Addresses

At 136 James Street, New farm, Queensland 4005

Type of place

House

Period

Victorian 1860-1890

Style

Filigree

Ellerslie

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This is an image of the local heritage place known as Residence 'Ellersie'

Ellerslie

Ellerslie Download Citation (pdf, 79.19 KB)

Addresses

At 136 James Street, New farm, Queensland 4005

Type of place

House

Period

Victorian 1860-1890

Style

Filigree

'Ellerslie' was built about 1888, and possibly designed by Andrea Stombuco, following the transfer of the property to Thomas J. Bunton, a solicitor, living at ‘Kinkora’, Villiers Street. Following a succession of owners after Bunton from 1892, the property was purchased by Thomas Glassey, a politician, in 1909. Glassey played a pioneering role in the Queensland Labor movement, becoming a trade union candidate in the Queensland Parliament in 1888, Labor Party Opposition leader in 1898 and a senator in the first Commonwealth Government from 1901-03. From 1913 he was a director of the New Aberdare Colliery Ltd, and in 1917 founded the Queensland Nationalist Party. He lived at ‘Ellerslie’ until his death on 28 September 1936 and the property remained in the Glassey family until the 1960s.Known as ‘Ellerslie’ from the 1890s, this single-storey masonry house with encircling verandahs was built in the Victorian Filigree style during Brisbane’s 1880s building boom.

Lot plan

L10_RP9138; L11_RP9138; L12_RP9138

Key dates

Local Heritage Place Since —

Date of Citation —

Construction

Roof: Corrugated iron;
 Walls: Masonry

People/associations

Thomas Glassey (Occupant)

Criterion for listing

(A) Historical; (D) Representative; (E) Aesthetic; (H) Historical association

Interactive mapping

City Plan Interactive Mapping

Lot plan

L10_RP9138; L11_RP9138; L12_RP9138

Key dates

Local Heritage Place Since —

Date of Citation —

Construction

Roof: Corrugated iron;
 Walls: Masonry

People/associations

Thomas Glassey (Occupant)

Criterion for listing

(A) Historical; (D) Representative; (E) Aesthetic; (H) Historical association

Interactive mapping

City Plan Interactive Mapping

Statement of significance

Relevant assessment criteria

This is a place of local heritage significance and meets one or more of the local heritage criteria under the Heritage planning scheme policy of the Brisbane City Plan 2014. It is significant because:

Historical

Criterion A

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of the city's or local area’s history

as one of the elite residences built during Brisbane's 1880s boom which included a number of similar residences in New Farm and on the high-side of Teneriffe.

Representative

Criterion D

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class or classes of cultural places

as a good example of an 1880s residence built for a member of Brisbane's affluent professional class.

Aesthetic

Criterion E

The place is important because of its aesthetic significance

as an elegant residence featuring ornate verandah detailing on a prominent corner site.

Historical association

Criterion H

The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organization of importance in the city’s or local area’s history

as the home of Thomas Glassey, a leading Queensland politician for 27 years.

References

  1. Brisbane City Council Properties on the Web

  2. Brisbane City Council, 1946 aerial photographs.

  3. Brisbane City Council, Surveyor’s Notebook, 18 Feb 1920, updated 17 Feb 1925 [in green]

  4. Brisbane City Council, Sewerage Maps, Detail Plan, No 190, 28 July 1927

  5. Brisbane City Council, New Farm and Teneriffe Hill Heritage and Character Study, Oct 1995, pg 108

  6. Certificates of Title, Department of Environment and Resource Management

  7. Queensland Post Office Directory, 1888; 1889; 1891-1896; 1910-1911

  8. Kingsholme Estate maps, Teneriffe, 1885;1886

  9. Bennett, H, ‘New Farm from quality street to mixed assortment’, Brisbane Houses, Gardens, Suburbs and Congregations, Papers No 22 Brisbane History Group, 2010, pg 152-158

  10. Schiavo, John, New Farm: a study of land use and settlement to 1999, Brisbane City Council, pg 29

  11. Benjamin, G. & Grant, G. Reflections on New Farm, New Farm & Districts Historical Society Inc, New Farm, 2008, pg 129, 131

  12. Apperly, R. Irving, R. Reynolds R, A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present, Angus & Robertson, 1989, pg 60-63

  13. Watson, D. and McKay, K., Queensland Architects of the 19th Century, University of Queensland Library, St. Lucia, 1994, pg 184

  14. Lipke, Ian, ‘Glassey, Thomas (1844-1936’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983, pg 24-25

  15. Brisbane Courier, 6 Feb 1897, pg 8

  16. Brisbane Courier, 31 Jan 1924, pg 20

  17. Brisbane Courier, 13 Jan 1926, pg 8

  18. Queenslander, 1 Oct 1936, pg 46

  19. Courier-Mail, 27 Feb 1935, pg 12

  20. Courier-Mail, 29 Sept 1936, pg 12

  21. Courier-Mail, 29 June 1937, pg 19

Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)

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Victorian 1860-1890
Filigree
House
At 136 James Street, New farm, Queensland 4005
At 136 James Street, New farm, Queensland 4005 L10_RP9138; L11_RP9138; L12_RP9138
Historical, Representative, Aesthetic, Historical association