Michael Gannon residence facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Michael Gannon residence |
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Residence in 2015
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| Location | 150 Kingsley Terrace, Manly, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | c. 1888 |
| Official name: Residence, 150 Kingsley Terrace (c1888), Michael Gannon Residence | |
| Type | state heritage (landscape, built) |
| Designated | 27 October 2000 |
| Reference no. | 601904 |
| Significant period | 1880s (fabric), 1880s-1890s (historical) |
| Significant components | billiards room, furniture/fittings, toilet block/earth closet/water closet, trees/plantings, kitchen/kitchen house, residential accommodation - main house |
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The Michael Gannon residence is a special old holiday home located at 150 Kingsley Terrace in Manly, Australia. It was built around 1888. This house is so important that it is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. This means it is protected because of its history and unique features.
History of the Gannon Residence
The Michael Gannon residence was built around 1888. It was made for Michael Gannon and his wife, Amy. Michael Gannon was a politician and a well-known auctioneer in Queensland.
The area of Wynnum-Manly first saw European settlers in the 1860s. It quickly became a popular spot for people to go on holiday. Many holiday homes were built along the bay. In 1882, land was sold for the Manly Beach Estate. This area was named after the famous coastal suburb of Manly in Sydney.
The railway line reached Wynnum and Manly in 1889. This made it even easier for people to visit the seaside. It helped the area grow into a popular holiday resort.
In 1888, Michael Brennan Gannon bought a large piece of land in Wynnum-Manly. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Toombul. This meant he was a politician who helped make laws for Queensland. Gannon sold off much of the land. But he kept the part where his new holiday home would be built.
It is thought the house was built around 1888. This is because Gannon took out a loan for the property that year. The house became the family's holiday home. Their main home was in Breakfast Creek, Brisbane. Michael Gannon was also active in Brisbane's social and sports clubs.
In the early 1890s, Gannon's business ventures faced difficulties. The Land Bank of Queensland took ownership of the land. They sold off smaller parts of the property. Michael Gannon passed away in 1898 at 48 years old. At that time, his wife was living in Manly.
Later owners also used the house as a seaside home. Over the years, more parts of the land were sold. In 1927, Thomas and Elizabeth Goodman bought the property. They were the first to live in the house all the time. They stayed there until Elizabeth passed away in 1953.
The house was empty until 1955. Then, it was bought by an investor. The house was changed into three separate flats. It remained as flats until 1999. That is when the current owners bought the property. The residence is now seen as an important building in the Wynnum-Manly area.
Design and Features of the Residence
The Michael Gannon residence is located at 150 Kingsley Terrace. The land slopes gently from the street down towards the back. The house is built close to the street. This means it has a very large backyard. There are not many big trees on the property, just a few along the edges.
The house has two floors and is made of timber. It stands high off the ground on timber and concrete stumps. Parts of the front veranda are supported by concrete block walls. The outside walls are covered with timber chamferboards. These are wooden planks with angled edges. Walls under the verandahs use VJ linings, which are vertical timber boards.
A central hip roof covers the main part of the house. A hip roof slopes down on all four sides. This roof also extends over the verandahs on the north, south, and west sides. A separate skillion roof and another hip roof cover the back verandah. These roofs are made of corrugated iron, which is a wavy metal sheeting.
The verandahs around the main house are now enclosed. They are covered with asbestos cement sheets on the outside. They have both louvred windows (with angled slats) and awning sash windows (which open outwards from the bottom). Recent work on the house has shown that much of the original verandah structure is still there. It was just covered up by newer changes.
You enter the house by a central timber staircase. This leads to the verandah and the original front door. The front door has beautiful patterned coloured glass around it. Inside, a central hallway goes from the front door to the back verandah. This hallway is split in the middle by a doorway. This creates a formal front area and a more casual back area.
To the north of the entry hall is a main bedroom. To the south is a formal dining room. These rooms have central bay windows, which are windows that stick out from the wall. They have tall double-hung windows. In the hallway and dining room, the ceilings are made of pressed metal. This gives these entry spaces a very fancy look.
In the back part of the hallway, there is a billiard room to the south. To the north, there is a storeroom and another bedroom. All these rooms, except the storeroom, open onto the verandahs through French doors. These are doors with glass panes.
The enclosed back verandah is now the main living area. The kitchen is at the northern end of this verandah. A bathroom is at the southern end. The building next to the southern end of the verandah was probably the original kitchen. It is now used as a bedroom. There are signs that a fireplace might have been in these areas. Newer additions at the back of the house include a laundry room and a deck. These are next to the original kitchen and back verandah.
Inside the house, the original pine floors are still in the main part of the house. The verandahs have hardwood flooring. The walls and ceilings are generally covered with timber tongue and groove boards. This means the boards fit together tightly. The timber frames around the doors and windows, called architraves, are still in place. Much of the glass in the windows is original. So are the door and window handles, including some made of turned wood. Other original parts that remain include an old-fashioned claw foot bath. There are also gas lighting pipes in the ceiling.
The area under the house is mostly enclosed. It uses timber battens (thin strips of wood), asbestos cement sheeting, and concrete blocks. This space is used as a garage and for storage. It also includes the original earth closet, which was an early type of toilet.
Why the Gannon Residence is Heritage-Listed
The Michael Gannon residence is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. This happened on October 27, 2000. It met several important rules to be added to this list.
- Shows Queensland's History: The house was built around 1888. It helps us understand how the Wynnum/Manly area grew in the late 1800s. It is especially important because it shows how Manly became a popular seaside resort after the railway arrived in 1889.
- Uncommon Cultural Heritage: Large seaside houses that are still on big pieces of land are rare today. This makes the Michael Gannon residence very special and important.
- Shows Key Features of its Type: This house is a great example of a late 19th-century seaside home. It is a large, two-story timber building. It has wide verandahs with fancy timber railings and decorations. It sits on a big block of land with views towards Moreton Bay.
- Connected to Important People: The house was built for Michael Brennan Gannon. He was a politician and a well-known auctioneer in Brisbane. The house is important because of its link to him.
