User:Elitre (WMF)/sandbox
| Selhurst, North Ward | |
|---|---|
 Selhurst | |
| Location | 24 Cleveland Terrace, North Ward, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 19°15′19″S 146°49′06″E / 19.2552°S 146.8184°E |
| Design period | 1914 - 1919 (World War I) |
| Built | 1919 |
| Official name | Selhurst |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 30 May 2003 |
| Reference no. | 601247 |
| Significant period | 1919 (fabric, historical) |
| Significant components | residential accommodation - manager's house/quarters, ballroom, roof/ridge ventilator/s / fleche/s, views to, fence/wall - perimeter, garden/grounds, views from |
  Location of Selhurst, North Ward in Queensland  Elitre (WMF)/sandbox (Australia) | |
Selhurst is a heritage-listed detached house at 24 Cleveland Terrace, North Ward, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1919. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 30 May 2003.[1]
The Harlin Rail Bridge, which crossed Ivory Creek (previously Maronghi Creek) at Harlin was located 61 miles 20 chains (98.340 km) from Wulkuraka railway station. It was a half-through Pratt truss (or pony truss) bridge built between 1909 and 1910 and was the only surviving concrete and steel railway bridge on the Brisbane Valley railway line. This line was developed as a branch line from the main Brisbane-Toowoomba rail line. It was constructed from Wulkuraka near Ipswich to Lowood (1884), then extended to Esk (1886), then Toogoolawah (February 1904), Yimbun (September 1904), Linville (1910), Benarkin and Blackbutt (1911) and finally to Yarraman (1913). Originally intended that the line would eventually meet the Gympie to Nanango rail line to serve as a rail connection to Gympie and be a shorter route between the South Burnett and Brisbane, the final linking section was never constructed.[2]
The Upper Brisbane Valley was settled by squatters in the 1840s and the timber industry in the Brisbane Valley also dates from this period. Closer settlement began in the 1870s. The timber industry quickly developed thereafter as land was rapidly cleared by selectors and the increased population of Brisbane and Ipswich from the 1870s demanded timber for housing and fuel on a continuing basis. The first sawmills in the Brisbane Valley, established in the 1870s, were located at Rosewood, Dundas and Colinton.[2]
This line was developed as a branch line from the main Brisbane-Toowoomba rail line. It was constructed from Wulkuraka near Ipswich to Lowood (1884), then extended to Esk (1886), then Toogoolawah (February 1904), Yimbun (September 1904), Linville (1910), Benarkin and Blackbutt (1911) and finally to Yarraman (1913). Originally intended that the line would eventually meet the Gympie to Nanango rail line to serve as a rail connection to Gympie and be a shorter route between the South Burnett and Brisbane, the final linking section was never constructed.[3]
The Upper Brisbane Valley was settled by squatters in the 1840s and the timber industry in the Brisbane Valley also dates from this period. Closer settlement began in the 1870s. The timber industry quickly developed thereafter as land was rapidly cleared by selectors and the increased population of Brisbane and Ipswich from the 1870s demanded timber for housing and fuel on a continuing basis. The first sawmills in the Brisbane Valley, established in the 1870s, were located at Rosewood, Dundas and Colinton.[3]
Closer settlement of the Brisbane Valley had progressed sufficiently by 1877 for the country from Walloon via Esk and Nanango to be examined as a possible route for a railway to Gympie. In 1879 Queensland Premier Thomas McIlwraith approved the building of several branch lines, including one to Esk. However, the original plans for these branch lines were withdrawn from parliamentary consideration in 1880 on the recommendation of Francis Thomas Gregory, Member of the Queensland Legislative Council. In spite of this opposition, in 1881 the Queensland Parliament approved the building of the Brisbane Valley branch line from Wulkuraka to Esk. The contract for the first section was let to O'Rourke and McSharry in October 1882 with Henry Charles Stanley acting as Chief Engineer. This section to Lowood, a place that scarcely existed before the railway, opened on 16 June 1884. The Brisbane Valley Branch Line was the second branch line in Queensland after the Dugandan railway line, which opened to Harrisville in 1882. Within weeks an extension of the line from Lowood to Esk was approved in August 1884 by Premier Samuel Griffith. Henry Charles Stanley remained as Chief Engineer but HA Brigg was appointed as the contractor. The second section to Esk opened on 9 August 1886 and remained the terminus for more than 17 years, becoming an important centre and livestock loading point.[3]
During the 1880s closer settlement of the Brisbane Valley intensified. Land from Cressbrook Station was resumed and settled. In 1889 James McConnel began selling off small parcels of land from his property Cressbrook to his workers for dairying. The railway, which provided rapid and cheap transport to Brisbane, fostered the timber industry's development. Over the next 30 years sawmills were established at Lowood, Esk, Toogoolawah, Moore, Linville, Harlin, Blackbutt, Monsildale and Perseverance as well as a number of portable sawmills operating in stands of timber.[3]
In the late 19th century four dairy factories operated in the Brisbane Valley and utilised the railway for transporting milk and its products. Lowood dairy factory opened in 1890. Toogoolawah dairy factory (managed by Cressbrook Dairy Company) and Colinton Dairy Factory (managed by Standard Dairy Co Ltd) opened in 1898, while the Esk dairy factory opened in 1904. Circa 1898 Cressbrook Condensed Milk Factory, owned by James McConnel and owner/manager Colin Munro, opened on the banks of Cressbrook Creek. The factory and seven dairy farms that supplied it were purchased by Nestlé in 1907 and remained in operation until 1930 with local dairy farmers supplying its milk.[3]
In 1900 a parliamentary inquiry was conducted to determine the best route for a proposed rail line to Nanango. James McConnel of Cressbrook stated that an extension of the Brisbane Valley Railway Line would enable selectors to pursue dairying rather than grazing and to cultivate the land. The inquiry subsequently recommended a 45 kilometre extension of the Brisbane Valley Branch Line to Moore, which was approved in December of the same year. The first section, to the new township of Toogoolawah, which was the site of the Cressbrook Condensed Milk Factory, opened on 8 February 1904. On 1 September 1904 the extension to Yimbun was opened and remained the terminus until 1910.[3]
To access the vast timber resources beyond Yimbun a further extension of the line to Blackbutt was considered. The Blackbutt Tableland was notable as a rich farming district, that the railway was expected to expand. On the ranges hoop and bunya pines were already being exploited, and with conservation it was expected that freight for the railway would be supplied for many years. At Moore there were two sawmills operating and there were two more in the Blackbutt area. Plans for the 28 miles of rail line from Yimbun to Blackbutt were approved at a Committee meeting on S.S. Lucinda on 9 January 1907. They were introduced into Parliament on 13 March 1908 and passed on 1 April 1908.[3]
The Commissioner of Railways' report on the Blackbutt extension noted that substantial bridges would be needed at five sites including over Maronghi Creek and all were to be built with timber. However, the bridges over both Maronghi and Emu Creeks were built of steel and concrete. In 1908 drawings of a standard 62 foot span were drawn up for the Harlin Rail Bridge. In the following year materials for the building of railway bridges over Maronghi Creek and Emu Creek and the Yimbun tunnel were purchased. The tender for cast iron cylinders for the steel bridges over Maronghi and Emu Creeks was won by Bundaberg Foundry with a quote of £562/18/0 in 1909. They also won the tender for the same supplies for a bridge over Neerkol Creek (Central Western railway line). Walkers, Maryborough were contracted to supply other materials for these bridges.[3]
The type of bridge constructed over Maronghi Creek at Harlin was a half-through Pratt truss structure. This bridge type differed subtly from the more widely used through Pratt truss bridge in that its girders were not high enough to allow cross bracing at the top between the trusses on each side of the bridge. Half-through Pratt truss bridges were designed to carry a lesser load than through Pratt truss bridges.[3]
History
Selhurst, built in 1919 was probably designed by Townsville architect Walter Hunt. The house was commissioned by John Alexander Carpenter, Townsville manager for the Burns Philp Company, as his private residence.[1]
James Burns established his general business in Townsville in 1872 after several years working on stations in southern Queensland and as an assistant and later partner in his brother John's grocery business, branches of which were located in Brisbane and Gympie. The Townsville store, opened in 1871, was established as a wholesale business to supply goods to the recently established gold field of Charters Towers and to Cape River, Ravenswood and later the Etheridge, Palmer and Hodgkinson River gold fields. Burns also provided a wholesale and retail service for the isolated stations in the interior.[1]
Robert Philp, hired by Burns in 1874, became a partner in the business in 1876, prior to Burns moving to Sydney to open a branch of the company.[1]
The company, incorporated in April 1883 as Burns, Philp and Company Limited, came to dominate trade in North Queensland and the Pacific through its land and sea interests. Its success was bound up in the booms in the mining, pastoral and sugar industries in North Queensland.[1]
During the early to mid 1880s the Burns Philp Company was involved in the Pacific Islander labour trade. Pacific islanders were imported as cheap indentured labour to work mainly on sugar plantations. In 1882 Philp, together with Burdekin plantation owner Colin Munro and other investors, formed the Townsville Shipping Co.Ltd. as a cover for recruiting South Sea Islander labourers. After the establishment of the company Burns Philp ships were openly dispatched on recruiting voyages. During 1883-84 the company had five ships working in the trade, however, they dropped out of the trade after two crew from a company ship Hopeful were found guilty of murder and the captain and crew were found guilty of kidnapping in 1884.[1]
Despite the loss of the Pacific labour trade, by the 1890s there were branches of the business at Cairns, Charters Towers, Cooktown, Normanton, Burketown, Brisbane, Sydney and in the Pacific. At the same time Burns became a shipping agent for companies such as the Queensland Steam Shipping Company which had the mail contract from London via Singapore, Batavia, Thursday Island, Townsville to Sydney.[1]
During his years in Townsville, Robert Philp developed an interest in politics through his involvement in the campaign to expand the railway to the west and through his participation in the movement to create a separate north Queensland state. He was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1886 as the member for Musgrave, a constituency north of Townsville. Philp became member for Townsville in 1888, Premier in December 1899 and Premier again in 1907-1908. He remained in politics until 1915.[1]
Management of the Townsville Branch of the firm passed to several managers after Philp entered politics. John Alexander Carpenter, who later transferred to Townsville, was a very successful manager of the Cairns Branch from 1907 to 1914. The Cairns Branch, during Carpenter's time, became the biggest net earner of any branch in Australia. However, due to poor management and aggressive competition from firms such as Samuel Allen and Cummins & Campbell, the Townsville Branch slumped and John Alexander Carpenter was transferred to the Townsville office in June 1914. Carpenter purchased land on Melton Hill in North Ward on 22 October 1914. The property was transferred to his wife on 18 December 1916 and a year later the original house was destroyed by fire. The second house, Selhurst, was built in 1919 after the fire. While it is not known who designed and constructed the building it is possible that Townsville architect Walter Hunt was the architect. The house was sold to the Burns Philp Company, as a manager's residence, after Alexander Carpenter was transferred to New Zealand as General Manager in 1919.[1]
The house continued as the manager's residence until 1976 when Burns Philp sold its Townsville office.[1]
It is important to note that from early settlement Melton Hill has been the location for residences for managerial staff, lawyers and doctors. The first house was built by John Melton Black, manager for Robert Towns c 1865. The Commonwealth Bank and Bank of New South Wales also built managers' houses on the hill, as did several insurance companies and the Shell Oil Company. Jacob Leu of the law firm Roberts & Leu also constructed Warringa as his residence next door to Selhurst.[1]
Apart from Selhurst, a number of significant villa residences from the nineteenth and early to mid twentieth century survive along Cleveland Terrace. These places include The Rocks - 1888, former McMahon House - c. 1896, Mandalay - c. 1898, Illawarra - 1911, Warringa - 1912, Duncragan - 1917, the former Shell Company manager's house - c. 1930, and Former North house - 1940.[1]
Description
Situated almost atop Melton Hill, Selhurst faces east towards the Pacific Ocean and is placed close to the front of the block of land, on Cleveland Terrace.[1]
Selhurst is a low set single storey residence with verandahs on three sides. The corrugated iron roof has a ventilated raised ridge capping with louvred screens at each end to assist internal cooling.[1]
The house has a timber balustrade and a timber "skirt" down to the foundation. There are panelled doors at the front of Selhurst. The house has a central hall with rooms opening to either side and a small ballroom at the rear of the house which has been converted to a family room.[1]
The house is constructed on a platform cut into the hillside. At the rear of the block, in the southeast corner, the land rises to a second level. The house is surrounded by gardens and includes a large rock wall and ivy hedge along the front of the yard. This wall is believed to be a remnant of an 1865 rock wall constructed by South Sea Island labourers as part of an enclosure which surrounded John Melton Black's property on Melton Hill.[1]
Palm trees are scattered around the house giving it a tropical look. A white paling fence encloses the swimming pool and several ferns are intermingled with the palms and lawns in this area. Plans are in place to restore the rear garden. Selhurst is one of only three houses of a similar design remaining in Townsville. It is the only one of this specific design to have survived.[1]
Heritage listing
Selhurst was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 30 May 2003 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
Selhurst, constructed in 1919 as the manager's residence for Queensland shipping firm Burns Philp, is an important component of early North Queensland commercial history and is indicative of the significant contribution made by the company to the economic development of Queensland.[1]
The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.
As an early North Queensland vernacular style residence, Selhurst is one of a number of significant villa residences along Cleveland Terrace. Together with Warringa and St James Cathedral, Selhurst makes a significant aesthetic contribution, through form, scale and materials to the Melton Hill streetscape.[1]
The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.
The house, which served as the managers' residence for the Burns Philp Company for fifty-seven years, is thought to be an example of the work of Townsville architect Walter Hunt.[1]
Semi-protection: High level of IP vandalism. Elitre (WMF) (talk) 09:32, 29 May 2017 (UTC)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Selhurst (entry 601247)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Harlin Rail Bridge (entry 602636)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Harlin Rail Bridge (entry 602636)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
Attribution
This Wikipedia article was originally based on "The Queensland heritage register" published by the State oMarynsland under CC-BY 3.0 AU license (accessed on 7 July 2714, archived on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were originally computed from the "Queensland heritage register boundaries" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU license (accessed on 5 September 2014, archived on 15 October 2014).