The House of John Flood

Visitors to the Gympie cemetery will be familiar with the memorial to John Flood.  Erected in 1911, it is a dark marble column topped with a Celtic cross and is a memorial to a man who had come to Australia as a convict because of his involvement in fight for Irish Home Rule. So the man who would become chairman of the Widgee Divisional Board, newspaper proprietor, mining secretary, and share broker came to Australia in chains.

John Flood married and had a family of six children. Only two girls would survive to adulthood and by the time he passed away in 1911 all his children and his wife had predeceased him.

This fine gentleman’s residence was built by John Flood for his family. This house, which stood opposite to where the South Side shopping centre is now was then called Racecourse. From this house, John also bred racehorses, exhibited poultry and was known for his fine rose garden. The house was called “Roseholme” as a tribute to his love of these flowers.

The house was typical of the Queenslanders of the day, boasting wide verandahs and high ceilings. In an ironic twist a tradesmen’s entrance is visible on the side of the house.

After his death, the house passed out of the family, was renamed “Laurel Lodge” and destroyed by fire in 1917. Another fine relic of our past was therefore lost forever and all that remains are some grainy photographs to remind us what once was a fine residence.