heritage

Don't miss out on the headlines from Property. Followed categories will be added to My News. Follow A PIECE of Queensland's history that sits on Ipswich's doorstep is up for sale. The historic Bellevue Homestead at Coominya has been put up on the market offering a rare opportunity to own one of the state's oldest homesteads. Bellevue was established in the early 1840s as part of the Wivenhoe run and by the early 1900s was the social center of the district. The property changed hands a couple of times before it was bought by William North Snr who established a 2,000-hectare section of the Wivenhoe run as the separate Bellevue Station. None of the original buildings have survived. In the early days, sheep grazing was the main industry but in the 1870s sheep gave way to cattle and the Taylor family took over Bellevue Homestead. During the Taylors' time, the Brisbane River flooded, in 1893, destroying parts of the timber-framed house which was later restored. In 1899 the owner George Taylor died but his widow remained at the station and in 1901 re-married a man named Charles Lumley Hill. The pair extended the homestead, adding a new dining room, a guest suite, and servants' quarters, as well as renovating the earlier sections of the home. In the early decades of the twentieth century, Bellevue was the social center of the district. Today the homestead has three separate buildings. The original slab hut was built in 1840 and still has the original kitchen landowners used. The second building is Victorian design and has six bedrooms. The third building, the Federation-style guest house, was built in 1903 and contains an enormous dining room, smoking room, and guest suite. The owners use the property as their private home and parts of the homestead have been set up for a business with an approved commercial kitchen to cater for weddings, private functions, bed and breakfast, wine tasting, home-style dining, and 'Devonshire Tea'. Source: www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/ipswich/property/a...

The trustees adopted regulations for South Brisbane Cemetery in October 1866, but it still needed fencing, clearing, and internal roads, and it was almost four years before it was ready to be proclaimed open for use, which happened on 7 May 1870. Brisbane Courier, 7 May 1870. The first recorded burial took place on 1 August 1870 when Jane Hockings – the mother of trustee Albert Hockings – was laid to rest in section 8A. The interment of such a prominent person was a significant moment, and for the first time, large numbers of Southsiders began to utilize a cemetery on their own side of the river. It has always officially been named ‘South Brisbane Cemetery, as it was in South Brisbane – which was a separate municipal entity to Brisbane itself – although many people know it by the colloquial name of ‘Dutton Park Cemetery. South Brisbane Cemetery is listed on both the Queensland Heritage Register (Queensland Government) and the Brisbane Heritage Register (Brisbane City Council). It is one of the earliest cemeteries in Queensland. In its form and memorials it provides evidence for the history of Brisbane and of European burial customs in Queensland. South Brisbane Cemetery was established at the height of the Victorian-era fascination with monumental cemeteries. Middle-class families were expected to spend as much as they could afford on grave monuments appropriate to the social status of the deceased. The graves of paupers often went unmarked. Many of these headstones are testament to the skills of the stonemasons who created them. Some early headstones have been lost to time, falling over because of storms or old age, but many of these fascinating monuments to our ancestors remain and effectively make the cemetery something of an open-air art gallery. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) was established in 1917, and provides headstones for the 1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died from injuries suffered the two world wars. There are 47 registered War Commission graves in South Brisbane Cemetery. Official war graves feature a cross and the relevant insignia. In addition to the official war graves, there are also family memorials in the cemetery to local men who died and were interred overseas during the First World War. These usually take the form of naming the deceased, and when and where they died. These were prevalent before the rise in popularity of community cenotaphs. Source: www.fosbc.com/

This photo is of Portland Place. The terrace house to the right is number 12 and bears the name The Fire House. A row of new build bungalows occupies the site of the fire station now. The new fire station is not, as stated, opposite the "high school" but opposite Bridlington School. The High School is the name given by locals to The High School for Girls which was on St John Street, now converted to flats