Ormiston House was built in 1862-1865 by craftsmen brought from Scotland by the owner, Captain Louis Hope an aristocrat from Scotland. He had a big property for farming and grazing in Kilcoy, north west of Brisbane. He built the house for his wife and 8 children.
Unfortunately no photos were to be taken inside. However this is looking in the front door. It is beautifully restored with many items on display that once belonged to the Hope family.
At the back of the house stands a slab hut with a shingle roof. This was the first building and was used by Capt.Hope and overseers while the house was being built. Later it was used as the kitchen and bake house. Most Australian pioneer houses had the kitchen outside due to the fire risk they caused.
The laundry was outside. Wringers and a copper to boil the clothes.
The camera group had morning tea of scones, cream and strawberry jam. One of the guides told us the history of the place before we were taken on a guided tour.
The view of Moreton Bay and Stradbroke Island from our table was magic.
Capt Hope loved plants and he had beautiful gardens on the 800acres that surrounded his house. He also had sugar cane growing and was the first to start crushing and milling it in Queensland.
I remember seeing this place on the ABC Garden Show. It looks like the kind of place I would enjoy visiting.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place. I would love to visit someday, but I'm sure that will never happen. I'm glad you are letting me visit for free.
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/
Hi Diane, Looks like you all had a wonderful visit to the Omiston House. Wow--what a gorgeous place. I'd love to see the grounds also.
ReplyDeleteWhen we visit plantations here, many kitchens were in separate buildings also. How would you like to do the laundry with that????? ha
Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
Betsy
Looks like a gorgeous house! Will have to look it up online to see if they show more inside pics! Interesting about the kitchen house. Similar to the "summer kitchens" that houses had 100 years ago.
ReplyDeleteMoreton Bay looks lovely and peaceful... hard to imagine it was once the site of a dreadful penal colony.
The house looks so perfect in the first picture. Wow, they sure washed their laundry well in those days - I thought the wringers would be good for printing :) - actually we had clay presses (in art school) quite similar to these (like giant pasta press). Must be fun to have a group to go out taking photos - the view is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing pics of your outing, have a lovely weekend, Ev
What a wonderful old home. I have always enjoyed touring historic homes such as this. My aunt & uncle from Birmingham instilled my love for antiques in me.
ReplyDeleteI adore the hanging light fixture in the first photo through the front door.
Wow- love the front porch! And what an esquisite view..you find the neatest things to do! And that group sounds like a lot of fun ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Colleen. Anything with a front porch is wonderful in my view. I've always wanted a house with one attached to it. Soooo...that house will do. When can I move in??? I just went through another one of Phoenix's houses the other day. There are very few here. In fact I can only think of two right now. It's sad when history is torn down.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful home and I was surprised at how modern it looks from the outside. The view from the house is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteWith 8 children, no wonder it had to be big... the house, of course!
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