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A History by Design
Home, Brisbane Style
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 Click to view zoomable image
Plans of East Brisbane residence, 1929. Architects: A.B. & R.M. Wilson
Fryer Library, Wilson Collection, UQFL112, Job 552 |
"For coolness' sake most of the houses are built of wood and possess wide verandas screened from the sun by straw blinds; they are raised high from the ground on piles, capped by inverted saucers to resist the depredations of the white ant, the bane of the settler in this and other parts of Australia."
In this 1928 description, Kathleen Ussher captures some of the defining elements of the Queensland house: the use of tin and timber, the verandahs, the reliance on elevation to reduce heat and escape pests. Many of these features were not, of course, unique to Queensland. |
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As Judy Rechner notes:
| It was how all these elements were put together that created the distinctive Queensland vernacular house. The elevated house with its expanse of verandah, plethora of timber for walls, floors, stairs, decorative elements and stumps, prominent tin roof and economy of material all go into creating this characteristic house form. |
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| Even introduced styles were modified to complement the local traditions. The Californian Bungalow, for instance, became popular in Australia in the 1920s, but the Queensland version was invariably an elevated, high-ceilinged dwelling constructed from timber and galvanized iron. |
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| An early example of the influence of the Californian bungalow style in Brisbane domestic architecture, this home in Manly combines low-pitched traverse gables, solid balustrading and tapering stone pylons, with the elevation and use of iron and timber typical of the Queensland vernacular style. (Rechner, Brisbane House Styles, p. 3) |
| Plans of Manly residence, 1919. Architect: E.P. Trewern |
| Fryer Library, E.P. Trewern Collection, UQFL239, Folder E | Click to view zoomable image |
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For Ussher, the reasons for the Queensland style lie principally in climate and construction costs. Balwant Saini, however, takes issue with this explanation. Though agreeing that the early wooden and iron bungalow was cheap and quick to build, he points out that the internal design of many of these homes prevented cross ventilation, while the thin wooden walls and iron roofs were far from ideal for heat proofing. In the summer months verandahs were often the only habitable spaces. Europeans persisted with this inappropriate mode of shelter, he argues, because of their notion that a house should function as a barrier (rather than a filter) between its occupants and the outside environment.
The sub-tropical and tropical bungalow, though, was not a fixed form. It evolved and features were incorporated to enhance climate control. Latticed screens and shutters were introduced to manage the effects of sun, wind and rain. Doorways were topped with fretwork panels and arches which were both decorative and facilitative of cross ventilation. In the 'twenties sash windows were replaced by casements which caught the breezes.
Most Europeans, moreover, readily accepted their verandahs and gardens as legitimate living spaces, despite the notional cultural barriers that separated them from nature. For its part, nature penetrated the sanctity of indoor life with impunity. "You are on the threshold of the tropics," noted Thomas Wood, "and a little of the tropics comes over the threshold to meet you. None of the teeming, pulsating life of the East, not all its colours and its smells; but the heat and the fruits and the flowers, the velvety nights, the stars like lamps in the sky." The verandah became the point of mediation between these two worlds. Few Brisbane verandahs lacked a table and chairs for dining. The day bed and the 'sleepout' were common.
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Verandahs in this 1927 West End home offer an important living space and climate control mechanism for residents. A 'sleeping verandah' is incorporated on the northern side, adjacent the main bedroom, while the deep verandah on the south–western side protects the living and breakfast rooms from the harsh western sun.
Plans of West End residence, 1927 Click to view zoomable image
Architects: H.W. Atkinson & A.H. Conrad
Fryer Library, Conrad & Gargett Collection, UQFL228, Job 290 |
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The interwar years heralded bigger stylistic changes as well.
From the late 1920s, homes of brick, concrete, fibro and tiles became more popular, partly because new construction techniques for brick veneer dwellings reduced the quantity of bricks required and therefore the cost. But the cost was still sufficiently high to prevent brick and tile challenging timber and tin as the preferred material of mass housing, particularly once economic depression set in.
In 1935 brick and tile dwellings purchased through the Queensland Government's home finance company, the State Advances Corporation, ranged in price from £750 to £1150, whereas the average price of the 24 timber designs on offer was £592, the cheapest being £360.
The one housing sector where brick and masonry did make a significant impact was the new field of unit accommodation. Brisbane had had boarding houses and hotels since the nineteenth century, but the concept of multiple self–contained apartments in a single building dates from the 1930s, when changing attitudes to accommodation and the deleterious effect of the Depression rekindled interest in high–density, inner–city living. |
In the 1930s James Hardie & Co began offering Brisbane residents an asbestos fibro alternative to timber. The material was trouble free, the company claimed.
Fryer Library, NA7470.Q4 Q4 1935
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Kangaroo Point, New Farm, Highgate Hill and Spring Hill were suburbs favoured by this form of development.
Though timber structures remained ubiquitous, bricks and concrete supplied a new richness to Brisbane's architectural fabric.
Freed from the decorative limitations of timber and its sub–tropical aesthetic, architects and builders looked to new stylistic influences for inspiration. Many of the brick flats, houses, and commercial buildings erected in this era reveal a strong affinity with the international Art Deco and Modernist schools of design. Despite the depredations of progress Queensland–style, some examples of these can still be found.
Tin and timber also lives on, though Brisbane as a "city silvered with blue-ironed roofs" is, perhaps, a thing of the past. |
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| Click to view zoomable image |
| Built in 1936–37, Kangaroo Point's landmark masonry apartment block, 'Cliffside Apartments', was among the first purpose-built apartment complexes in Brisbane. Designed in English–revival or Tudor–revival style, the building with its eight flats was regarded as the height of modernity and, according to the Telegraph, "an example of the most advanced flat design in Australia." |
| (Qld Heritage Register – www.epa.qld.gov.au) |
Drawing of proposed flats, Kangaroo Point, 1936
Architect: R. M. Wilson |
| Fryer Library, Wilson Collection, UQFL112, 588 |
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| Designed in 1938, this Paddington complex uses the sloping terrain to good effect by combining shops and flats over three levels. Flat construction in Brisbane peaked in 1936-37. |
Plans for shops and flats in Paddington, 1938
Architects: H.W. Atkinson & A.H. Conrad |
| Fryer Library, Conrad & Gargett Collection, UQFL228, Job 317 |
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| Spanish mission–style home in Clayfield, featuring stucco walls, tiled roof and arched doorways and openings with twisted columns. Inspired by 17th and 18th century Spanish religious buildings in Mexico, New Mexico and California, the Spanish revival style was developed by early 20th century Californian architects and popularised in Australia through the influence of American mass culture, especially Hollywood films. (Rechner, Brisbane House Styles, p. 49) |
Plans for brick residence in Clayfield, 1929
Architect: E.P. Trewern |
| Fryer Library, E.P. Trewern Collection, UQFL239, Item 1136 |
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