The house was made entirely of beech wood. The brothers sawed the timber by hand on the property. They also planed it by hand. They made special tongue-and-groove boards for the house.
Sadly, Emily Pattemore became ill with rheumatic fever around this time. She was unwell for the rest of her life. Two of her widowed daughters came from New South Wales to help care for her.
By 1907, all of Robert Pattemore's sons were farming in Maleny. For some years, there was also a timber mill on the Fairview property. Robert Pattemore ran his farm as a dairy farm. His son Albert built a house for the share farmer.
Fairview Through the Years
Over time, some of the Pattemore sons moved away. By 1924, Stan was the only son still farming in Maleny. Robert Pattemore continued to milk a few cows and grow corn. He lived on the farm until he passed away in 1947.
Ernest Pattemore's children, Arthur and Emily, often visited Fairview. They remembered the house as quite large. The front garden was big enough for cousins to play cricket. There were two Bunya Pine trees near the front gate. They also remembered two large Moreton Bay Fig trees in the back garden.
A raised stone path led from the front verandah to the front gate. The front and side verandahs had railings and pretty decorative brackets. Under the back verandah roof was the kitchen and a large breakfast room. There was also a laundry area.
The house had a fence to keep cattle out. Beyond the fence was a shed for the buggy, cow bails, and dairy. Corn was stored in a loft above the shed. In Robert's later years, his son Stan helped with the farm work. His sisters continued to look after the house and their parents.
After Emily Pattemore passed away in 1937, Robert stayed on the farm. He celebrated his 91st birthday there in 1941. After he died in 1947, the farm was sold out of the Pattemore family in 1948. The George Armstrong family owned it by 1969. In 1995, the Caloundra City Council bought Fairview. Today, the house is rented out, and the land is used by a farmer.
In recent years, Fairview has had some changes. The roof was replaced, and a new verandah was added at the back. A slatted railing was built on the open verandahs. The raised path at the back is still there, but the front path is overgrown. The old farm shed at the back is gone.
Fairview is special because it's one of the few surviving houses in the Maleny area. It was built using local timber cut by hand. This makes it an important part of the area's history.
What Fairview Looks Like Today
Fairview is located on a steep slope behind the town of Maleny. It's a low-set timber house with a steeply pitched roof. The roof is covered with corrugated iron. Verandahs surround the house. Some parts of the verandahs on the western, southern, and southeastern sides have been enclosed.
Outside the House
The outside walls are made of single layers of timber boards placed vertically. These boards are protected by skillion-roofed verandahs. The front verandah has three sections. There are two verandah posts on each side of the main entrance. These square posts support the roof and have decorative brackets. A two-rail slatted railing is on the open parts of the verandahs.
There are three doors leading from the front verandah. Two are French doors that open into the front rooms. In the middle is a four-panel timber front door.
Inside the House
When you open the front door, you enter a hallway. This hallway has doors to rooms on either side. It then opens through a timber archway into a large dining room.
Inside, all the main rooms have walls made of six-inch wide tongue-and-groove boards. The hallway has a belt rail and a hat rail on both walls. The two front bedrooms have timber ceilings and windows that open to the side verandahs. The back bedroom has French doors that also open to a side verandah. Clear glass fanlights are above the front and back doors and the back bedroom's French doors. All the bedrooms have a square of linoleum on the floor, with the timber boards around it painted red.
The western and southern verandahs have been enclosed with weatherboards and windows. About half of the eastern side has also been enclosed to create a large room. At the back of the house, under the verandah roof, are the kitchen and a large breakfast room. The kitchen has windows facing south. The large breakfast room has a window into the dining room. It also has several windows and a door along its southern wall. This door leads to the side verandah and kitchen.
The Garden and Trees
Fairview is surrounded by mature trees. These include frangipani, avocado trees, and a large Moreton Bay Fig tree. The garden is enclosed by a barbed wire fence and has many old trees.
Why Fairview is a Heritage Site
Fairview was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on September 4, 2003. It met several important requirements:
It shows how Queensland's history developed. Fairview was built in 1907 using local beech wood. This wood was cut and prepared right on the property. The house shows how Maleny grew as a farming settlement. It also shows the growth of dairying in Queensland in the early 1900s.
It is a rare or uncommon part of Queensland's history. Fairview is one of the oldest houses in the area built with hand-sawn timber. This makes it very special.
It shows the main features of its type of cultural place. The house is still mostly in its original condition. It shows what early farmhouses were like. It has hand-made details, good craftsmanship, and unique building methods. It was built with local timbers that are not easily found today.
It has important aesthetic value. The materials, timber details, and workmanship of the house are very beautiful. Its simple design also adds to its charm. The old trees around the house are from when it was a working dairy farm. They make the place even more appealing.
