Villa Maria Hostel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Villa Maria Hostel
Villa Maria Hostel, 2008
Location	167–173 Saint Paul's Terrace, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Design period	1919–1930s (interwar period)
Built	1927–1968
Architect	Frank Cullen, Hennessy and Hennessy, Keesing & Co, & J P Donoghue
Architectural style(s)	Romanesque
Queensland Heritage Register
Official name: Villa Maria Hostel
Type	state heritage (built)
Designated	18 September 2008
Reference no.	601929
Significant period	1920–1950
Significant components	courtyard, statue, verandahs – arcaded, views to, room/unit/suite, cloister/s, views from, lead light/s, chapel, gate/s, fence/wall – perimeter
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The Villa Maria Hostel is a special old building in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland. It's a place that has cared for people for a long time. It was designed by architects like Frank Cullen, Hennessy and Hennessy, Keesing & Co, and J P Donoghue. The building was constructed in different parts between 1927 and 1968. Because of its history and unique design, it was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on September 18, 2008.

A Place of Care and History

The Villa Maria Centre is a large group of buildings. It takes up most of a city block. Villa Maria was started by the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This is a religious group that has helped the poor, elderly, and those in need in Queensland since 1874. The Villa Maria Hostel, which is the main part of this story, makes up about two-thirds of the whole centre today. It includes the original convent (where the Sisters lived) and a chapel. It was built in stages from 1927 to 1968.

How the Sisters Started

A Catholic priest named Father Julian Tenison Woods helped start the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Brisbane in 1874. The Sisters' main goal is "perpetual adoration," which means one of them is always praying.

The first six Sisters, led by Catherine Gaffney (who became Mother Stanislaus), rented a house in South Brisbane. They lived very simply, earning money by doing needlework. They also helped the poor and needy people around them.

In 1881, the Sisters moved to Spring Hill. In 1900, they bought two small houses on Leichhardt Street (now St Paul's Terrace). This land is now part of the Villa Maria Centre. People in Spring Hill called them the "Black Sisters" because of their long black dresses and bonnets.

Needlework was their main way to earn money. They were famous for making clothes for priests and wedding dresses. But it wasn't enough to support themselves. So, they started taking in people who paid to stay in their rooms. In 1902, they began caring for elderly ladies. They bought more houses and used the land to grow vegetables and raise chickens and a cow. In 1912, they even started making altar breads for the church.

Building a New Home

The Sisters' group grew a lot with the help of Archbishop James Duhig. When he became Archbishop of Brisbane in 1917, he quickly approved the Sisters' work. In 1920, he officially recognized their group and gave them their special religious clothing. Before this, they didn't have official recognition or a specific uniform.

Archbishop Duhig was very interested in the Sisters' work. He encouraged them to build a new, bigger facility on their land. Villa Maria was also part of Duhig's bigger plan for Brisbane. He wanted Brisbane to be a city with grand buildings and wide streets. He imagined St Paul's Terrace as a beautiful street with tall buildings and mansions.

The job of designing the new building, which would be a convent and a hostel, went to a Sydney architecture firm called Hennessy, Hennessy, Keesing and Co. and J.P. Donoghue. This firm designed many churches, schools, and hospitals for the Catholic Church.

Building in Stages

The Villa Maria convent and hostel was built in four main stages:

• 1927–1928: The first part, including the hostel and chapel, was built. Archbishop Duhig laid the foundation stone in 1925. The chapel opened in 1927, and the hostel opened in 1928.
• 1940: The second part, the convent wing, was finished. This section included areas for making bread, ironing, and laundry. It was designed by Brisbane architects Cullen and Egan, who continued the original design style. A lift was added to the older part of the building. The basement of this new wing was later turned into dormitories for girls from the countryside.
• 1965: In the early 1960s, more cottages were removed to make way for a new wing along St Paul's Terrace. This wing, called the St Stanislaus wing, opened on July 17, 1965. It provided space for 38 more women. It cost over £100,000 and was designed by Frank L Cullen, Fagg, Hargreaves and Mooney.
• 1968: The final part, the St Gabriel's Wing, was built. It was named after Mother Mary Gabriel Maloney. This wing added 48 bedrooms for elderly ladies and 22 private rooms for the Sisters. It also had a large reception area and a laundry. With this addition, the hostel could care for up to 134 people.

In 2008, the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration continued to care for elderly women at the Villa Maria complex. The outside of the original convent and hostel building has not changed much. However, the inside has been updated to be more modern for aged care. The building now mainly serves as a hostel for the elderly, with the Sisters living in newer buildings nearby. The chapel is still used for worship by the residents.

What Villa Maria Looks Like

Courtyard, 2008

The part of Villa Maria that is heritage-listed is the E-shaped building built between 1927 and 1968. It stands out on the streets of Fortitude Valley. While the inside has been changed for modern care, the outside still looks much the same. Many of the open verandahs have been enclosed with glass.

The building is three, four, or five stories tall and made of different colored bricks. It's designed in a style called Romanesque, which uses round arches and strong, solid shapes. The roofs are made of terracotta tiles, and Celtic crosses sit on top of the gables (the triangular parts of the roof). The building looks very strong and solid, but it also has a pattern of round and flat arches on the verandahs. It has decorative brick patterns, light-colored bricks around windows, and fancy brickwork that looks like small arches. The corners of the building have towers with gabled roofs.

The main entrance used to be on Warren Street. It has brick stairs leading up to a white concrete porch with a vaulted ceiling and a Celtic cross on top. This porch is supported by columns. The entrance to the complex is now in a different spot on the Warren Street side.

From Gotha Street, you can see the ends of the corner towers and the outside of the chapel. The chapel is a three-story building with a rounded end and tall, narrow arched windows. It has beautiful brickwork with light-colored bands.

The older parts of the building have strong brick walls and wooden or concrete floors. The newer wings from the 1960s use concrete columns and beams.

The building is designed around central courtyards, like a cloister (a covered walkway often found in monasteries). The chapel divides the courtyards into two. The layout still mostly follows the original design from the 1920s. It has long hallways with rooms for residents opening onto verandahs. There are also shared living and working spaces.

Many of the original walls, ceilings, and floors have been changed. Bedrooms have been made larger, and private bathrooms have been added. Some of the shared dining and living areas are still there. The verandahs have been enclosed or made part of the rooms.

The old main entrance leads into a small porch and then to the chapel's entrance area. These areas have beautiful wooden doors, arched windows above the doors, and colored glass windows like those in the chapel. Some original wooden features, like cupboards, windows, and doors, still exist. South of the chapel, there's a nice terrazzo staircase with elegant wooden posts and iron railings.

The Chapel

The chapel is a grand, three-story room with a tall, arched ceiling. It has a rounded section at one end and a balcony at the other. It can hold over 350 people. Light comes in through five tall, narrow, colored glass windows on each side. The inside is painted white with gold details.

The altar area is in the rounded section. It has the original decorated marble altar with angels on either side. The chapel also has many statues, including those of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady. There are also beautiful painted "Stations of the Cross" (pictures showing Jesus's journey) in carved wooden frames on the walls. The floor in the main part of the chapel is made of wood. The balcony has a decorative wooden front.

Side doors from the chapel open onto covered walkways that go around the courtyards.

Courtyards

The north courtyard is an open space with tables and chairs. The south courtyard has newer garden beds and a shade structure. Some newer buildings have been added to the courtyard areas, but they are not part of the heritage listing.

Lift Tower

The outside of the lift tower on Warren Street is still there, and it holds a modern lift.

Fence and Gates

Around the three street sides of the property, there is a fence made of brick posts and panels with decorative patterns. There's a beautiful white concrete gateway at the corner of St Paul's Terrace and Warren Street with a decorative metal double gate. Another similar gate is at the other St Paul's Terrace corner.

Views

From the Villa Maria complex, you can see great views across Brisbane's city center, Fortitude Valley, and even the Story Bridge.

Why Villa Maria is Important

Villa Maria Hostel was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on September 18, 2008, because it is very important for several reasons:

• It shows how Queensland's history developed.

Villa Maria was the first permanent home for the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Queensland, starting in 1928. It has remained a central place for their work. It shows how the Sisters' group grew and how they helped people. Villa Maria is also important because it shows the Catholic Church's efforts to provide social welfare, especially for women, by setting up hostels and hospices.

It also shows the growth of the Catholic Church in Queensland in the 1920s and 1930s under Archbishop James Duhig. He was very interested in city planning, and Villa Maria was a key part of his vision for Brisbane as a city with grand buildings. The building of the convent and hostel shows Archbishop Duhig's strong interest in the Sisters' work and his big building plans for the church.

• It shows the main features of this type of building.

Villa Maria is important for its beautiful design, especially its well-planned outside and chapel. It's a great example of the work of Hennessy, Hennessy, Keesing and Co and J.P. Donoghue, who were important architects in Brisbane and Sydney and worked on many Catholic church projects.

With its interesting shape and finely crafted brickwork, round arches, towers, and decorative patterns, Villa Maria is a great example of a building in the Romanesque style. This style was often used for religious buildings between the two World Wars.

The chapel, which is a main part of Villa Maria, has key Romanesque features like brick construction, round arched windows, and patterned brickwork. Inside, it has a tall, arched ceiling, simple decorations, and narrow colored glass windows. It also has the important items found in a 20th-century Catholic church, like altars, statues, and Stations of the Cross.

• It is beautiful to look at.

Villa Maria is a noticeable landmark on the high ground of St Paul's Terrace. You can see it from many parts of Fortitude Valley and Brisbane's city center. It stands out because of its interesting shape and beautiful brickwork. It has simple but elegant decorations, like geometric patterns in the bricks and decorative entrance porches.

Inside, the original fine woodwork and finishes, especially in the main entrance, chapel entrance, and chapel, are lovely. These include wooden doors, arched windows with glass, colored glass windows with cross patterns, and painted murals. The chapel is a peaceful place with its tall, arched ceiling, narrow colored glass windows, and beautiful furniture like polished wooden pews and wooden floors.

Villa Maria is also known for the wide views it offers across Brisbane's city center, Spring Hill, and Fortitude Valley.

• It has a special connection to important people or groups in Queensland's history.

Villa Maria is important because of its connection to the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. They have been on this site since 1900. The place has been linked to the Sisters' work of caring for the elderly and sick for over 70 years. For a time, it also offered a place to stay for young women working in Brisbane.