Lucerne on Fernberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lucerne on Fernberg |
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Lucerne, 1997
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| Location | 23 Fernberg Road, Paddington, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1840s - 1860s (mid-19th century) |
| Built | c. 1860 - 1862 by |
| Official name: Lucerne | |
| Type | state heritage (built, landscape) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600251 |
| Significant period | 1860s (fabric) 1860s-1890s (historical) |
| Significant components | residential accommodation - main house, tennis court, driveway, kitchen/kitchen house, attic, garden/grounds |
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Lucerne on Fernberg is a special old house in Paddington, Brisbane, Australia. It was built between 1859 and 1862. Many people believe it is the oldest house in Brisbane that is still privately owned. Because of its history, it was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on October 21, 1992. This means it's protected as an important part of Queensland's past.
Contents
The Story of Lucerne
Building a Family Home
The land where Lucerne stands was bought by a bricklayer named James Young in 1859. He was a skilled builder and is thought to have built the house by 1862. James Young had a very large family with sixteen children! Lucerne was the first of three homes he built on his property for them.
How Lucerne Got Its Name
In the early 1870s, James Young rented the house to a lawyer named John Guthrie. It was John Guthrie who gave the property its unique name, "Lucerne." He named it after a famous lake and town in Switzerland. He probably thought the area around the house looked similar to the Swiss landscape. There was a steep stream running through the property, which might have been dammed to create a pond or small lake. This could have reminded him of the beautiful Swiss lake.
A School and New Owners
Around the late 1870s, two sisters, the Misses Davis, might have even run a school from the house! At that time, Lucerne had many rooms, including a drawing room, dining room, and sitting room downstairs. It also had four bedrooms in the attic (the space under the roof), a bathroom, and a separate kitchen building with rooms for servants.
Over the years, Lucerne had several different owners. In 1879, Alexander Duncan Campbell bought it. Then, in 1883, it was bought by Agnes, the wife of John Scott. John Scott was a Member of Parliament (MLA) and a pastoralist (someone who owns large areas of land for raising livestock). He lived there until he passed away in 1898.
The Scott family owned Lucerne until 1905, when Miss Annie Hirst bought it. The Hirst family lived there for many years. Since 1947, the house has had three more owners: the Wards, the Morrows, and the O'Sullivans, who have lived there since 1969. In 1969, the house was updated. A new kitchen and eating area were added, and the old separate kitchen building was turned into a bedroom.
Lucerne Today
Today, Lucerne is made up of four buildings. It is used as a bed and breakfast, where people can stay overnight. The property is about half an acre and has a very large Port Jackson fig tree. The main house is a brick building with a pointed roof and a window sticking out of the roof (called a dormer window). It's quite rare to find a house like this still standing in Brisbane today.
What Lucerne Looks Like
Lucerne is a simple, rectangular brick house with rooms in the attic. Inside, there's a main hallway. To the right, you'll find a study and a dining room. To the left, there's a long sitting room. At the back, there are modern kitchen and bathroom areas. A wooden staircase leads from a large room at the back up to the attic bedrooms and another bathroom.
Behind the main house, to the east, there's a separate building that used to be the kitchen, complete with a fireplace. The two front rooms of the house have French doors with small windows above them, which open onto the verandahs (covered porches). The wooden parts inside the house, like the door frames, are made of cedar wood, which has been painted. The walls are plastered.
The house has a gabled roof, which means it's shaped like an upside-down 'V'. The original roof tiles have been replaced with galvanised iron. A dormer window in the attic looks out over the front verandah, which has simple wooden posts. The original wooden fence-like railing on the verandah has been removed. Casement windows (windows that open outwards like a door) with rounded hoods have been added to each gable end of the house. These gables still have their pretty scalloped (wavy-edged) bargeboards. Some new parts have been added to the back of the house since 1969, but they fit in well with the old style.
Why Lucerne is Special
Lucerne is an important part of Queensland's history for several reasons:
A Glimpse into the Past
Lucerne was built soon after Queensland became a separate colony. At that time, people wanted to show that they were building a strong new place. Brick houses like Lucerne were common for middle-class families.
A Rare Survivor
The main house, with its brick walls, high-pitched roof, and dormer window, is a very rare sight in Brisbane today. It's a great example of how brick houses were built in the 1860s, especially since the builder himself lived there with his family.
Beautiful and Simple Design
Lucerne is a very attractive house. It's not fancy, but its design is balanced and pleasing to look at. Its simple shape shows that it was built as a first home and highlights the skill of its builder. Details like the scalloped bargeboards, the cedar staircase inside, and the small windows above the French doors all add to its beauty.
Home to Important People
Over its long history of about 130 years, Lucerne started as a craftsman's home. But it later became home to several important families in Queensland. As early as 1877, it was known as a "gentleman's residence," and it has kept that special feeling ever since.
