Historic Gympie Homes and their Names

Gympie’s historic homes tell the story of goldmine boom town beginnings, with growth into a confident regional centre, one verandah and gable at a time. In the 1870s and 1880s, as James Nash’s discovery drew wealth and professional families into the district, simple miner’s cottages began to give way to larger timber residences that took full advantage of local sawmilling and carpentry skills. Many of these early houses sat high on stumps, with wide verandahs wrapped around to catch breezes and overlook the maze of shafts and batteries on the hills below.

Together, they formed leafy residential streets just a few minutes’ walk from the clatter of stamper batteries and the bustle of Mary Street.

More Reading:  

• 50 Significant Gympie Pioneers
• The History of the Apollonian Hotel
• Gympie Gold Rush Stories

Why House Names Instead of House Numbers?

House numbers are a relatively modern development. They were introduced in Gympie in 1938, by which time many residences had already been constructed. During the era of James Nash and the Gympie gold rush, houses were identified by names rather than numbers.  The name often reflected the owner, a place of origin, or a feature of the home’s location. Some names of Gympie’s historic residences have been lost over time, while others are yet to be rediscovered. As many early council records refer only to lot numbers, accurately identifying individual properties can be challenging; however, the Gympie Family History Society continues to work diligently to uncover and document this information.

Naming historic homes was also for the ‘prestige’ factor, in the years after the Goldrush, only the wealthy mine owners could afford to build a home grand enough to warrant a name.  Owners of these homes often re-used the same house name when they moved, because people already recognised the name and associated it with them.

Other Gympie homes that had names were often nursing homes, maternity hospitals or small doctor’s surgeries that were operated out at their place of residence.  Newspaper clippings for births in Gympie refer to these homes, but don’t often list the location. Information is scarce on these properties, but we will list what we have and hopefully with time we can find out more.

So here is our current list (we are always updating as we find new information) about historical homes in Gympie that have names.  Please reach out if you have more information!

Please remember that these homes are all privately owned and are not accessible to the public, except for Andrew Fisher’s Cottage which can be accessed through the Gympie Gold Mining Museum.

Alice Villa

• Located on River Road, exact location not known
• No longer standing
• Was a nursing home and private residence

Alma Cottage

• Unsure of location, presumed to be on Alma Street
• Was a home and maternity hospital

Although not much is known today about Alma Cottage, what is known is that the rich and powerful families of Gympie had their babies there. All the Ramsey children, and Pasch children are listed in early papers having been born at Alma Cottage.

Andrew Fisher’s Cottage

• Built: Approx 1870
• Location: 215 Brisbane Road, Monkland
• Original Location: Maori Lane, Gympie
• Read about Andrew Fisher

Not really a house name – but certainly worth a mention is Andrew Fisher’s Cottage.  Owned by the former Prime Minister of Australia, Andrew Fisher’s cottage is a modest timber miners dwelling, built around 1870 and now located within the grounds Gympie Gold Mining and Historical Museum precinct at 215 Brisbane Road, Monkland. The home was originally located in Maori Lane at Red Hill, the house belonged to the family of Fisher’s future wife, Margaret Irvine, and the couple are believed to have lived there briefly after their marriage in 1901, giving the cottage its close association with Australia’s early Labor prime minister and Gympie union leader.

Typical of many early miner’s homes, it is a simple four‑room, single‑skin timber structure with exposed exterior studs and a verandah, later re-roofed in corrugated iron and sympathetically refurbished by the Gympie and District Historical Society, which now presents it as part of a wider historical village interpreting the town’s gold‑mining past.

More Reading:  Read the Biography of Andrew Fisher

Ardmore

• Location:  Mount Pleasant Road
• No longer standing
• Most investigation needed

Arolia

• A nursing home run at Nurse Rattle’s own home in Bent Street.
• Exact location unknown.

Nurse Rattle ran ‘Arolia’ nursing home in Bent Street, and when she passed away in 1919, she was remembered a a highly-respected resident of 33 years standing.  She was reportedly a kind-hearted woman, ever ready to assist others in their sickness and trouble.

Avoka Cottage

• Location: Horseshoe Bend
• Built for the Waddell Family
• No longer standing

Ballymackeogh

• Owned by Dr John Pennefather Ryan
• Location: Crescent Road, Gympie
• Still standing today

Dr John Pennefather Ryan was a pioneering physician on the Gympie goldfields, providing medical care to the early mining community. An Irish immigrant whose family originated from Ballymackeogh, a district with roots dating back to the seventeenth century, he settled in Gympie with his wife, Jessie Bliss. The couple raised their ten children at their Crescent Road residence, where Dr Ryan, an accomplished horticulturist, cultivated an extensive garden of chrysanthemums. In later years the property was purchased by Mr Stable, and his sister, Mrs Nellie Murphy, successfully operated the house as a boarding establishment for approximately forty years.

Read more about Dr Ryan and his family here.

Berrimer Cottage

• Location: Reef Street – exact location unknown
• Most likely a maternity home or nursing home
• No longer standing
• More investigation required.

Braeside

• Location: Bligh Street, Gympie
• Was a maternity hospital run by Sister Byrne
• No longer standing.

Braeside was initially a private hospital run by Sister Byrne, but later became the Christian Brothers College Boarders Dormitories.  It was also once known as ‘Murphy’s Hall’.

Burnside

• A nursing home
• Ashford Hill (Ashford Road)
• No longer standing

No further information has been found at this time.

Cameron House aka Coolmore

• Built in 1899
• Location: 17 Calton Terrace, Gympie
• House is still standing
• Built for the O’Neill Family

Cameron House was constructed in 1899 for Daniel and Anne O’Neill, proprietors of the Tattersalls Hotel in Mary Street, which was originally built in 1868 and later destroyed by fire in 1989. The hotel was a great success and brought considerable prosperity to the family. The house was originally named ‘Coolmore’ but when the property sold in 1918 the house was associated with the Cameron family and was known as ‘Cameron House’. We are not certain if the home had a name before the Cameron’s purchased this home.

The Cameron’s owned several businesses in Mary Street, including the prominent Cameron Building, which is currently undergoing renovation. In the early 2000s a subsequent owner sought to relocate Cameron House, but strong community opposition and a decision by the Gympie (then Cooloola Shire) Council ensured the residence remained on its original site, and it is now listed on the heritage register.

 

Carinya (original name Lornaville)

• Was built for the Ramsey family.  Alfred George Ramsey was a part of owner of the Gympie Times with Jacob Stumm.  He was also Mayor for a period of one year.
• It is still standing on Power Road, Southside

Alfred George Ramsey was one of the principal shareholders of the Gympie Times. He built Lornaville for his family, wife, five sons and two daughters after coming to Gympie in 1867.  He was a partner in The Gympie Times with Jacob Stumm and later became a Gympie City Council Alderman and was Mayor on two occasions.  He also had multiple interests in the local gold mines and was a patron of the Gympie Turf Club.

The magnificent entry is lined with camphor laurel trees obtained from the Brisbane Botanic gardens and the formal entry gates have been lovingly restored.  Today the home is owned by a multi-generational Gympie family.

Clifton Villa

• Location: Corner of Nash Street and Monkland Street
• No longer standing
• Was a home and private hospital

Clifton Villa located in the heart of Gympie was a small private hospital where locum doctors would come periodically.  There are advertisements in The Gympie Times advertising services such as ‘Mechanical Dentist will visit Gympie on the 11th, 12th and 13th May next and may be consulted at Clifton Villa, corner of Nash and Monkland Street.  It was active in 1882.

Comino

• Location: 30 Calton Terrace, Gympie
• Built in approx 1905
• Built for Costandinos Cominos & Hariukjlia Mavromati
• Still standing

Coolmore – see Cameron House

Cummock Cottage (aka Cumnock Cottage)

• Location: Nash Street
• Built 1876
• Built for the Cockburn family
• No longer standing.

Cummock Cottage was the very first house to be built in Gympie from sawn timber.  The home was built for James Cockburn, an early Gympie Pioneer blacksmith and engineer.  His wife, Mary Cockburn was one of Gympie’s first nurses. The house was located on the Nash Street hillside overlooking the Memorial Gates.

Dr Outridge’s House

• Location: 20 Caledonian Hill, Gympie
• Built for Mr James Chalk
• House was relocated in 2023
• Still standing today

Although not a true house name as such, the beautiful expansive residence that once resided on Caledonian Hill was always known as Dr Outridge’s House.  Dr Leslie McDonald Outridge was a well known Gympie doctor who practiced medicine from his home and it was used as his personal hospital.

But going way back before the Outridge’s and the Chalk’s, the block of land on Caledonian Hill overlooking the town hall was owned by the wealthy Cullinane Family (see Myola).  James Chalk purchased the block of land in 1923 and the beautiful home was built as a wedding gift for his daughter Gladys.  In 1932 Dr Outridge purchased the home, but it didn’t become a ‘family home’ until he married Barbara Ingram in the 1960’s where they raised three sons.

The house was relocated in 2023, much to the uproar of the Gympie Community. According to the Gympie Times, the house was ‘overlooked’ for inclusion in the local heritage register that protects the removal of historical homes in Gympie.

Elkstone

• Location: Hospital Hill – exact location unknown
• No longer standing

Emohruo

• Built for the Rankin Family
• Located on Horseshoe Bend – is still standing but not in its original form,
• Is now the specialists centre located next to the old private hospital on Horseshoe Bend

Enmore

• Run by Nurse Carsten
• Was both a private residence and a maternity hospital
• No longer standing
• Location: Power Street

Fernlea (aka Fernleigh)

• Location: Brisbane Road

Fiddle Wood

• Location: 19 Fern Street, Gympie
• Built in 1901
• Built for the Boody family

Fiddle Wood is a beautiful colonial style heritage home built for James and Katherine Boody. The couple were not a happy one.  Katherine Boody ‘summoned’ her husband for wife desertion in the courts which made all the papers.  He pled guilty to the charge and was ordered to pay Katherine a sum fortnightly.  In 1922 James was charged with vagrancy and with having no means of support, even though he was part owner of Fiddle Wood.

Katherine must have been a fire cracker too, she was charged with using indecent and obscene language and was slapped with a fine. We will endeavor to find out more about this beautiful home in Fern Street.

Finchley

• Built in 1892
• May have been built for the mining tycoon Robert Pollock
• Location: 30 Church Street, Gympie

Finchley was the first house built on Church Street and sits prominently atop Calton Hill, commanding sweeping views over Gympie. It was once owned by Edgar and Lil Shambler, who operated Gympie’s first hardware store, later known as Abdy’s. The Pollock Brothers—owners of the immensely wealthy Lady Mary Gold Mine—are known to have purchased “the whole top of Calton Hill,” and Alexander Pollock is recorded as having built a “significant family home” in the area. While it remains unconfirmed whether Finchley is that residence, its location, era, and grandeur strongly suggest it could have been owned by someone of Pollock’s considerable wealth.

What is certain, however, is that the prominent Shambler family resided in this magnificent historic home from the 1920s.

More Reading:  The Pollock Brothers: Gympie Gold Pioneers

Fred Murray’s House

• Built in 1919
• Built for Frederick Charles Stuart Murray and his family, Photographer and owner of Murray Views
• Location: Was on the corner of Channon Street and Myall Street
• No longer standing

Again not a house name as such but this gorgeous home has always been remembered as the Fred Murray House.  This incredibly ornate and stately home once stood on the corner of Channon Street and Myall Street.  It was no ordinary ‘Queenslander’, the home had attic rooms, a Juliet balcony on the front of the house and views over Gympie. The block boasted a bowling green and a tennis court and was the social hub of Gympie.

Fred Murray came from Scotland to manage a photographic studio.  He married Winifred Shaw in 1908, first living in Horseshoe Bend (known back then as ‘The Bend’), and the family moved into the house in 1919.  The home was demolished in the 1960’s.

Glandore

• Built in 1871
• Built for the Cullinane family (see Myola)
• Small privately owned home/hospital owned by Mrs Pinkerton
• No longer standing

Glandore was a historic Gympie home built for the Cullinane family in 1871 (before building the magnificent Myola in Henry Street).  It was then sold to the Lindsay family.  The house was turned into a hospital for women recovering after childbirth and was run by Nurse Mrs Pilkington.  In 1946, a two story extension was added to accommodate a total of 40 beds. It was later owned by the Miller family, and then the Leitch family.

The home was demolished by a local football club to raise money.

Glendalough

• Location: Noosa Road, Monkland
• Still Standing
• History is being investigated

Glasgow House

• Built in 1894
• Owned by Sir Thomas William Glasgow
• Location: 36 Red Hill Road, Gympie
• Still Standing

Major General Sir Thomas William Glasgow KCB,CMG, DSO, VD was one of Queensland’s most celebrated soldiers and public figures. He married Annie Isabel Stumm in 1904 and the couple raised two daughters at Glasgow House which was their family base before World War 1. The house is located in the ‘swanky’ part of Red Hill where many mine miners and gold mine owners lresided.

Read more about Sir Thomas William Glasgow here

Glenorie

• Lived in by Mr & Mrs C.H. Hillcoat
• Location unknown
• No longer standing

Glenveigh

• Location: 10 Jubilee Street, Monkland
• No longer standing
• The O’Connor family purchased Glenveigh in 1932

Glenveigh was purchased by the O’connor family in 1932.  There is a story in the Gympie Family History archives about a the life of Rose McMahon who married Edmond O’Connor and purchased a house callen Glenveigh.

 

 

Greenbank

• Location: Horseshoe Bend
• Still Standing

Gunabul (See Kitiwah)

Hanlonia

• Hanlonia was a home that doubled as a private hospital. It was (at different times) a maternity hospital, then a nursing home.
• Operated by Nurse Hanlon.

• Located on Horseshoe Bend near the railway
• Exact location unknown

Hilton – see Thomas House

Iona

• Built in 1905 for the Davidson family
• Located at the Southside – where the Gympie Bowls Club now stands
• No longer standing
• Maternity Hospital and residence

Kilburne Cottage (aka Kelburne)

• Location unknown
• No longer standing
• Mentioned in The Gympie Times

Kingston House (originally called ‘The Bungalow’)

• Built in 1901
• aka Menzies House
• Located at 11 Channon Street, Gympie
• Built for the Menzies Family
• Now operates as a high-end restaurant

Kingston House was originally a private residence built for the Menzies family in 1901 and was originally called ‘Menzies House’.  David Menzies was a mine manager for 1 North Glanmire and 4. North Phoenix, he built the home for him and his wife Mary and their family. David Menzies was a Scottish immigrant who built the home for his wife Mary.  Mary had been married once before to another mine manager, John George Henry who had died prematurely in his early 40’s.  Henry had been granted a parcel of land in the Channon Street and Barter Street area, and after Mary’s death, her daughter with Henry, Clara Marion Henry, inherited the home.

In the 1930’s the home was sold to Dr Cunningham and Dr John Joseph Stanley and Kingston House became a maternity hospital and private hospital.  Mysteriously, Dr Stanley, age 31, was found dead in his room by Dr Cunningham’s wife.  A later post-mortem on his organs showed that he had overdosed on insulin. Was it murder? Or a suicide?

Today it is a high-end restaurant called ‘Kingston House Impressions’ run by history buff’s Kim and Paul Jones who have previously owned two other historical homes in Gympie. They purchased the property in 1996 and it has been beautifully renovated in keeping with its place in Gympie history. Thank you Kim and Paul for keeping these historic Gympie homes beautiful!

Kitiwah (now Gunabul)

• Built approximately 1887
• Built for Francis Isidore Power
• Located on Power Road, Gympie
• Still Standing

Francis Isidore Power married Elizabeth Josephine Plunkett in 1887 and they raised their 12 children at Kitiwah.  Power was a prominent solicitor who assisted with gold mining claims and is the “Power” in the “Power and Cartwright” Solicitor firm in Gympie that is still operational today.

When the Powers’ family moved to Brisbane, the house was sold to George Ferris who remodelled the home to suit his own family.  Ferris removed the horse stables and the servants quarters, the position of the house on the block was changed.  William Amos then purchased the property in 1950.  The home has been flats, and a high-end restaurant. Today it is a golfing complex with accommodation – you can go visit!

Read more about Francis Isidore Power here

Kotoro

• Kotoro was a privately owned nursing home located on Horseshoe Bend owned by Nurse Hillcoat
• The historic Gympie house is no longer standing
• Located where the Church of Christ now stands

Kotoro was an old Gympie historic house and maternity home owned and operated by Nurse Hillcoat from 1911 to 1934.  It was run as a maternity hospital where hundreds of Gympie babies were delivered. It is no longer standing. It was located where the Church of Christ now stands. The first child to be born at Kotoro was Margaret Mary O’Brien (1916-1987)

List of names associated with Kotoro:  Nurse Hillcoat, Dr Morris

Laurel Lodge (See Roseholm)

Lornaville (See Carinya)

Maryville – (See Tozer House)

McVay Homestead

• Monkland
• Not much else is known but it is listed in early newspapers.

Menzies House – See Kingston House

Minerva Cottage

• Location unknown
• Maternity Hospital and residence
• Mentioned in early Gympie Times articles

Myola

• Built for the Cullinane Family
• Location: 6 Henry Street, Gympie
• Built in 1883

The original dwelling was built in about 1883 by one of the region’s wealthiest families, the Cullinanes, who made their fortune not from gold, but from selling essential goods to miners from their shop in Mary St, where Cullinane’s Arcade is today. Myola was built in 1883 six years after Nash discovered gold. The home has had many additions over its 124 years, including a ballroom.

For the next 30 years, Myola hummed to the sound of dinner parties, dances and musical soirees, becoming a focal point of Gympie “society” grand old home was, with its south facing ballroom, giving multi-directional views over Gympie, including the Channon St courthouse clock tower.

Later the home became a set of flats.

Nelroyd

• Location: Cnr Channon Street and Lawrence Street, Gympie
• Built in the late 1890’s
• Built for the Sykes family

Nelroyd was built in the late 1890’s for Frederick Barker Sykes and his wife Elinor and their five children.  The original block of land stretched from where Nelroyd stands now, to where the Private Hospital used to be on Channon Street.  During a renovation of the home in the 1980’s, authentic convict bricks were discovered in the fireplace, which had baby hand and paw prints on them.  The home was at one time a maternity hospital run by the Country Women’s Association and also a block of flats.

Nelroyd is currently home to a dental practice and has been beautifully restored by the current owner.

Penryn House

• Location:  82 Horseshoe Bend cnr Stewart Terrace
• Built for Peter Henry Green and Family
• The house is still standing today

Peter Green was a Gympie City Council Alderman in the 1910’s and was Chairman of the Works Committee.  He was later elected as Mayor in 1915. The home is now divided into two flats.

Pentwyn House

• Location: 59 Channon Street, Gympie
• Built for William Evan Thomas
• Built in the late 1890’s

William Evan Thomas was an immigrant from the UK.  He moved to Gympie amid the Gold Mining Boom to become a mining secretary and shareholder.  He also had many mining interests, both in Gympie and Ipswich making him extremely wealthy.  Thomas also built ‘Smithfield Chambers’ located at 235 Mary Street which was designed by Leslie Gordon Corrie.

Today they are the offices of the legal firm Power & Cartwright. Thomas later became an Alderman for the Gympie City Council.  He married Eleanor Roberts and they raised their family at Pentwyn which overlooks Gympie.

Quambi

• Built in 1896 for the Morgan Family
• Located at 22 Lady Mary Terrace, Gympie
• Is still standing today

Quambi is one of the most beautiful historical homes in Gympie.  Located in the very prestigious Lady Mary Terrace, the home was built for Doctor Thomas Howard Morgan, and later was the residence and practice of Gympie pioneer doctor, Dr John Luftus Cuppaidge.  It remained in the Cuppaidge family for 32 years. It still stands today.

More Reading:  Dr John Cuppaidge: Gympie’s Pioneer Doctor

Roseholme

• Owned by John Flood
• Location: Ramsey Road, Southside no longer there.
• Was later renamed Laurel Lodge by the Treeby family who purchased the home.
• House burnt down when the fire was stoked with a long log that was left unattended and it ignited the house.

Rossmore

• Location: Inglewood Hill (exact location unknown)
• Built for the McMahon family

Read about the McMahon Family and their home Rossmore

Sedgman House

• Location: 9 King Street, Gympie
• Built for the Sedgman Family
• Built approximately 1939
• The house is still standing

Sedgman House located at 9 King Street, Gympie was once the home of Gympie Mayor William Henry Sedgman.  Sedgman was Mayor from 1919 to 1920, the son of Corish immigrants.  Mayor Sedgman had ten children with Susannah Rippen, and the family remained in the house until the last daughter passed away in 1990.

Stewart Holme

• Location: 12 Mt Pleasant Road
• Built in 1894
• Built for Charles & Elizabeth Stewart

Stewart Holme is a magnificent Queenslander built in 1894 for Irish immigrant Charles Stewart and his wife Elizabeth (nee Glasgow).  Stewart was the mine manager of many mining companies in Gympie, but given the location of his property, it is most likely the Phoenix Mine.  Charles was also on the Gympie Hospital Committee. The house sold recently (2026). It is located in the swanky part of Red Hill.

Stumm House

• Built in 1889
• Built for Jacob Stumm
• Location: Stumm Road, house is still standing.

Stumm House is a quaint but beautiful Queensland cottage built for newspaper tycoon Jacob John Stumm and his wife Margaret (nee Mead).  Stumm purchased the land in 1883 and built the home to his specific direction.  Jacob Stumm was a co-proprietor of The Gympie Times and a prominent local journalist.  He was later a member of the Queensland Parliament and the first Member for Lilley (1913-17).  He married Margaret Pride in 1877 and together they raised their ten children at the property overlooking the Mary River.

Read more about Jacob Stumm here

Tagigan

• Built for Emanuel William Gate and his Family
• Location: Cootharaba Road
• No longer standing

Tagigan was the Gate’s family’s home located on Cootharaba Road and gave its name to the surrounding area.  The home burnt down in 1949.

Read about the life of Emanuel William Gate

Te Aroha

• Built in 1882
• Built for William Smyth (read his biography here).
• Location: 30 Lady Mary Terrace, Gympie.  Destroyed by fire

Te Aroha was located at the fanciest address in Gympie, Lady Mary Terrace.  Lady Mary Terrace overlooked the railway and the richest of the gold mines.  William Smyth purchased the block of land from mining tycoon William Henry Couldery and built the magnificent Gympie historical mansion, Te Aroha.  Smyth came to Gympie in 1868, starting as a miner, and then a shift captain.  He invested heavily in mining shares, and with his extensive knowledge in the running of gold mines,  his experience turned into a fortune. He became Mayor of Gympie in 1883 and later was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

The home later became a Doctor’s surgery and was deliberately burnt down in 2012. A reproduction historical home has been built in its place – not the same as Te Aroha, but the new build is sympathetic to the landscape.

Te Aroha’s address was always known to be on Lady Mary Terrace, however the current property is now numbered off Amy Street.  This is because the original plot of land reached all the way to the railway.  Council resumed part of the block to create the underpass and the little ‘dog leg’ where Soma Soma is located.

Read about the the life of William Smyth here.

Thomas House (aka Hilton)

• Was located where Supercheap Auto is now located
• Moved from Channon St to Cedar Pocket
• Built for the Thomas Family

Luke John Thomas and his wife, Agnes Jane (née Neill), made their home at “Thomas House,” 2 Channon Street, where they became closely identified with Gympie’s civic and social life. The family originated in Wales and immigrated to Australia in 1884.  Luke was educated at One Mile School in Gympie and then became a mining secretary for Maxey and Moodie.   Luke, a successful businessman, served as Mayor of Gympie on four separate occasions between 1920 and 1941, and the couple’s prominent residence on Channon Street reflected their standing in the community.

In 1990, the Springhall family moved the beautiful Queenslander to their property at Cedar Pocket where it has been lovingly restored. The home overlooks the Cedar Pocket Dam.

Thornton Villa

• Built approx 1877 (not confirmed)
• Location: 65 Channon Street, Gympie
• Built for the Woodrow Family

Thornton Villa was built for James Woodrow and his wife Maria Fleetwood Luya. It is one of the earliest ‘fancy homes’ built in Gympie.  James had come to Gympie within one week of James Nash discovering gold.  He started a store with his father called ‘Woodrow and Son’ that sold mining supplies which is where he made his fortune.  The couple married in 1877, so it is believed the house was built close to this date although this is to be confirmed!

All thirteen of their children were born in the house.  James Woodrow was:

• A Gympie alderman
• A member of the Stock Exchange
• A member of the School of Arts (today is the Gympie Regional Gallery)
• Gympie Hospital Committee
• Captain of the Gympie Defense Force
• Director of the Gympie Gas Company
• Justice of the Peace
• Member of the Pioneer Lodge

Tozer House aka Maryville

• Built by Sir Horace Tozer
• Location: Where Owen’s Rewinds are today – house was moved to Fisherman’s Pocket

There were two versions of Tozer House.  The original homestead was quite basic and was eaten by white ants and destroyed.  Sir Horace Tozer’s son inherited the land and built his version, ‘New Maryville’.  The house was moved to Fisherman’s Pocket and has been fully restored.

More Reading:  Sir Horace Tozer: The Lawyer Who Helped Shape Queensland

Warlingham

• Built for William Henry Couldery
• Location: Lady Mary Terrace (exact location unknown)

Wendouree (aka Witham House)

• Built for William Burbridge and his family
• Location: 1 Church Street, Gympie (still standing)
• Built between 1880 – 1885 and designed by Hugo du Rietz

One striking example is the house at 1 Church Street, built between 1880 and 1885 and designed by prominent local architect Hugo Du Rietz. Constructed predominantly from timber, the home—originally named “Wendouree” and owned by goldfields businessman and later mayor William Edward Burbidge—shows off many features associated with late nineteenth‑century Gympie houses: a pyramid‑style roof, graceful OGEE verandah curves and ornate fascia boards that give the façade a sense of crafted elegance.

An unusual observation platform once crowned the roof, likely offering panoramic views over the gold workings and township; though removed in 1999, it hints at the blend of practicality and showmanship in some of Gympie’s grander residences. Over time the house passed through the Burbidge family for more than forty years and today forms part of St Patrick’s convent complex, illustrating how domestic buildings in Gympie often found new lives as institutional or community spaces.

More Reading:  Read the Biography of Beryl Emma Burbridge, the Gympie Pioneer who grew up in Wendouree.

Whitburn Manor

• Location:  4 Nelson Road, Gympie
• Built for the Shanks family
• Built in 1890
• Still standing

Whitburn Manor located across the road from old Fire Station was built for the Shanks family, a prominent Gympie Pioneer family who manufactured ‘aerated water and cordial’.  The house is located next door to the cordial factory which still stands. William Shanks married Catherine Wilson, they immigrated to Australia from Scotland with their son, Hugh in 1863. The house is currently for sale.

Winnie Bank Cottage

• Location: Red Hill – exact location unknown
• Built for the Lalonde Family

Winnie Bank Cottage was built for Joseph Amable Lalonde (1834 – 1910).  Lalonde was a the manager of the Phoenix Mining Company from 1877 to 1886.

Woodbine Cottage

• Owned by Alexander Pollock and his wife
• Location: Corner of Lady Mary Terrace and Alma Street

Woodbine Cottage may be the same as Vine Cottage or Alma Cottage. The yellow house that is now located on the block is not the Pollock’s home, but has been created with high-quality heritage features such as the windows which may be from the Pollock’s original house. More research is being undertaken.

More Reading:  The Pollock Brothers: Gympie Gold Pioneers

Wyandra (aka Winston House)

• Built for Matthew Laird: Gympie Gold Pioneer and Mine Manager
• Location: Corner of Channon Street and Myall Street
• No longer standing.

Wyandra was built for the Laird family and was located on Channon Street. It was later called Winston House. It became a boarding house for students from Gympie High School during the late 1940’s.

The home was demolished in 1974 to build the Winston House Aged Care Facility which has now bene decommissioned.

More Reading:  Matthew Laird: Gympie Gold Pioneer and Mine Manger

 

These homes are a magnificent tribute to Gympie and reflect the amazing gold mining past. If you have any information to add, or know of a historic home in Gympie that has a name that we haven’t listed, please reach out!