The Rocks Guesthouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Rocks Guesthouse |
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The Rocks Guesthouse, 2004
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| Location | 20 Cleveland Terrace, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | c. 1897 - c. 1934 |
| Architectural style(s) | Classicism |
| Official name: The Rocks Guesthouse | |
| Type | state heritage (landscape, built) |
| Designated | 10 April 2006 |
| Reference no. | 602384 |
| Significant period | 1890s, 1910s, 1930s-1940s (historical) |
| Significant components | air raid shelter, views from, guest house, fence/wall - perimeter, residential accommodation - housing, garden/grounds, views to, trees/plantings, theatre - operating, bunker - concrete |
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The Rocks Guesthouse is a historic house in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It is located at 20 Cleveland Terrace in the city's central business district. The house was built around 1897 and changed over time until about 1934. It started as a private home, then became a hospital, and later a guesthouse. Today, it is a private residence. The Rocks Guesthouse was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 10 April 2006 because of its important history.
Contents
A Look at The Rocks Guesthouse's Past
The Rocks Guesthouse was built around 1897-1900. It was first a private home owned by Elizabeth Hamilton. She was the wife of a well-known cattle farmer and hotel owner, Frederic Hamilton. The Hamiltons rented out the house to middle-class families.
In 1909, Dr. Ernest Humphrey changed the house into a private hospital. It stayed a hospital until the mid-1930s. Then, it became a guesthouse. During World War II, it was a "gents only" place to stay. An above-ground air raid shelter was added for safety. The building has changed owners many times but has always remained a guesthouse since the 1930s.
Townsville's Early Days
The Rocks Guesthouse stands on land that once belonged to John Melton Black. He built one of the first houses in Townsville around 1864. Black came to Cleveland Bay in 1864. He helped set up a small port at Ross Creek. This port served the cattle farms he owned with Robert Towns.
Townsville quickly grew into an important port in north Queensland. By 1866, it was a busy seaport with banks, hotels, and shops. It supported the growing farms in the Burdekin and North Kennedy areas. In the 1870s, mining to the west helped Townsville grow even faster. Sugar farms also started along the coast. Townsville became a major port for exporting sugar.
Growth and Changes in the City
In 1882, the Great Northern railway opened to Charters Towers. It was extended to Ravenswood in 1884. The telegraph line to Charters Towers was finished in 1883. The first telephone exchange opened in Townsville in November 1883. By 1900, the city's economy was strong. It relied on mining, farming, sugar, and transport.
JM Black built his home on a hill overlooking the port around 1864. He was in charge of Townsville's early affairs. When Townsville became a town in 1866, he was elected its first Mayor. He left for Scotland a year later.
Owners and Transformations
After Black left, the land was transferred to Robert Towns. In 1870, it went to Shepherd Smith. He was the manager of the Bank of New South Wales. Three years later, Smith divided the land into 24 smaller lots. The land where Black's house stood was part of these new lots.
Wealthy business people bought land on Melton Hill. In 1877, Enoch Price Walter Hays bought Black's former house and land. He rented it out until 1884. Hays and his wife then lived there until he died in 1893. His wife stayed until 1895. Then, Elizabeth Hamilton bought the property.
The Hamiltons lived nearby. They bought other properties on Melton Hill. They built houses on these properties to rent out. The house that became The Rocks Guesthouse was built between 1897 and 1900. It was a large house with four or five rooms. It had high ceilings and a front verandah. A brick wall was also built along the laneway at this time.
In 1903, Cyclone Leonta hit Townsville. It damaged most houses on Melton Hill. Dr. Ernest Humphrey's home was completely destroyed.
In 1905, Elizabeth Hamilton died. Her husband, Frederic Hamilton, inherited the property. A year later, he sold both houses to Dr. Ernest Humphrey and his wife. The Humphreys moved into Black's old house. They continued to rent out the new house.
From Home to Hospital
In late 1909, Dr. Humphrey turned the 1897-1900 house into a private hospital. He added new rooms at the back. These included a kitchen, bathroom, laundry, and an operating room. The operating room had three skylights for natural light. It also had special vents to remove heavy ether used in operations.
The hospital was called "The Rocks Private Hospital." It was modern and well-equipped. It had a matron and seven nurses. The nurses lived in a separate building. This building burned down in the 1970s.
Dr. Humphrey died in 1925. His wife stayed in their family home. The hospital continued to operate until the mid-1930s.
Becoming a Guesthouse
In 1934, Frank Edward Payne bought the property. He changed it into a boarding house. This change might have been due to new laws about hospitals. These laws made public hospitals more common and free for people. Government hospitals often had better equipment than small private ones.
In the 1930s, the hospital rooms became guestrooms. Some walls were removed or changed. Four new bedrooms were added on the western side. The Rocks Guest House became popular with wealthy visitors. It offered great views of Cleveland Bay and Townsville. By 1939, it focused on male guests. It even offered free lunch and taxi service.
The Rocks Guest House advertised throughout World War II. Some stories say it was used as a place for soldiers to recover. An above-ground air-raid shelter was built at the back during the war.
In 1962, George and Sophie Gray bought the guesthouse. George Gray was a world champion billiard player. A large billiard table became a main feature of The Rocks in the 1960s. It continued to be a boarding house for young men. Later, the property became a budget lodging.
In 1995, The Rocks Guesthouse changed hands again. Many renovations were done. Some walls added in the 1930s were removed. The large arch in the main drawing room was put back. Old features like timber ceiling roses were found and restored.
In 1997, during more renovations, a concrete pit or bunker was found. It was hidden under the floorboards in one of the bedrooms. No one knows its original use or when it was built.
As of 2016, The Rocks Guesthouse is a private home.
What The Rocks Guesthouse Looks Like
The Rocks Guesthouse sits high on Melton Hill. It offers amazing views of the Coral Sea, Magnetic Island, and Cleveland Bay. You can reach it from Cleveland Terrace. There is a small laneway on its eastern side and Herbert Street to the south. The building is made of timber and has changed over time. You can see parts from when it was a home, a hospital, and a guesthouse.
The house has a mix of gabled and hipped roofs. These are made of corrugated iron. The walls are timber-framed and covered with timber.
Outside Features
The oldest part of the house (around 1897) has a hipped roof. It has a front gable that sticks out. A verandah with a curved iron roof is at the front and wraps around the eastern side. An extra verandah section was added later. It covers old brick and stucco stairs. The verandahs have a new wooden railing and decorative timber brackets. The front door is old, and its fittings are original.
New parts include the fancy woodwork under the gable. The house's name sign has also been redone. The outside walls of the original house show the timber frame. The inside walls are lined with timber boards. The house stands on brick piers. These bricks are similar to those in the side wall.
Inside the House
Inside the original house, the rooms have very high ceilings (about 13.5 feet). They have picture rails and fancy timber ceiling roses. The walls are made of timber boards. The main drawing room has a large bay window with an arch. The windows are big, double-hung timber windows. Original timber ceiling roses have been found throughout the house. Electric fans have been added to some rooms. Above the internal doors are decorative timber panels. The floors are made of hoop pine.
The main additions from the 1909 hospital conversion are at the back. These include the former operating theatre, staff rooms, and kitchen. The old operating room (now a guestroom) can still be entered from outside. It has three lights in the roof. It also has fixed timber vents low on the walls and movable vents higher up. These helped with air flow. There is a fancy pressed metal ceiling rose in this room.
The other back rooms have been turned into guest rooms. Some smaller rooms now have private bathrooms. A large old water tank is in the roof space above the hall.
Four rooms built on the western side in the 1930s have been changed into two rooms, a bathroom, and a porch. These rooms have a skillion roof.
An above-ground air-raid shelter from World War II is at the back of the house. It is now used as a guest room with a modern bathroom. There is also a concrete pit or bunker under the western side of the house. It is hidden under the floorboards. It is about 2.7 meters long, 1.2 meters wide, and 1.5 meters high. It has two large vent pipes.
A timber and iron garage is in the backyard. It was added later.
Gardens and Walls
The Rocks Guesthouse takes up most of its land. It has two small garden areas at the front and along the eastern side. A winding brick path runs through them. The backyard has less defined garden space and a paved car parking area. Two important plants from a 1997 report are still there. A large frangipani tree is on the eastern side. A coconut palm is at the front on the western side.
The front of the property has a very impressive entrance stairway and a rock wall. These were built around 1897 or 1909. The front stone wall connects to a brick wall on the side. This brick wall curves around the corner of the property. The bright red bricks show signs of early brick-making methods.
Why The Rocks Guesthouse is Important
The Rocks Guesthouse was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 10 April 2006 for several reasons:
It shows how Queensland's history developed. The Rocks Guesthouse, built around 1897-1900, shows how middle-class homes were built in nice areas. It also shows how private hospitals were set up in cities in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The concrete air-raid shelter shows how World War II affected people in Townsville.
It shows rare or uncommon parts of Queensland's history. The Rocks Guesthouse is one of the few remaining examples of early 20th-century private hospitals in Queensland. The old operating room is especially rare.
It shows the main features of its type of place. The Rocks Guesthouse shows what a late 19th-century middle-class timber home in North Queensland looked like. It also shows how it was changed into a private hospital in the early 1900s. The house has spacious rooms with high ceilings. It has a large bay window in the main room. It also has decorative features like fancy ceiling vents. Its grounds still have an old brick and stone wall and front garden stairs. The former operating room at the back is mostly unchanged. It shows the need for good light and air flow, with its low and high vents, skylights, and different entrances.
It is important for its beauty and design. The Rocks Guesthouse adds to the beauty of the Melton Hill historic area. It is located on Cleveland Terrace between St James Cathedral and Synod Hall. It is also near the remains of JM Black's Drystone Wall. It is part of a group of important homes, including Selhurst and Warringa.
