brisbaneopenhouse

From GARDENING AUSTRALIA: Newstead House is Brisbane's oldest surviving residence. I love its tranquillity, its history but I especially love its gardens. The property was first established in 1846. Since then has been the home of a Darling Downs grazier, a Moreton Bay District police magistrate, and other prominent businessmen and politicians, until it was taken over by the local government in 1918. The homestead originally had a garden planted for food and the front lawns were created to establish a visual connection to the river. But we are interested in the trees. Newstead Park, like many other 19th-century heritage properties, is home to some great irreplaceable assets - grand old trees. Some favorites are: * Crow's ash Flindersia australis a magnificent tree from tropical Australia. The specimen in the park was probably planted before the house was built so it must be over 160 years old. It produces dense foliage, large leaves and then creamy white flowers. * A tree that's unique to Newstead House is a crepe myrtle known as Lagerstroemia speciosa. It was planted about the same time as the house was built and it's claimed to be the largest tree of its kind in the southern hemisphere. * Another was the Ficus virens or Cunningham's fig which sits in the centre of the round-about at the entrance to Newstead House. It was there before the house was built which makes it over 200 years old. These grand old trees perfectly complement the grandeur of the house and garden and are an essential part of our history and environment. These trees are irreplaceable and need to be preserved for future generations. Source: www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/newstead-house/942940...

Craigston is a heritage-listed apartment block at 217 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Atkinson & Conrad and built in 1927. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. Craigston is located on Wickham Terrace, overlooking the city centre, within a precinct associated since the 1880s with Brisbane's medical profession. It is an eight-storeyed building with a sub-floor, rooftop garden, and viewing tower, and is constructed of rendered brick with a steel-reinforced concrete frame. The design is Spanish Mission style, with an arched entry, arched windows and a decorative parapet at the penthouse level, and a corner tower with a terracotta tiled roof. Apart from a sympathetic enclosing of the balconies, the exterior of the building is intact. Professional suites occupy the ground and sub-floors, with the remaining levels providing residential accommodation. Apart from the sixth level, which has always accommodated two apartments, each of the residential levels originally contained one spacious flat with a central arrival hall, servants' rooms in the back western corner, and family living in the L-shape. Most of the flats have been subdivided since, with apartments currently numbering twelve. The block is serviced by a central elevator, dumb waiter, and common L-shaped hallways, which are lined with dark-stained silky oak dado paneling. Access to the professional suites is via the front entrance, with a separate side entry (at the southwest end of the hallway) reserved for the use of residents. Several small garden beds with edgings of Brisbane tuff have been established at the front and along the south-western side of the building. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craigston

The striking gothic arched William St section of this office was designed by colonial architect FDG Stanley and built in 1874 after an earlier wooden printing office had been demolished. As the first purpose-built government printery in Queensland, it went on to function as the state printery for 120 years. And with the ongoing expansion a second building - complete with a printer’s devil face on the keystone over the doorway – was built in 1910 on George St. There are also two printer’s devil gargoyles crouched on the parapet, one holding a G and the other a P. The printer’s devil has its origins in the days when newspapers were seen as heresy for printing stuff that was not related to God. This particular building is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a young man who was caught up in and killed by the printing presses when he climbed in to see why one had stopped working. In 1984 the government printing offices moved on and the 1874 building housed the Sciencentre for a brief period in 1991 the Public Service Club moved in and remains today. Source: www.mustdobrisbane.com/visitor-info-arts-culture-history/...