Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Victorian 1860-1890
Style
Queenslander
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Residence 'Glenwood Cottage'
Glenwood Cottage
Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Victorian 1860-1890
Style
Queenslander
This early timber cottage was constructed in 1883 or 1884 for Michael Synan, the Headmaster of the former South Brisbane State School. During the 1880s South Brisbane experienced significant population growth and this house remains as evidence of the boom in house building that took place at that time.
Lot plan
L57_RP11653; L59_RP11653; L61_RP11653
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Timber
Criterion for listing
(A) HistoricalInteractive mapping
Lot plan
L57_RP11653; L59_RP11653; L61_RP11653
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Timber
Criterion for listing
(A) HistoricalInteractive mapping
History
Formerly an 11-acre property in the ownership of Sarah Kingsford, wife of Richard Ash Kingsford, this land was subdivided in April 1878 and allotments were still being sold in 1885.
Teacher Michael Synan acquired this property, subdivisions 58 to 60 of Portion 141, in November 1878. Synan was resident in Wharf Street during 1878-79, but was appointed headmaster of the South Brisbane State School around 1880. William Patrick Synan also taught there, and Mary Frances Synan was a teacher at the Girls and Infants School.
In October 1880 Michael Synan acquired the adjacent subdivisions 61 and 62 of Portion 141 along Stephens Road, which at that time was known as Beauly Terrace. During 1883-84 but possibly earlier, Synan had a house, ‘Glenwood Cottage’ erected on his land. Synan clearly found it difficult to meet all his financial commitments on his teacher’s wage, for, in November 1878, he took a 4-year mortgage of £300 over his original land. He obtained a further mortgage for £200 in 1885, and another for £50 in mid 1886. In November 1886, he was forced to borrow £400 from Mary Isabella Norton, then a further £100 in 1888, another £50 in 1889. In 1891 Synan had mortgaged subdivisions 61 and 62 for £80, while in August 1893, he borrowed another £50 from Mary Norton.
In July 1896, as a result of the liquidation of his affairs, Michael Synan’s land passed to Thomas Welsby as a trustee and then to Mary Norton. Subdivisions 61 and 62 were transferred to grazier Albert Norton in 1897. Synan was apparently allowed to remain in ‘Glenwood Cottage’ until the death of Mary Norton in May 1905. Both properties were sold in 1907 to Ernest Dyne, and Michael Synan left the house that he had had built some 25 years earlier.
The house was converted into flats in 1964, a role in which it continued to the late 1990s. The house has also been extended over the years, raised, and it's verandah enclosed. The original core of the house remains however.
Description
This early tin and timber house features a steeply pitched main roof skirted by verandahs. Its simple form and use of materials is indicative of the development of Queensland’s traditional architecture as it responded to issues of climate, building technology and materials.
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 Plans
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Department of Natural Resources, Queensland Certificates of Title and other records, Environmental Protection Agency
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JOL Estate Map Collection and photographic collection
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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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Donald Watson and Judith McKay, Queensland Architects of the Nineteenth Century, South Brisbane: Queensland Museum, 1994
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised September 2020)