Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Federation 1890-1914
Style
Bungalow
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Residence
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Residence
70 Clarence Road, Indooroopilly
Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Federation 1890-1914
Style
Bungalow
This timber and tin Bungalow style residence is a substantial example of a large, late nineteenth century dwelling constructed in the Indooroopilly area. The house appears to have been constructed circa 1892 for James Row Newman Wilson and was shortly after named ‘Ardtarig’.
Also known as
Ardtarig
Lot plan
L151_RP23457; L149_RP23457; L150_RP23457; L148_RP23457
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Timber
Criterion for listing
(A) HistoricalInteractive mapping
Also known as
Ardtarig
Lot plan
L151_RP23457; L149_RP23457; L150_RP23457; L148_RP23457
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Timber
Criterion for listing
(A) HistoricalInteractive mapping
History
The land on which this house stands was the subject of a number of insolvencies and mortgagee sales. Charles Lane Taylor bought the land in 1862. In 1864, Taylor was made declared insolvent and his mortgagee the Queensland Building Society sold the land to Peter Hartley. In 1866 mortgagee Charles Morrell placed a caveat over Hartley’s land ‘forbidding dealings’, and acquired it three years later in 1869. The land then passed into the hands of Walter Horatio Wilson in March 1885, after Morrell surrendered the land to the last of numerous mortgagees, the Australasian Stock Bank.
The Hon Walter Horatio Wilson moved to Queensland in 1865 to practice law as a solicitor. Although suffering at times from ill health he entered the Legislative Council in 1885 and served in a number of positions that included Minister Without Portfolio (1890-93, 1894-98) and Postmaster General (1893-94, 1898). Wilson had a diverse State and local profile. He founded and was president of the Brisbane Liedertafel. He had donated an harmonium to St Thomas’ Church at Toowong and ‘deputised for the organist.’
Wilson immediately divided the 36 acres into the ‘Newtown Estate’ comprising almost 300 blocks, a number as small as 15 perches. The unsold allotments were marketed again from September 1887. Many purchasers bought more than one block. George Rennie Wilson and Newman James Row Wilson acquired a total of seven blocks here, on the corner of Clarence Road and Newcross Street. The Messrs Wilson also bought a total of eighteen adjoining subdivisions totalling almost two acres. These blocks adjoined the subject property along Newcross Street (to Central Avenue), the others along Greenlaw Street to Central Avenue.
It appears likely that, after James Row Newman Wilson acquired these seven blocks, he built the house as an investment. Evidence indicates that there was a house here by 1892, Ardtarig occupied by clerk Alex. D.Campbell until approximately 1913. Lucy and James Madgwick Davidson bought the house in 1918, James dying before Lucy’s death in 1923. Davidson’s occupation is given as a bank manager. After Lucy’s heirs held the property for eight years, Cecilia and Vere Frederick Bogle obtained the house, Cecilia remaining here until after 1939.
As indicated above this house would have been constructed during the recession of the late 1880s and early 1890s, which followed a building boom across Brisbane. The recession lasted until the mid to late 1890s and severely affected the building and construction industry.
Cecilia Bogle sold three Newcross Street subdivisions (effectively halving the block) in 1953 to William Lyle Grimes. This sale left the block in its current shape and size.
Description
This building is a high-set house with encircling verandas and large pyramidal corrugated iron roof with two chimneys. External walls are single-skin T&G vertical boarding with exposed framing and diagonal bracing. The diagonal motif is continued in the verandah balustrade and under-floor batten enclosure.
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:
References
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Brisbane City Council Water Supply and Sewerage Detail Plan No: 2627 October 1967
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Department of Natural Resources, Queensland Certificates of title and other records.
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Environmental Protection Agency
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JOL Estate Map Collection - Newton Estate, September 1887; Taringa Heights, 1909
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Lawson, Ronald Brisbane in the 1890s: A Study of an Australian Urban Society. St Lucia U of Q Press, 1973
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McKellar's Map of Brisbane and Suburbs. Brisbane: Surveyor-General’s Office, 1895
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Watson, Donald and Judith McKay. Queensland Architects of the 19th Century: A Biographical Dictionary. Brisbane: Queensland Museum, 1994
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised September 2020)