ABC Studios
 Other Name    Middenbury
 Place ID    600330
 Status    Permanent Entry
 Address    600 Coronation Drive
 Town/Suburb    TOOWONG
 LGA    BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL
 Theme    Living in and around Australian homes
 Theme    Remembering significant phases in the development of settlements, towns and cities

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Significance
Constructed in c1865, Middenbury is important for the evidence it provides of the way of life of prosperous citizens in the outer reaches of Brisbane, and as evidence of the early development of the outer suburbs of Brisbane. The house is significant as an example of a fine quality 1860s Queensland residence of masonry construction. It is one of the few 1860s brick suburban villas to have survived in Brisbane, and one of the oldest surviving residences in Toowong. The few remaining trees on the site, including the stand of bamboo and three fig trees, are significant as evidence of the former landscape qualities of the area. Middenbury demonstrates the principal characteristics of a high quality residence of this period, including fine architectural detailing such as timber doric columns and cedar joinery. These attributes, together with the prominence of the house from the Brisbane River contribute to the aesthetic qualities of the building. Although now surrounded by buildings, Middenbury maintains its views to the river, an important consideration in the original siting of the house. Middenbury is significant for its association with a number of prominent Brisbane families, including the Finneys and the Murray-Priors. The site also has associations with ABC studios, who have occupied the site and Middenbury since 1957.

History
Middenbury is a single-storeyed brick residence, rectangular in plan and surrounded by verandahs on three sides. It was constructed for Mrs Eliza Mary Rogers, who purchased the site of just over 6 acres (2.4 hectares) in 1865. It is thought to have been designed by architect James Cowlishaw who arrived in Brisbane in 1860. Having previously practiced as an architect in Sydney and Melbourne, and responsible for a number of buildings, including Government House, Sydney, he established himself as Brisbane’s first successful private architect, (Watson, McKay 1994, 44) designing many residential and commercial buildings throughout Queensland. The site on which Middenbury is located was originally part of a larger riverfront property of over 16 acres (6.5 hectares) alienated in 1853 by James Henderson of Sydney, but previously unoccupied. The suburb of Toowong was described in 1862 by a local resident, Richard Langler Drew, when he nailed a sign to a tree in the district proclaiming the village of Toowong, although the name of the district had been decided much earlier after the call of local birdlife. Soon after Drew’s proclamation many large houses were erected in the area and Toowong prospered as a small elite settlement removed from the noise and dust associated with the town centre. The mid 1860s saw further development in the area, although close suburban settlement did not occur until the 1870s. Mrs Rogers was a widow of an officer of the Tasmanian Commissariat, and moved to Brisbane with her four children after the death of her husband. She resided in the house until her death in October 1875 when the property passed to her four children, Eliza, Minnie, Frank and Lewis. It was subsequently let to a number of prominent Brisbane families. These included Thomas Finney, founder of the successful retail firm of Finney Isles, who lived at Middenbury in the early 1880s, whilst Sidney House (now demolished) was being erected for him on the neighbouring block. In the mid-1880s, Hervey Murray-Prior, barrister and son of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, Queensland's first post master general, was a lessee. In 1885 Frank Rogers acquired full ownership of the property and proceeded to subdivide the 6 acres, retaining the residence on just over 2.5 acres (1 hectare). He occupied the house periodically in the late 1880s, but rented it for one year from August 1890 to Timothy John O'Shea, a successful Brisbane merchant and a self-made man who had begun business as a cabman in Fortitude Valley. In 1891 O'Shea bought Middenbury, and it remained the family home for 59 years. The O'Sheas were renowned for their hospitality, attracting many 'notables' to the wide verandahs and pleasant grounds of their home. Amongst these was Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1920. The O'Sheas made extensive alterations to Middenbury and erected a number of out-buildings on the site, including a brick stable building and a garage with chauffeur's quarters. These have been demolished since. The property was auctioned in 1949, and served as a boarding house before being purchased in 1957 by the Commonwealth of Australia for use by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). Prior to occupation of the site by ABC, Middenbury’s landscape elements were extensive and included arbours, tiered pavilions, carriage loop, gold fish ponds and mature trees. All these elements have disappeared due to extensive development of the site, although the vista to the river has been retained.

Description
Middenbury is a low-set, single-storeyed brick residence located on the bank of the Brisbane River at Toowong. It is still visible from both the river and the opposite bank. Situated within the ABC studios on the river at Toowong, its surrounding landscape elements have been substantially reduced. Originally located to take advantage of the river views, the house now sits on a small grassed area which falls steeply away to form block retaining walls on the southern and eastern sides. On the northern and western sides Middenbury is confined by later ABC buildings. The remainder of the site has been levelled to form space for carparking and buildings, over which views to the river from Middenbury are still evident. All that remains of the previous gardens are two fig trees at the rear of the house (on Coronation Drive) and a substantial clump of bamboo at the river’s edge. Middenbury is rectangular in shape, essentially Georgian in style, but incorporates verandahs to three sides (four initially). The core is surmounted by a hipped slate roof, separated from the verandah roofs by a small timber cornice with paired and tripled console brackets. Two rendered brick chimney stacks, one double and one single, capped by chimney pots, dominate the main roof structure. Open verandahs along the front and sides are shaded by a concave corrugated iron roof which is supported by slender timber doric columns. French doors with arched lights and fanlights above open onto these verandahs from most rooms. The render to the external brickwork has recently been removed, revealing face bricks laid in English bond, with voussoirs of a slightly darker colour over the french doors. The removal of the render has also exposed later alterations including the bricking in of one pair of french doors on the western side. The main entrance faces south, with the principal reception areas overlooking the river. This arrangement of rooms was facilitated by placing the hallway at right-angles to the vestibule, a break from conventional design. The entrance door opens into a small vestibule which is at right angles to a longer hall which leads to the rear of the house. The former drawing and dining rooms are to the left of the vestibule, across the western end of the house. These two rooms were originally separated by folding cedar doors which no longer exist and the space is now divided into a larger and smaller space by a plasterboard partition. Additional rooms are located on either side of the hall. Extensions dating from the 1920s and later have altered the back of the house considerably and comprise a room in which the ceiling follows the line of the original verandah, and three smaller rooms with low ceilings and plain detailing at the rear. Middenbury is currently used as offices for the ABC which has resulted in a number of alterations including partitioning of rooms, removal and enclosure of fireplaces and the replacement of some joinery items. The slate roof and verandah columns were replaced in the mid-1980s, and the verandah floorboards and corrugated iron to the roof have also been replaced. ______________________________ Watson, D & McKay, J (1994) Queensland Architects of the Nineteenth Century Queensland Museum, Brisbane

Information about places in the Queensland Heritage Register is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. Information available here is only part of the full Register entry and should not be taken as an official entry. Absence does not mean a particular place is not in the Register.

Date: 22nd May 2002

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