Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Victorian 1860-1890
Style
Bungalow
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Residence `Rothsay'
Rothsay
Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Victorian 1860-1890
Style
Bungalow
This early brick and timber residence was built circa 1869 for Reverend Benjamin Gilmore Wilson, the first Baptist minister in Sandgate.
Also known as
Wilson's Folly
Lot plan
L2_RP75318
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Brick - Painted
Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (B) Rarity; (D) RepresentativeInteractive mapping
Also known as
Wilson's Folly
Lot plan
L2_RP75318
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Brick - Painted
Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (B) Rarity; (D) RepresentativeInteractive mapping
History
Irish-born Benjamin Wilson, a practicing doctor had emigrated in 1858 at the behest of the Baptist Missionary Society, and on arrival in Brisbane he became minister for the Wharf St Church.
Wilson was engaged in some land speculation during the early 1860s including other allotments in Sandgate. He eventually acquired eight acres of low-lying land on what is now the intersection of First Avenue and Flinders Parade in 1869, and there he had constructed a brick holiday house around 1870 which he called ‘Rothsay’. The property became locally known as “Wilson’s Folly” due to its proximity to the foreshore and the periodic flooding of the block by high tides.
Within a few years a Baptist church was built nearby, and Wilson also took up duties there as an extension of the Wharf St church..
The Rev Wilson resided in Spring Hill, and it was there that he died in Februrary 1878. His wife retained the property which then passed to her four children after her death in 1907. Family lore notes that daughter Mary Ann, and her husband bank manager Andrew Patterson lived in Rothsay, and the property passed into Andrew’s name in 1914. The house passed out of family ownership around 1945.
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:
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)