Millbrook, Toowoomba facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Millbrook |
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Millbrook residence, 2014
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| Location | 9 Phillip Street, East Toowoomba, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1840s - 1860s (mid-19th century) |
| Built | 1860s - 1900s |
| Official name: Millbrook | |
| Type | state heritage (built, landscape) |
| Designated | 27 April 2001 |
| Reference no. | 601310 |
| Significant period | 1860s, 1900s (fabric) 1860s-1970s (historical) |
| Significant components | trees/plantings, laundry / wash house, service wing, fernery, stables, residential accommodation - main house, garden/grounds, bird bath |
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Millbrook is a special old house in East Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. It was built between the 1860s and 1900s. This house is so important that it was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2001.
Contents
Millbrook's Story
Millbrook is a large wooden house with a high, sloped roof made of galvanised iron. It has a U-shaped verandah, which is like a porch, around parts of it. The front of the house has a special entrance with a gabled roof and an attic room facing the street.
The Groom Family and Millbrook
The house was likely built in the 1860s on Ruthven Street. It was the family home of William Henry Groom. After he passed away, his wife moved the house to Phillip Street in 1902.
William Henry Groom was a very important person in Toowoomba's history. He moved to Drayton in 1856 and became an auctioneer and store owner. He helped create Toowoomba as a town and was elected its first mayor in 1860. He was mayor seven times!
Groom also became the first member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Toowoomba in 1862. He worked hard to make sure the government helped Toowoomba grow. He also pushed for land reforms that helped many small farmers. He was a member of parliament for 38 years. Later, he became the first Member of the Australian House of Representatives for Darling Downs.
William Henry Groom was also a successful businessman. He helped start the Toowoomba Grammar School and the Toowoomba School of Arts. He owned The Toowoomba Chronicle newspaper from 1876.
Mr. and Mrs. Groom lived in Drayton after they married in 1859. They built their family home on Ruthven Street in the mid-1860s. A photo from 1874 shows this big house with a lovely garden.
William Henry Groom passed away in 1901 while attending the first meeting of the Australian Parliament. In 1902, his wife, Mrs. Grace Groom, bought land on Phillip Street. She moved most of the Ruthven Street house to this new spot. She moved because Ruthven Street had become too busy.
Changes to the House
Because the new land was sloped, the house was placed on higher stumps. New front stairs were built. It is thought that fancy cast-iron railings replaced the original wooden ones on the verandah at this time. One part of the house was not moved from Ruthven Street. This was because most of Mrs. Groom's eight children were grown up and had their own homes.
Mrs. Grace Groom lived at Millbrook for many years with her widowed daughter and grandsons. Her granddaughter, Noela Brooks, also stayed at Millbrook during her school years. When Mrs. Grace Groom passed away in 1932, her daughter was still living at Millbrook.
Two of the Groom sons also became politicians. Sir Littleton Ernest Groom took over his father's role in the Australian House of Representatives. Henry Littleton Groom was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Mrs. Groom was well-known for her garden parties at Millbrook. She continued to be active in the community, giving out school prizes and opening events.
Noela Brooks described the house and garden in 1981. Mrs. Groom grew beautiful flowers and also had a useful kitchen garden. It had fruit trees like peach and apple, herbs, and vegetables. The garden also had a chicken run, a well, and stables.
Noela remembered the glassed-in verandah on the northern side. It was used for morning tea and visiting close friends. Family afternoon tea was served in the dining room. Important visitors were welcomed in the drawing room. The dining and drawing rooms shared a fireplace. There was even a special tassel to call the maid!
Dr. Row's Time at Millbrook
After Mrs. Groom's death in 1932, Dr. Allan Warren Row rented Millbrook in 1933. Dr. Row was a very smart doctor. He had studied at Oxford University and served in the British Army during World War I. He returned to Queensland in 1930 and later started his own medical practice.
Like many doctors then, he set up his surgery in his home, Millbrook. He used what was once the formal sitting room for his medical practice. The glassed-in verandah became the surgery entrance and waiting room.
During World War II, Dr. Row served in the Australian Army Medical Corps. He was a senior surgeon at many hospitals. He even helped set up the first blood bank service in Toowoomba. He continued using Millbrook for his private practice until 1976.
In 1948, Dr. Allan Row married Dorothy Lake. In 1955, the kitchen was updated. In 1956, modern laundry facilities were added inside the house.
Dr. Row passed away in 1979. In the 1980s, Mrs. Row began to update the house. She changed wall colors and covered floors. The front steps were replaced, and a northern porch was rebuilt. A small fish and frog pond was created in the back garden. In 1983, a large sundeck was built. The roof was also repaired. The front fence was rebuilt using many of the original wooden pieces. An octagonal gazebo was also added.
Like Mrs. Groom, Mrs. Row was also very active in the community.
Most of the fruit trees from Mrs. Groom's orchard are gone now. However, many of the old garden plants in the front yard are still there. The stables from the early 1900s also remain. In 2014, a local rugby league team helped the 92-year-old Mrs. Row clean up the garden.
Millbrook's Look
Millbrook is a single-story house made of weatherboard, which are overlapping wooden planks. It has a special bell-shaped corrugated iron roof. The house sits on a large piece of land with a big garden on the northern side and a long driveway on the southern side. The main part of the house is rectangular and holds the bedrooms and formal living rooms. There is also a service wing at the back.
Two chimneys stand out on the front of the house. The steeply sloped roof has a decorative gable at the front with fancy wooden trim. This gable has small windows. A central gable roof covers the main entrance. On each side of this entrance are two open verandahs.
Each front verandah has a bay window that sticks out. The verandah railings are made of cast-iron. Short steps lead to the central front door, which has glass panels on the sides. Another front door leads to the central hallway. This hallway has two rooms on each side.
Inside, all the walls are covered with narrow wooden panels. The ceilings are also made of wide wooden panels. Doors in the central hall are made of cedar wood and have decorative fanlights above them. The fireplaces have cedar frames and iron grates.
The front room on the left is a bedroom. It has a door leading to an enclosed verandah used for storage. The larger room on the left has a bay window and a door to a small room. This large room shares a fireplace with a dining room.
The two rooms on the right have cedar fireplaces. These were once the doctor's surgery and a lounge room. Both open onto an enclosed verandah called the glass verandah. A wall with a door separates these two rooms. A door also leads to a side porch and steps to the garden.
The back of the house has a wide room with a dining area, pantry, and kitchen. Next to the kitchen is the bathroom. To the north is a large sundeck. The maid's room is off the kitchen. A door leads to a porch with steps to the outdoor toilet, driveway, and stable yard.
An old laundry building is attached to the back of the kitchen. A side entrance on the northern side connects the glass room to the front garden. This porch has a roof with a gable on three sides and steps with cast-iron railings.
A narrow garden runs along the driveway on the southern side. The driveway leads to the old stables, which are now used as a garage and storage. This wooden building has four rooms and is not in good condition. Several large Chinese Elm trees, planted by Mrs. Row, shelter the stable yard.
The side garden is split into two parts. The front lawn has an old marble birdbath in a small pool. This area is hidden from the street by large, old trees. Various old trees also shade the overgrown back garden with its gazebo. A hedge with a gate separates the two garden areas.
A picket fence separates the small front garden from the driveway and footpath. A path from the drive and front gate leads to the front door and around to the northern porch.
Why Millbrook is Special
Millbrook was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2001 because it is very important for several reasons.
Showing History
Millbrook was built around the 1860s on Ruthven Street and moved in 1902 to Phillip Street. This shows how Toowoomba grew and changed in the late 1800s. It is one of the few houses from the 1860s that is still standing in Toowoomba.
Unique Features
The house shows what a large home from the 1860s looked like, with its 1902 updates. It has big rooms and large garden areas that were used for entertaining guests. It also has an attached kitchen area and other buildings like stables. It represents a way of life that is not common anymore.
Beautiful Design
Millbrook is very beautiful because the wooden house and its old garden are still in great condition. It adds a lot to the look of Phillip Street.
Community Connection
The house has a strong connection to the Groom and Row families. This connection is valued by the local community.
Important People
Millbrook is important because of its link to the Groom and Row families, who played big roles in Queensland's history. William Henry Groom was a newspaper owner and politician. He represented Toowoomba in the first Queensland and Australian Parliaments. He worked hard for land policy and to improve roads and services in his area.
Millbrook is also special because of Mrs. WH Groom. She was a politician's wife and mother, and an active member of the community. She lived here for 30 years. Dr. Row was an important doctor in Toowoomba who served in both World Wars. He ran his private practice from Millbrook for many years and was a surgeon at local hospitals.
Images for kids
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Millbrook residence of Mrs W. H. Groom, circa 1915
