On the year of 1850, what we can call "the most distinct regional architecture type in Australia" was built for the first time. The Queenslander Style is indeed the strongest regional identity in creation of a native indigenous style.
Its design was developed as a response to the humid, sub-tropical Queensland climate and the availability of affordable, easy to use building materials. Timber and iron are the characteristic materials used to construct Queensland houses.
Sawmilling was established in Queensland in the 1850s, and timber became readily available for construction. Iron could be transported long distances throughout the Queensland colony, and was more durable in tropical storms than tiles.
The materials also directly affected their form. Timber was a light, inexpensive material, but it was vulnerable to attack from termites. Houses were constructed on stumps to raise them off the ground, and the stumps were capped with plates to prevent white ants from getting to the wooden superstructures. The greater height also allowed easier surveillance of termite activity.
The warm Queensland climate further contributed to the form and popularity of Queenslanders. The high heat conductivity of tin iron roofing and the poor insulation offered by timber meant that ventilation was critical.
Queensland houses were usually constructed to face the street, irrespective of the direction of sun and wind. Houses belonging to affluent members of society were more likely to be situated in higher locations and constructed with more windows to take greater advantage of prevailing breezes.
Nevertheless the raised structures provided natural ventilation beneath and around the house, and airflow was enhanced by numerous windows, louvers and fretwork fanlights. Verandahs proved popular in providing additional living space that was outdoors yet protected.
The most typical early twentieth century Queensland house is characterised by:
timber construction with corrugated-iron roof;
highset on timber stumps;
single-skin cladding for partitions and sometimes external walls;
verandahs front and/or back, and sometimes the sides;
decorative features to screen the sun or ventilate the interior; and
a garden setting with a picket fence, palm trees and tropical fruit trees.
There are different types of Queenslanders that can be divided into five rough categories the represent an overlapping chronological sequence from the first free settlement of the mid-1800s through to the post-war era:
1. Early Colonial.
As the penal colony was disbanded and free settlement progressed in the 1850s, the first residential buildings were generally constructed from locally sourced timber, stone and brick. The architecture was diverse and reflected building practices of the southern states as well as other colonial outposts around the world. Many dwellings had the fatal flaw of being built on the gound, or close to the ground, with insufficient termite barriers. Apart from a few elite residences, few houses from this era remain today, and those that do are well known and documented.
2. Late Colonial.
This category includes designs used extensively from the 1880s through to the turn of the century. Perhaps the most recognisable is the humble gabled cottage which can be found in European outposts across the world. Gabled cottages typically have steeply pitched roofs and are one room deep and two rooms wide with a skillion-roofed kitchen extension to the back. The style went out of fashion in the 1890s although "kit homes" of a more modern interpretation were available well into the 20th century.
Perched on timber stumps, these houses were generally of a square configuration with an internal layout comprising two bedrooms, a sitting room and kitchen. The street frontage had a veranda which sometimes extended around the sides of the house. The steeply pitched corrugated iron roofs, stepped veranda roofs and often brick chimneys set these houses apart from later bungalow styles. The late colonial era also saw a range of more substantial middle and upper-middle class designs; including two-story villas with internal fireplaces, attic rooms and other remnants of European design that ultimately proved unsuitable for the Queensland climate.
3. Federation and Pre-War.
The turn of the century saw the adoption of the Bungalow as the new standard for residential housing. The style is characterized by low-pitched roofs that are continuous across the verandas. Derivatives of the style include various configurations of front-facing or surrounding verandas, porches, projecting gables and sleepouts. The permutations of style elements are endless. By the time of the federation most houses no longer had brick chimneys but were fitted with stove alcoves - corrugated iron boxes with small tin chimneys attached to the external kitchen wall, designed to transfer heat away from the living areas.
4. Inter-War.
The 1920s to the late 1930s saw a continued evolution of the bungalow style, with more complex street-facing facades incorporating two or three gables with or without flanking verandas and sleepouts. The economic downturn of 1929 and depleting local timber stocks gave rise to a more compact footprint with smaller verandas but the houses were nevertheless often decorated with ornate gable infills, bay windows, brackets etc. By the late 1930s, the Queensland vernacular was increasingly displaced by new design trends such as the "conventional" timber and brick houses that showed no particular regional variation. The new era also embraced influences from the US such as the Mediterranean, Spanish Mission and Californian Bungalow styles, and the revival of Tudor and other traditional British styles. Functionalist and Art Deco-inspired buildings also made their mark in this period of unprecedented architectural diversity.
The presence of fibro sheeting, often made from asbestos, is a good indicator of buildings dating from the late 1910s. This cheap and versatile material was often used for gable infills as shown in pictures 1 and 2 below, in combination with decorative timber to imitate classical half-timbered construction. Fibro sheeting changed the trajectory of domestic architecture and enabled a range of new construction techniques and designs.
5. Post War.
Covering a period extending into the 1960's and beyond where minimalist aesthetics, widespread car ownership and artificial building materials converged to create new ideas of municipal planning and residential housing design. Thus began the era of remote automobile commuter suburbs, severed from the constraints of architectural tradition and public transport. Perhaps a handful of these buildings will survive to celebrate their centenary birthdays, and at that point they may even be considered pretty, or at least quaint.
Conclusion:
Today Queenslander homes stand out against subdivisions of suburban blandness and are seen as a classic old style. According to the Queensland Museum, “They are now valued as a key element of Queensland heritage and conservation and renovation of Queenslanders is widespread.”
In addition to historic renovations, today you can find Queenslander-style reproductions and modern iterations that may include contemporary additions in Queensland and elsewhere in Australia.