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Raymont Residential College is located in the historic suburb of Auchenflower. It began in a grand old house Drysllwyn (named after a ruined castle in Wales, meaning ‘green, rolling hills’), built for the Davies family in 1904-05. William Davies was a Welshman who came to Australia during the gold rush. He prospered in the nearby town of Gympie, accumulating a controlling interest in about 18 mines. With the Second World War in full swing, the US military command requisitioned Somerville House Girls School, displacing the students from their premises. Davies offered to lease Drysllwyn to the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association and from 1942 to 1944 the house was used as a day school for about 50 girls. After the war, the Methodist Church began to use the house for female boarders from the country who were undergoing teacher training or working. In 1947 Mrs E. Raymont left a large bequest to the church which enabled them to pay off debts and formally take ownership of Drysllwyn. Hence the building was renamed Raymont College in recognition of this philanthropy. The beautiful verandas of the house were closed in to create more bedrooms. There were various additions for kitchen staff quarters and walkways to and from these buildings. Source: raymont.com.au/about-us/

Thornton erected the first prefabricated building in Queensland on the Main Street frontage of his property, a very comfortable two-storied residence, which stood until only a few years ago when it made way for a new motel. His stables were in the rear of the house. A brick and cement baths were on the river bank together with a jetty, whence his boat took him daily to and from the Customs House. Next door to Thornton's were some old brick and cement shops and, adjoining these, where "Travelodge" Motel stands, my grandfather John McDonnell* built "Prospect" in 1863. Source: espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_2

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...