Wynberg

The site of Wynberg was part of twelve acres acquired by George Raff by Deed of Grant in 1854. Over an acre of this land was transferred to John Abraham, an assistant to Judge Lutwyche before being sold to Henry Bates Fitz of the Darling Downs in 1863. Postal records indicate that Fitz was living on his Brunswick Street property by the late 1870s. According to George Willcock’s descendants, the original house on the site was replaced by a new brick residence with wide verandahs in the 1880s.

In 1890, Charles Willcocks purchased the property from Henry Fitz, allegedly for ₤7000. At this time, New Farm had become one of the city’s more fashionable suburbs attracting residents from the upper echelons of Brisbane society such as Charles Griffiths, the Queensland premier and judge.  Willcocks added to his holding in Brunswick Street during the 1890s until he had increased the property to almost four acres. He named his new residence, Wynberg, after the site of his railway construction base camp in South Africa. The origin of the name is a Dutch-German term for “vineyard”.

Willcocks was born in Devonshire circa 1857. He trained as a stonemason before travelling to South Africa as a young man and becoming a successful engineering contractor. He won several railway contracts including the duplication of the line from Capetown to Wynberg. After marrying a young widow, Mary Anne Craig, in 1883, he returned to England for a short time before emigrating to Queensland in 1885.

Willcocks quickly became one of Queensland’s most sought after contractors, specialising in railway construction.  Other building contracts included the laying of timber blocks in Queen Street for the Municipal Council in 1897-98, several drainage and sewerage systems in Brisbane, the construction of the All Hallow’s wall in Ann Street in 1887 and the retaining wall along Coronation Drive in 1887. He also had interests in sawmills, copper, gold, tin and coal mines.  Willcocks was an active member of Brisbane society serving as a member of the Royal Brisbane Hospital, the RSPCA and the Booroodabin Bowls. He was also a mason.

In the early 1891-92, Willcocks commissioned the architectural firm of McCredie Bros and Chambers to substantially extend his home. The Sydney architectural and engineering firm of A.L. and G. McCredie admitted Claude Chambers as their Brisbane partner in 1889, initially to supervise construction of the Australasian United Steam Navigation Co.’s offices (now the Brisbane Polo Club). The partnership ended in 1893 and Chambers continued to practise in Brisbane and Sydney until his retirement in 1935. He designed several notable buildings in Brisbane such as Perry House (1910-13) and was instrumental in establishing the Queensland Institute of Architects in 1888. Chambers also designed four houses for Wilcocks in 1895 in nearby Moreton Street which were entered on the City Plan Heritage Register in 2000. 

The major change to Wynberg in 1891-92 was a two-storey extension at right angles to the original house.  Existing rooms were enlarged and Victorian style ornamentation such as marble fireplaces, decorative plaster ceilings and red cedar joinery added. Painted fanlights around the doors were adorned with his initials and portraits of his wife and daughters, Katie, Ethel and Hazel. 

According to the Willcocks family, the grounds were also improved during this period with the construction of a substantial masonry and iron wall with sandstone gate-posts along Brunswick Street. A circular drive was added and the gardens landscaped with native shrubs and palm trees. Photographs of Wynberg from around the early 20th century show a horse and buggy standing on the circular drive and the house’s residents relaxing in the well established gardens. 

In the early years of the 20th century, Wynberg was a centre of social activity as Willcocks hosted functions for his business and political contacts and his daughters entered Brisbane society. A ballroom and silky oak staircase was added circa 1902 as well as decorative archways and iron Corinthian columns in the entrance and hallway.

After a successful life as a businessman and father of nine children, GC Willcocks died at home on 9 October 1916, allegedly as a result of his diabetic condition. The funeral procession left from Wynberg for Toowong cemetery. His company, GC Willcocks and Co ceased trading after World War I. Willcock’s widow, Mary Ann and their daughter, Katie, continued living at Wynberg.

In 1924, Willcock’s widow advertised Wynberg for sale in the Brisbane Courier. The advertisement described the house as a “large and substantial brick residence, containing every modern appointment and convenience”.  It came with one and a half acres of land, including a tennis court, stables and coach house. 

Wynberg had already attracted the interest of James Duhig, the Archbishop of Brisbane who had reportedly made an offer of purchase to Mrs Willcocks around the time of her husband’s death. In 1925, Duhig succeeded in buying the property, spurred by the imminent demolition of Dara for the construction of the ill-fated Holy Name Cathedral.1 It was 1927 before Duhig moved to the new archbishop’s residence and 1932 before the titles were transferred to his name.

Duhig made his own mark on Wynberg, importing antique furniture from an ancient Roman family and converting Willcocks’ ballroom into the “Gold Room” where he would receive the “political and professional Establishment of Brisbane”1 as well as notable visitors such as General Douglas Macarthur and Dame Nellie Melba.  A chandelier was added to the Gold Room and the furniture of former premier, TJ Ryan, purchased for the dining room. A crenellated tower with a flagpole was added to the upper storey early in Duhig’s residence whilst he was overseas. Later, in 1937, the Italian community of Queensland presented Duhig with a fountain of Carrara marble for the front garden, a copy of a fountain in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Wynberg functioned as more than just the residence of the archbishop and other clergy. It played an important role as a social focal point of the Catholic church in Brisbane. Garden parties and other functions such as the launch of the first Catholic Women’s conference in 1937 were held in the grounds and photographed for the pictorial pages of the newspapers.

Later changes to the fabric of Wynberg, included the enclosure of the roof-top fernery in fibro (circa 1930s) and the eastern verandah to provide additional accommodation. In the 1940s, an addition was added to the western side of the house to provide rooms for the Parish Priest of New Farm. Another alteration made by Duhig to Wynberg was the addition of a small suite to the eastern side of his office (formerly Willcocks’ bedroom) in the 1941 when his increasing age prevented him from using his upstairs rooms. The simple addition was designed by Duhig’s nephew, architect Frank Cullen. In the 1970s, Cullen modernised the kitchen and the eastern verandah was reopened. Brisbane architect, Robin Gibson, added a chapel in the 1990s and redecorated the hallway, opening a doorway through the original brickwork onto the rear verandah. Both the upper and ground floors of the rear verandah have at some stage been enclosed.

Archbishop Duhig died at Wynberg in 1965 at the age of 94. His body lay in state at Wynberg before being moved to St Stephen’s Cathedral. Wynberg has since been the home of several Brisbane archbishops.

Through these many physical changes to Wynberg layers of significance have been added to the site, from its beginnings as a 19th century New Farm home, to its incarnation as a grand private residence and, from 1925 to the present, as the official home of the Archbishop of Brisbane.

The interior of Wynberg has many significant features including decorative glass windows and fanlights, ornate archways and columns at the entrance to the main stairway and ornate plaster ceilings. Of particular interest is the Gold Room in the north-eastern corner of the house which has wood panelling, decorative columns and a large carved mantelpiece around a fireplace.

The large grounds of Wynberg provide a fitting setting which includes a circular carriage drive and many mature trees including poincianas, jacarandas and palms. A very large fig tree shades the eastern side of the grounds. At the rear of the residence, views of the adjacent Catholic school and church provide an historical and visual context for the house.

The significance of the site includes the residence in its entirety and the extensive grounds, including the garden layout and mature trees, the front fence and gates and the fountain presented to Duhig in 1937. The timber garages near the eastern boundary are not considered to be significant.

The house has had several additions and alterations over the decades. (see history)

1. The original gates of Dara were moved to the entrance of St Ambrose’s Catholic Church on Enoggera Rd, Newmarket where they remain in situ

2. TP Boland, James Duhig, St Lucia: U of Q Press, 1986, p.206

3. Ball, Peter. Address given re Willcocks and Wynberg. Dec 2005. Typescript held at Brisbane Archdiocesan Archives (BAA)

4. Brisbane City Council Detail plan no. 188, 1925

5. Boland, T.P. James Duhig. St Lucia: U of Q Press, 1986

6. Brisbane Courier, 26 July 1924

7. Dept of Environment and Resource Management. Titles Office. Titles records

8. G. Greenwood and J. Laverty. Brisbane 1859-1959: A History of Local Government. Brisbane: BCC, 1959.

9. Lawson, Ronald Brisbane in the 1890s: A Study of an Australian Urban Society. St Lucia U of Q Press, 1973

10. Martin, Fr. Denis. Paper on Wynberg, Archbishop’s Residence, 1998, cited in Fr

11. Tony Hallam, George Charles Willcocks. Typescript, 1999. BAA

12. Martin, Fr D. Wynberg – A Short History. Pamphlet compiled by Fr D Martin Archdiocesan Archivist, no date