Wyetah

‘Wyetah’ was built about 1888-89 when Killarney was enjoying a period of building activity and settlement prior to the onset of the depression of the early 1890s. Typical of houses built in Yeronga by its more affluent residents, the spacious late Colonial house was once set on a larger block that was later subdivided. It formerly included the area now occupied by 27 Belfast St and extended to Cork St at the rear. When Wyetah was first constructed, the subdivisions in Yeronga were largely cleared of trees, and the original garden would not have featured the mature camphor laurels that now dominate the block.

Wyetah was built for Albert Giraud, a sharebroker and commission agent, and his wife Leona, in whose name the property was bought from investor Patrick Crowe.

‘Wyetah’ with its projecting hipped roof is unusually asymmetrical for the Colonial period, but typical in having a stepped verandah roof of convex iron. Fretwork capitals and wooden posts using machine-turned and band-sawn timber were also popular features of Colonial homes. The original verandah railing may have had cross braced balustrading, though most houses of the period featured the dowel or ‘broomstick’railing. The leadlight windows around the front door are evidently modern.