Orama

Perched above Gladstone Road with sweeping views of South Brisbane and the city beyond, ‘Orama’ was built around 1906 for Frank Reimers and his wife Harriet. The land on which ‘Orama’ was built was once part of a five acre property acquired in 1860 by Deed of Grant by William Theophilus Blakeney, Under Sheriff of Queensland in 1862, Deputy Registrar General in 1865 and Registrar General in 1883. Blakeney built his home ‘Cooltigue’ on the highest point of the estate in the early or middle 1860s. As was the pattern with most of the large estates around Brisbane, Blakeney began to subdivide his property around the turn of the century. In November 1901, Blakeney Estate, comprising "51 magnificent building locations" was advertised for auction. The advertisement boasted that the estate was "Picturesque and beautiful, high and healthy" and featured an “easterly aspect, electric tram route …superb views… gas and water".

The dominant element of this fine timber residence is its corner piece, a semi-octagonal turret with a conical roof topped by a finial and skirted by a verandah. The body of the house has a hipped roof with projecting lower gables. The windows to the rooms below these gable ends have sun hoods supported on timber brackets. Timber battening is situated in the upper part of each exposed gable end. A brick chimney to the rear of the building rises above the height of the main roof. The timber verandah posts are topped by ornate brackets which support the verandah roof. The timber railing has filigree lacework below it as infill. The verandah is still supported on timber stumps, and has arched battening running as a skirt between them.