About
This website is all about Queensland's vernacular architecture and suburban history. Not so much the grand estates and mansions, but the average working and middle-class homes of the late 19th and early 20th century that form the soul of our remaining "timber and tin" suburbs. This project aims to document a cross-section of vintage urban, suburban and rural homes from Southeast Queensland, architectural features and details of the buildings and the biographies of the citizens that owned the land, lived in the houses and contributed to the development of our state.
What you just read is a mission statement - of sorts - from a time when this website contained only a handful of house histories and a basic research guide. The site has since taken a life of its own, and evolved along a fairly random trajectory guided by my personal whims and distractions. It is also influenced by questions and suggestions from my valued readers - please keep them coming.
As for upcoming research - any topic related to architectural and suburban history (also urban and rural history for that matter) will be considered fair go. Building materials, design collections, research techniques and sources, interesting anecdotes and discoveries - whatever may be of public interest. The website is very slow-evolving, but the Facebook page (click the icon on the top right) is regularly updated and receives lots of reader questions.
If you live in a vintage house in the Greater Brisbane region and have queries regarding any aspects of its history then feel free to drop me a line at magnus.eriksson.ercons(at)gmail.com, and I'd be happy to assist to the best of my availability.
You may also be interested in the companion website, www.armchairhistories.org.
Let's go explore our rich and captivating Queensland history.
HH