Timber and tin

Margaret Strelow welcomes us to her historic Rockhampton home.

By KIRSTY MCKENZIE, photography KEN BRASS

Margaret Strelow has a slew of qualifi cations in education and history, but it’s her certifi cates in horticulture that she says are among her proudest achievements.

The self-confessed “perpetual student” and previous mayor of the central Queensland city of Rockhampton has used all those skills plus some in her previous occupations, which include stints as a councillor, directing a childcare centre, running a wedding venue and hosting a bed and breakfast.

Australian Country Homes can testify she could also add “gracious host” and “dab hand in the kitchen” to that CV as she took time out to welcome us to the historic Queenslander she shares with her husband, Darryl, in Rockhampton’s CBD. In between showing us around, fi lling us in on the history of her home, providing lively commentary on the issues of the day and her region’s many attractions, Margaret briefl y excused herself and returned with afternoon tea including a batch of scones she had just whipped up.

Margaret has lived in Rockhampton for most of her adult life, having done her teacher training at the local college, which is now the Central Queensland University. Insurance consultant Darryl is Rocky born and bred. His father was a plumber with Queensland Railways and the Strelows’ children are the sixth generation of the family to call Rockhampton home.

Given Darryl’s family connection and Margaret’s passion for history, it seemed entirely appropriate when Goldston House came on the market in 1993 that the Strelows should buy it. The timber and tin (corrugated iron) house was constructed in 1865 as the railway offi ces for the yet-to-be constructed western railway. The building housed the team overseeing the construction of the line

These pages: An impressive entrance hall forms the house’s axis; the home’s exterior is casual yet inviting; the master bedroom features a suite originally intended for a 1949 royal tour; the shower screen was a confessional in its former life; toile and florals in a guest bedroom.

until the new railway station, with its professional offi ces, was opened in 1867. At that time, Goldston House became the residence for the traffi c manager and continued to be used as the home of the top railway offi cial in central Queensland until it was sold to private owners in 1974.

“Although the design is now considered classic Queenslander because of its single timber skin with external stud framing and tin roof, it was an innovative design for its time,” Margaret explains. “We believe the house is possibly the state’s oldest surviving version of what has become known as the Queenslander, although I must admit I have a sneaking suspicion there is an even earlier house in Rockhampton.

“The decision to build a railway was highly political, as people in the north of the state were incensed to the point of calling for secession from the south by the high cost of the lines that were being built in the southeast corner of the state.”

Political imperative to placate the northerners, combined with the shortage of sawn timber in the district at the time, probably infl uenced the decision to use a pre-cut (prefabricated) building. The designer remains in doubt, though it is generally credited to the chief engineer of the Northern Railways, Henry Plews.

The signature Queenslander elements of broad verandahs, elevation off the ground on stumps and central hallway or breezeway all acknowledge the need for ventilation in the tropical summers. The lattice infi ll on the verandahs was another early attempt at passive solar control, devised to ventilate and shade the house in summer and let fi ltered sunlight in during the cooler months. Although the original casement windows with fanlights above have been replaced by either French doors or double-hung sash windows, their placement has not changed.

“The house had not been lived in for 20 years when we moved in,” Margaret explains, “so there was a lot of work to do. The whole building was on a tilt and had to be restumped, the roof needed repairs, there was lead paint peeling everywhere and it had to be rewired and replumbed.

“I remember the time as being kind of manic. Our children were aged

These pages: Statuary and sweeping lawns are features of the sprawling grounds; tea and scones? Don’t mind if we do.

seven, nine, 11 and 12 at the time and if I managed to get home from work by 7.30pm I didn’t consider it a night out. Fortunately, Darryl’s offi ce was close by so he was able to make sure the kids didn’t kill each other after school.”

Always with a keen eye for potential, Margaret salvaged old pieces of furniture from wherever she could and restored them herself. She was also lucky to source a splendid bedroom suite, originally made by Brisbane furniture craftsman John Hicks for the 1949 royal tour planned for King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, but cancelled due to the King’s ill health.

Other antiques and collectables to have found a home at Goldston House include panels from a former church confessional which now form a shower screen, and a wonderful old dresser reborn as bathroom cabinetry.

Margaret adds that the garden, with its massive Moreton Bay fi g tree and sprawling lawns, provided a great stress reliever during this hectic time. Throughout her time living on the property she trained a guard of honour of Duranta ‘Geisha Girl’ at the front of the house, replaced palms to shield the home and planted a screen of magnolias on one boundary. ACH