Wolston House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wolston House |
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Wolston House, from east, 2009
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| Location | 223 Grindle Road, Wacol, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1840s–1860s (mid-19th century) |
| Built | 1852–1860s |
| Official name: Wolston House | |
| Type | state heritage (built, archaeological) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600339 |
| Significant period | 1852-1860s, (fabric) 1852-1960, 1965 (historical) |
| Significant components | trees/plantings, farmhouse, pump, wall/s, well, pathway/walkway, gate – entrance, cellar |
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Wolston House is a special old home in Wacol, Queensland, Australia. It's now a museum where you can learn about life in the past. The house was built a long time ago, starting in 1852.
Today, Wolston House is looked after by the National Trust of Queensland. This group helps protect important historical places. Wolston House is also listed on the Queensland Heritage Register, which means it's a very important part of Queensland's history.
Contents
Discovering Wolston House's Past
Wolston House includes the main home and garden from a large property called the Wolston Estate. This estate was first started by Dr. Stephen Simpson in 1852. Later, in the 1860s, Matthew Goggs made it even bigger.
Stephen Simpson: The First Owner
Stephen Simpson was an important person in early Queensland. In 1842, he became the Commissioner for Crown Lands for the Moreton Bay area. This meant he was a government official in charge of land when it was first opened for people to settle freely. Before this, the area was a penal colony.
Dr. Simpson was a doctor, a judge, and a police magistrate. He also helped create the Queensland Legislative Council, which was like an early parliament for Queensland. His first home was in Woogaroo, which is now called Goodna.
In 1851, Dr. Simpson bought 640 acres (about 2.6 square kilometers) of land near the Brisbane River. This land became the Wolston property.
Planning the Estate
In 1852, a surveyor named William Pettigrew helped plan the new property. It included a house, garden, stables, and other buildings. Dr. Simpson loved plants and gardening, and the garden was planned with great care. It's thought that some of the fig trees at Wolston might have been planted by him.
The house Dr. Simpson lived in was much smaller than the Wolston House you see today. It was a simple two-room brick cottage with a basement and a separate kitchen. This small cottage is now the very center of the current house.
A Sad Event and a New Chapter
Dr. Simpson had named his nephew, John Ommaney, as his heir. In 1856, John, who was 20 years old, had an accident while riding his horse from Wolston. He was found unconscious and sadly passed away. This event may have made Dr. Simpson decide to leave the colony.
A few years later, in 1860, Dr. Simpson put the Wolston estate up for sale and went back to England. By then, the property was well-established. It had about 2,000 acres (over 8 square kilometers) of fenced land, a large garden, orchards, and many horses and cattle.
The Goggs Family Era
In October 1860, Matthew Buscall Goggs bought Wolston. He continued to use the estate for raising cattle and horses. He made the property much larger, expanding it to 100,000 acres (about 400 square kilometers)!
Matthew Goggs had a big family with ten children. To make more space, he added a sandstone extension to the house in the 1860s. In the 1870s, a cedar annexe was added for the children's bedrooms.
Matthew Goggs passed away in 1882. His eldest son, also named Matthew Buscall, managed the estate until around 1890. Over the years, the family bought and sold land. By 1907, the Wolston property was reduced to about 650 acres (2.6 square kilometers) around the house.
The Grindle and Hurley Families
In 1907, the Grindle family bought Wolston House. They built up a successful dairy farm, milking many cows each day. They also made some changes to the house, like covering the shingle roof with corrugated iron.
In 1956, Robert Hurley bought the property. By this time, the house and land were not in good condition. The Hurleys worked hard to improve the property and started a busy dairy business.
Saving Wolston House
In 1960, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock took over the property for a tick research center. They planned to knock down the old farm buildings and even the house.
However, several groups, including the Queensland Women's Historical Association, the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, and the newly formed National Trust of Queensland, fought to save the house. Their efforts worked!
In 1965, Wolston House was given to the National Trust. It became their very first property to protect. Important people like Sir Raphael Cilento and architect Karl Langer played a big part in saving the house and planning how to share its history.
When the National Trust first took over, the house needed a lot of work. They made repairs and rebuilt parts of it. Today, the National Trust has owned Wolston House for over thirty years. It is still open to the public as a museum, showing how old homes are cared for over time.
What Wolston House Looks Like
Wolston House is in a rural area between Brisbane and Ipswich, with views of the Brisbane River. The land around it still looks like a countryside property. The house is surrounded by a mature garden with large trees, an old well, and a pump.
House Structure and Rooms
The house is built from sandstone and brick, with a metal roof. It has six main rooms. There are also two cellars (like basements) underneath, which you can get to from the back.
The rooms are arranged along a verandah, which is a covered porch with timber posts. You enter the rooms through French windows, not a formal front door. Inside, there's a large double room that can be divided by folding cedar doors, a bedroom, a dining room, and a kitchen.
Many of the original wooden parts, like doors and window frames, are still there. However, some of the wall plaster and ceilings have been rebuilt.
Surrounding Area and Museum Features
Behind the house, you can still see the brick basement walls from a children's wing that was added in the 1860s but later removed.
Wolston House works as a house museum. There's a modern home for the caretaker nearby and a modern toilet block behind the house. An old timber railway building has also been moved to the site and is used for storage. You can still see parts of the original entrance gate and pathways from old photographs.
The items inside the house are chosen to show what life was like in the past. While they don't all belong to the original families, some pieces are connected to people who lived or worked at Wolston.
Why Wolston House is Important
Wolston House is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register because it meets several important criteria.
Showing Queensland's History
Wolston House helps us understand how Queensland's history unfolded. It shows how properties developed from early settlements. It's also important because it was the first property saved by the National Trust of Queensland. Sir Raphael Cilento and Karl Langer, who were key figures in the Trust, played a big part in saving it.
A Rare Piece of History
Wolston House is a rare example of an early homestead that still exists. Most of it was built in the 1860s, but it includes the original 1852 cottage. The building materials and the way it was built show techniques that are not often seen in small rural homes from that time.
Showing Early Settler Life
The way the house is built, with its simple design and lack of a formal entrance, tells us about how the first European settlers in the area lived.
Beautiful and Appealing
The house itself and how it fits into the landscape are very beautiful. Many people in the community enjoy visiting it.
Connected to Important People
The oldest part of the house is linked to Dr. Stephen Simpson (1792-1869). He was a very important person in Brisbane's early days. The house is also connected to the start of the National Trust of Queensland and the efforts of Sir Raphael Cilento and Karl Langer to save it.
