When you renovate Queenslanders, it’s important to understand their history in order to do the building justice. How did Queensland houses end up looking so unique from their cousins in Victoria and NSW and even over west in WA? The Queenslander’s rise and fall and rise is not as straight-forward as you might think. So why did the typical Australian weatherboard decide to take up stilt walking and throw its doors open to the verandah?

First appearance

The first houses with a distinctively Queenslander style appeared in the 1840s and while the form has many variations adapting to local styles and conditions, it is seen all over Queensland and even northern New South Wales. Queenslanders are still build today, being adapted to modern building techniques.

Materials and Climate

Queensland Museum says the development of the Queenslander style we recognise today is due to two main factors: the availability of affordable, easy-to-use building materials and climate. There probably aren’t many surprises there, but let’s take a deeper look…

Stumps

Let’s work from the ground up to give ourselves a solid foundational (pardon the pun) knowledge of the history of the Queenslander. The stumps on a Queenslander are much longer than in other parts of Australia, but why?
Most traditional Queenslander homes are elevated off the ground around 2.8 metres, though this varies. This served several important purposes:

Deals with sloping sites

A big one is being able to build a house on Brisbane’s notoriously steep sites without having too flatten the site. The lack of earthmoving required to build a Queenslander meant houses could be constructed quickly and cheaply even on steeply sloping sites.

Deals with flood zones and flash flooding

When the heavens open up, they open up the most over Queensland, it seems. From heavy downpours to flash flooding, Queenslanders need to deal with a lot of water. This was another benefit of building the house off the ground, giving water plenty of opportunity to seep into the ground without block its path and avoiding wet feet in the process.

Protection from termites and other pests

While timber was cheap and available, it is also a tasty treat for termites and other critters. Building the home on stumps high enough to walk under gave owners plenty of opportunity to inspect for termites and stop those critters in their tracks.

Natural ventilation

Of course the other benefit of lifting a house towards the sky is to catch available breezes and encourage a cooling breeze under the house to help with natural ventilation. Because the undercroft of a Queenslander is perpetually in shade, it tends to stay cooler and this cool air is perfect to draw through the house via floor vents.

Verandah

The verandah is also an important aspect of Queenslander design. This covered outdoor area wraps around the house, creating a shady and protected buffer from the sun and rain. French doors opening onto the verandah encourage breezes through the home and the verandah is the perfect place to sit if the inside becomes stuffy.

Fanlights and ceiling roses

Inside, fanlights and ceiling roses help to promote natural ventilation to keep the Queenslander cool as a cucumber.

Roof

The distinctive pitched roof of a Queenslander is there to shed water as quickly and efficiently as possible because, as we discussed above, Brisbane can get a bit floody. The roof was traditionally corrugated iron because this was a cheap and readily available material which was easily transported. The other benefit of corrugated iron over tile or slate used in other parts of the country was its resistance to storm damage and cyclones. And, even if the rood was damaged in a storm or cycle, sheets of corrugated iron were easily replaced.

Fall of the Queenslander

Post-war, the verandah was shrunk to a landing and internal timber walls became fibreboard (often filled with asbestos) due to material shortages and the need to build mass housing cheaply. Surplus earthmoving equipment following the war was put to use levelling sites for house construction, reducing the cost benefit of using stumps on sloping sites. There was also a growing preference for lower-maintenance homes which led to the construction of brick veneer houses to replace Queenslanders. While all this served a purpose at the time, it sadly meant that a generation of houses did not respond to the climate as well as they once did.

The Queenslander rises again

But Queenslanders are on the rise again. Queenslanders are being lifted, nipped and tucked and restored to their former glory with creating additions all over Brisbane and the whole state and the passive solar design principles that underpin them are being incorporated into modern designs everywhere.

Similar to the way plants and animals evolve and adapt to their situation, the Queenslander has also adapted to its unique climate, both atmospheric and economic, creating a new species of home perfectly suited for the Sunshine State. That’s just one of the reasons we love renovating Queenslanders: helping to further adapt this incredible style of home for modern living.