Harlaxton House

General

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Classification

State Heritage

Register status

Entered

Date entered

21 October 1992

Type

Residential: Villa

Theme

6.4 Building settlements, towns, cities and dwellings: Dwellings

Construction periods

1869–1870, Main residence

unknown, Service wing

Historical period

1870s–1890s Late 19th century

Style

Georgian

Location

Address

6 Munro Street, Harlaxton, Toowoomba

LGA

Toowoomba Regional Council

Coordinates

-27.52979614, 151.95995761

Significance

Criterion AThe place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland’s history.

Harlaxton House (1869-70), first built for Francis Thomas Gregory, is an early, representative example of a substantial villa residence in Toowoomba. It is important in demonstrating the development of Toowoomba as a major regional centre of southern Queensland, where affluent members of society built substantial homes reflecting their wealth and status.  

As one of many houses used as the summer residence for governors of Queensland in the late-19th and early-20th century, Harlaxton House is important in demonstrating the pattern of summer Vice-Regal retreats in Toowoomba, dating from 1877.

Criterion DThe place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.

Harlaxton House is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a late-19th century villa residence in Queensland. Through its elevated siting in generous grounds with mature trees and vistas over the Toowoomba Range, formal plan layout, and high-quality interior aesthetic treatment (including the use of clear-finished timbers such as cedar, and decorative wallpaper), it reflects the wealth and status of the early owners, and the prosperity of Toowoomba, a major regional centre in colonial Queensland.

Deliberately sited in an elevated location overlooking the Toowoomba Range, the residence retains its formal plan including entrance hall, generously sized bedrooms and living (formal) rooms, with an early eastern extension (by 1879) and remnants of the original rear kitchen wing. The high-quality workmanship and materials used in its construction are evident in its stone walls, timber joinery and framing, and decorative finishes of cast-iron and cedar timber. Wide timber verandahs surrounding the stone core are accessed by French doors and provide a generous space for entertaining and enjoying the surrounding views. The eastern extension (by 1879) and the rear (south) timber wing (by 1915) demonstrate the evolving character of villa residences, many of which were extended for additional accommodation, from the late 19th to early 20th century.

Criterion EThe place is important because of its aesthetic significance.

Harlaxton House has aesthetic significance for its beautiful attributes, expressed through its well composed design that features high-quality materials, details and finishes, both externally and internally. Encircled by verandahs on three sides, the balanced form of the stately stone and timber residence is complemented by its austere exterior details and the symmetry of its front (north) elevation. The residence’s elevated siting, set back from the street and surrounded by spacious grounds, increases its prominence within its setting and allows views out over the grounds towards the Toowoomba Range to the north and northeast. 

Highly intact, Harlaxton House’s fine architectural quality, arrangement of generous and refined formal and informal spaces, early finishes (such as stone, cedar timber joinery and mantlepieces, and original patterned wallpaper), and attractive setting with elevated vistas overlooking the Toowoomba Range, evoke a sense of an earlier, gracious lifestyle.

Criterion HThe place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland’s history.

Harlaxton House has a special association with the life of Francis Thomas Gregory, as his family home from 1870 to 1888. Gregory was a notable Australian explorer, surveyor, Commissioner of Crown Lands, and Member of the Queensland Legislative Council, who played a significant role in the history of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs, and who is an important figure in Queensland’s history.

History

Harlaxton House was constructed in 1869-70 for Francis Thomas Gregory and his family. Gregory played a role in Australia’s exploration history, particularly in Western Australia, and also held important positions as Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Maranoa, Warrego, and Darling Downs districts in the late nineteenth century, helping to facilitate pastural and agricultural settlement. The stately villa residence was constructed from locally quarried stone and situated high on the Main Range, close by to the railway line. Once surrounded by luxurious gardens, the finely appointed home was frequented by several Queensland governors. From 1891 Harlaxton House became the summer retreat for the Perry family, successful Brisbane ironmongering and retail family. In 1916 the Cook family purchased the property and resided at Harlaxton House until the early 1980s.  

European settlement of the Toowoomba area, traditional country of the Giabal and Jarowair people, commenced in 1840 when squatters first occupied pastoral runs on the Darling Downs. Near the boundaries of Westbrook, Gowrie and Eton Vale runs and at the junction of two routes to Gorman's and Hodgson's gaps through the Main Range, the small settlement of Drayton (originally known as ‘The Springs') evolved from 1842 as a stopping place servicing pastoralists and travellers. From the late 1840s, the Drayton Swamp Agricultural Area (‘The Swamp'), six kilometres to the north-east, began to be considered a more desirable location for settlement. Better land for market gardening, improved water supply, the support of squatters and land speculators, and, from 1855, a better route to Brisbane (The Toll Road), were all advantages over Drayton.[1]

The name ‘Toowoomba' had gradually taken over from ‘The Swamp' by 1857 and the settlement continued to expand. At the time of its incorporation into a municipality in November 1860, Toowoomba was on the way to supplanting Drayton as the principal service centre for the upper Darling Downs. Prior to 1859, Toowoomba's population was around 1500. Five years later this figure had doubled. The rapid economic and social development of Toowoomba in the 1860s was influenced by local residents who strongly promoted the prospects of the town, and political representatives who successfully lobbied for government funding for civic improvements. In July 1865 the first section of railway line in Queensland was opened from Ipswich and by April 1867 the line reached Toowoomba, securing the town's future development and making it the hub for the Southern and Western railways.[2] 

During the 1870s Toowoomba consolidated its status as the main urban centre of the Darling Downs. The economy diversified to include numerous small-scale manufacturing outlets, while the majority of administrative, service and other government and education functions for the surrounding region were centred on the town. Toowoomba's progress was reflected in improvements to the physical environment. Important capital works were commenced or completed including the draining of the swamps, improved water supply, gasworks for lighting, extensive tree plantings and the initial development of Queen's Park.[3]

The district in which Harlaxton House was built was initially called Irishtown, as Irish navvies working on the construction of the Main Range railway lived there. In 1862 Martin Meldon purchased 130 acres (53ha) of land in the area, and in 1869 Francis Thomas Gregory acquired the northern portion of this property.[4] The newly bought land was in an ideal position, on the summit of the Main Range with extensive views to the north and situated only a few miles from the centre of Toowoomba. With the railway line from Ipswich to Toowoomba having been opened in 1867, the line passed only a short distance from the property.[5] 

Francis Thomas Gregory (Frank Gregory) played a significant role in European exploration and surveying in Australia. He arrived in Western Australia from England in 1829 with several members of his family, including his older brother, Augustus Charles Gregory, who also played a significant role in Australia’s, and more specifically, Queensland’s exploration and surveying history. By the mid-1840s Frank Gregory was working as a surveyor with the Western Australian Survey Department with his brother Augustus Gregory, and in 1847 was appointed as staff surveyor. In this position he headed several important expeditions to explore the northern regions of Western Australia and made the first European discovery of several rivers and large tracts of possible pastural and agricultural land. In 1862 he moved to Queensland, where his brother, Augustus Gregory, had preceded him. In the same year he was appointed Commissioner of Crown Lands for the Maranoa and Warrego regions, followed by the Darling Downs. Also in 1862, he was awarded the prestigious gold medal by the Royal Geographical Society for his exploration and survey work. He remained in the role of Commissioner of Crown Lands until his retirement in 1872. Two years later he became a member of the Queensland Government’s Legislative Council, and under the McIlwraith government was appointed Postmaster-General for a short time.[6]   

Harlaxton House was constructed between 1869 and 1870 for Frank Gregory and his family. Prior to this, in 1864 he had married Marion Hume, sister of Walter Hume and sister-in-law of Katie Hume (Walter’s wife). In a letter written by Katie Hume in early 1870, the construction of Gregory’s house was described:

It is a really lovely situation! At the top of a sort of gorge, where the railway climbs up the Range. The ground falls away gently in front of the house for about 100 yards then drops away abruptly … the house … is substantially built of rough red stone found close by … They talk of adding to the house in the future … they expect to move into their new home in a few weeks.[7]                

The Gregory’s were residing in the house by early 1871, as their fifth son was born at Harlaxton House in January 1871.[8] The house was constructed using locally quarried stone. It was constructed by prominent Toowoomba builder, Richard Godsall, who was also attributed with building other buildings in Toowoomba including Weetwood (QHR 600870), Wesley Uniting Church (QHR 601695), and St James Church (QHR 601298), and the Toowoomba Railway Station (QHR 600872).[9] 

From the 1860s ‘villa estates', located on the periphery of larger urban settlements in then semi-rural settings - on elevated locations such as along ridgelines - became an increasingly popular type of dwelling for Queensland's more affluent residents. This demographic included higher-ranking public servants, professionals and successful business people. The flight to residential villa estates by the well-to-do was a development pattern that occurred internationally during the Victorian era. Key elements of villa estates included large and comfortable houses, associated outbuildings such as servant's' quarters and stabling and expansive garden settings.

Frank Gregory was close friends with the owner of Westbrook Homestead (QHR 600636), William Beit. In 1872 Beit died on returning from an overseas journey. His widow, Sarah Beit, heavily pregnant, moved into Harlaxton House following this tragedy, and in November gave birth to a son. As one of William Beit’s trustees, Gregory and his family moved to Westbrook Homestead to run the property, where Marion Gregory gave birth to another son that year.[10]  

Sarah Beit resided at Harlaxton for several years; the house was described in a Darling Downs newspaper in 1874:

Leaving Toowoomba by the Highfields road, the first object that particularly drew my attention was Harlaxton, a fine stone building, the property of the Hon FT Gregory, MLC, and at present in the occupation of Mrs Beit. This residence commands a view of perhaps some of the wildest mountain scenery in the colonies, situated as it is on one of the summits of the Main Range.[11]

Following the sale of Westbrook Station in the mid-1870s, Sarah Beit had a fine stone residence constructed on a small portion of the Westbrook Station land, called Westbrook Hall (no longer extant). Subsequently, the Gregory family moved back to Harlaxton House.[12]          

By 1879 extensions to the eastern end of the house had been made, as evidenced in historic photographs. The additions included a lounge room, two bedrooms, a hallway and another chimney. A surrounding fence, with timber gates at the western side of the house had been erected by this time. By 1886, the western verandah had also been extended and an extensive garden had been established at the front.[13] Additionally in the late 1870s, a railway platform was built at Harlaxton at the summit of the range, close by to Harlaxton House.[14]

In 1883, Harlaxton House was advertised for lease for twelve months by Gregory, describing the property as:

This desirable family residence is situated on the summit of the Range, close to Toowoomba. It contains 10 rooms, 2 bathrooms, storeroom, pantry, kitchen, and 2 servants’ rooms, laundry, cottage for coachman and groom, extensive stabling, loose boxes, and coach houses, large garden, lucerne paddock and grass paddocks, and every other convenience. Every train to and from Brisbane will pick up or set down passengers at the gate.[15]

It is unclear whether the home was leased at this time, but by 1884 the Gregory family were once again residing at the property. In the first of several vice-regal visits to Harlaxton House, in January 1884, Sir Anthony Musgrave, Governor of Queensland between 1883 and 1888, and his wife, Lady Musgrave, stayed with the Gregory family at Harlaxton House, ‘Sir Anthony Musgrave and suite will arrive at Harlaxton about four o’clock this afternoon by special train, and will be the guests of the Hon FT Gregory until Saturday next’.[16] 

Frank Gregory died at Harlaxton House in October 1888, aged 68, and at the time was remembered as ‘one of the old pioneers to whom the colony owes so much’.[17] The property was subsequently put up for sale by the family and sold in 1891.  Mrs Gregory and her youngest son moved to England.[18]  

Harlaxton House was purchased by successful Brisbane retail business owner, William Perry, of Perry Brothers’ Imports. The Perry family were well known in Brisbane as ironmongers since 1860, and a building, Perry House (QHR 600183), at the corner of Albert and Elizabeth Streets in Brisbane, still bears the family name. The wealthy Perry family resided at ‘Folkstone’, a large residence on the heights of Bowen Hills, Brisbane (now the site of Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church (QHR 601585)).[19] William Perry was also a member of the Queensland Legislative Council. In June 1891, only a few months after purchasing Harlaxton House as the family’s summer residence, William Perry died, ‘the name of Mr Perry has been honourably associated with the commercial life of the city for fully 30 years, and he has always been regarded as one of the most reputable, worthy, and wealthy citizens of Brisbane’.[20] His sons continued to run the business after his death.

From mid-1891 Mrs W Perry was residing at Harlaxton House which became the family’s mountain retreat, with Folkstone continuing to be the main family home in Brisbane. In the summer of 1899-1900, the property was leased to Sir Samuel Griffith, who at the time was Lieutenant Governor of Queensland. Griffith was an important figure in Queensland’s political and legal history, having been Premier for two terms, 1883-1888 and 1890-1893, and appointed Chief Justice of Queensland between 1893 and 1903, followed by Chief Justice of Australia between 1903 and 1919.[21] Harlaxton House was leased to Sir Griffith and his wife, Lady Griffith, for three months from November 1899, with several Executive Council meetings being held there while he was in residence.[22] 

Prosperous Darling Downs landowners, business-owners and professionals established residences in Toowoomba; and from the 1880s, the town acted as a summer resort for those seeking a cooler climate, including Queensland Governors. Toowoomba was first advocated as a location for a summer residence for the Queensland governor in 1877, because of its mild summer climate. Governor Sir Arthur Kennedy leased Lindenberg’s Freemasons Hotel in 1877 and from late-1878 leased ‘Fernside’ (QHR 600843) each summer until 1883. Almost immediately, local properties offered for sale were promoted for their proximity to the governor’s residence. Lord Lamington leased Westbrook Hall from 1896-99. In the interwar years, Sir Matthew Nathan leased Glen Alpine (QHR 600842) for the summer of 1921-22. The summer Vice-Regal residences in Toowoomba served to enshrine the town as a fashionable resort for the wealthier classes, and places like Harlaxton House were amongst those elite houses to have served that purpose.[23]

In early December 1900, Lord and Lady Lamington leased Harlaxton House for the summer months. Lord Lamington served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to the end of 1901.[24] It was reported at the time that ‘Harlaxton, Mrs Perry’s house at Toowoomba, has been taken this midsummer for the vice-regal party. The Governor and Lady Lamington and family will probably leave Government House for their sojourn at Toowoomba at the end of the week’.[25]

In 1911 Mrs Perry died and the property was subsequently subdivided into smaller lots. In 1912 the Trustees Quarterly Review reported that:

A number of important property sales have taken place in Toowoomba during the last few months. One very important one was the subdivision of the late Hon W Perry’s Harlaxton Estate, comprising as are of 150 acres within two miles of the city. Under instructions from Queensland Trustees Limited, this property was subdivided into allotments ranging from a quarter to one acre, and at the two auction sales held, practically the whole of the property was disposed of … Harlaxton was however not sold and still remains open to the purchaser.[26]

The majority of the original estate was sold to various owners over the next few years. In 1916 George and Dorothea Cook purchased Harlaxton House which remained on three and a half acres of land.[27] George Cook was a successful horse dealer. In the 1920s the Cooks had several subdivisions of the property made, dividing the property into eight separate lots, with the largest lot retaining the main house and auxiliary buildings. The other seven smaller lots were located to the south of the main house. These lots, with frontage to Gregory Street, remained vacant, however, until the 1960s and 1970s.[28] By 1968, two more subdivisions were made to the property at the southeast side with frontage to Prince Street. 

In 1946 an article was written about the history of the area in the Downlands Magazine and featured Harlaxton House. The article describes the house’s interior features, including the intact and original wallpapers, ‘the fittings of the house interior are of cedar. The original cedar doors are still in use – the walls are papered with the beautifully designed paper from Gregory’s day – as fresh and as lustrous as the day it was put on’. The numerous chimney mantle pieces were also made from cedar.[29]

Various auxiliary structures were built on the property such as stables and a coach house in the nineteenth century, however, all nineteenth-century auxiliary structures have been removed. Two timber sheds remain on the property. The shed to the west is likely to have been constructed between 1936 and 1951, according to photographic evidence. The shed to the east was built ca.1951-55.[30] 

In 1965 the Women’s Historical Society of Queensland placed a plaque on the front of Harlaxton House to recognise the importance of the house to Queensland’s history. Dorothea Cook lived in the house until her death in 1982. In the following years the property remained vacant for several years, and in 1995 it was bought as a commercial investment by Sanbeg Pty Ltd., and remained vacant.[31]

In 2009 the front verandah was repaired and reconstructed (stabilisation works), including the removal of the front section of the western verandah enclosure and installation of a new timber and wire handrail in its place. Timber floorboards were also replaced. Excavation under the verandah and the replacement of verandah stumps, bearers and joists was also undertaken at this time.

Description

Harlaxton House (constructed 1869-70, extended by 1879 and by 1915) is a stone residence set in generous grounds with mature trees and remnant landscape features.[32] It is located in the north Toowoomba suburb of Harlaxton, to the east of the Harlaxton Quarry. The place occupies a 0.76ha site that slopes down towards Munro Street to the north and is bounded on its other sides by Prince Street (east) and residential properties (south and west).

The residence stands near the centre of the site, with the terraced lawn to the north facilitating vistas overlooking the Toowoomba Range to the north and northeast. Within the largely cleared grounds are mature trees and remnants of an early carriage drive and entry stair. 

Features of the place of State-level cultural heritage significance include:

• Residence (1869-70, extended by 1879; rear timber wing by 1915)
• Landscape and setting, including:
  • generous grounds;
  • entry stair location;
  • terraced slope (including level ground to the residence and the remnants of the former carriage drive); and
  • mature trees.

Residence

The residence is a lowset, single-storey stone house featuring a well-composed, largely symmetrical front elevation that looks out over a terraced slope to the Toowoomba Range at the north. The building is L-shaped in plan and is comprised of three main sections, constructed at different times. These are the:

• original core (1869-70), with enclosed western verandah (by 1885)
• eastern extension (by 1879)
• rear (south) timber wing (by 1915)

The original hip-roofed core is rectangular in plan, with its long elevations facing north and south. The eastern extension lengthens the building, continuing the hipped roofline and turning south to form a gable-roofed projection. The timber rear (south) wing has a separate hip roof and encloses the space at south side of the building’s L-shape.

The west, north and east elevations are wrapped with a separately roofed verandah, which provides access to various interior rooms. The verandah is supported by slender timber posts featuring decorative cast iron brackets (brackets added c1885-90), and metal supporting rods (added by 1879) evenly positioned between the timber posts. To the north side of the verandah, a slight change in stone colour and a grey-coloured stepped mortar line (between the third and fourth doors from the east) indicates the division between the original core and eastern extension. The rear half of the western side of the verandah is enclosed with timber weatherboards and red brick.

The interior of the original core is arranged around a central entrance hall, which runs north-south and is divided into two spaces. Doors along the western side of the entrance hall lead to two bedrooms, and doors to the east open into a large living room (Formal Room 1). Further to the east is another large living room (Formal Room 2). Formal rooms 1 and 2, the entrance hall and the northern bedroom open onto the front verandah. 

The eastern extension is orientated around a central hallway, which runs east-west, connecting the eastern verandah and Formal Room 2. It is divided in half by a partition. The central hallway accesses two northern living rooms (formerly a single room, divided c1930s into Formal Room 3, west; and Formal Room 4, east) at the front of the residence. These living rooms have doors to the front verandah. South of the hallway is two bedrooms, with a small southern lean-to, and the rear wing. There is an attic to the gabled roof space.

The timber wing attached to the rear of the stone section of the house accommodates an eastern laundry and bedroom, central bathroom, western kitchen, and an externally-accessed toilet. Along the north end of the wing, a hall runs beside the former external wall of the original core of the residence (the stone has been painted in this section). The westernmost bedroom (within the lean-to) (added c1936-51) is not of State-level cultural heritage significance.

Some remnants of an early detached service (kitchen) structure to the south of the residence (east end), removed c1938-51), are visible in the ground surface.

Features of the residence of State-level cultural heritage significance include:

• original core and eastern extension:
  • corrugated metal-clad (originally timber shingle) hip roof, with a gable to the southern return section (at the foot of the ‘L’ plan);
  • ogee-profile gutters (fabric has been replaced);
  • timber-lined door to attic (within southern gable);
  • four brick chimneys, rendered externally with stepped caps;
  • early internal bell pull system remnants in ceiling space;
  • ‘laterite’ stone (red-coloured stone quarried at Harlaxton) walls: in a coursed square rubble pattern to the north, west and south elevations; and in a random rubble pattern to the west elevation and west end of the south elevation;
  • Helidon sandstone to door and window trims;
  • verandah to the north, east and west sides of the original core and eastern extension, including:
    • stop-chamfered timber posts featuring decorative cast iron brackets (brackets added c1885-90) to northern side,
    • unadorned timber posts to eastern side,
    • metal supporting rods (added 1886) evenly positioned between the timber posts to northern side,
    • timber floorboards (repaired and replaced with shot-edge boards),
    • timber beaded and double-beaded ceiling lining (added post-1884), and
    • western verandah enclosure, with red-coloured brick northern wall, and timber weatherboard-clad western and southern walls;
  • early interior plan configuration;
  • floor and roof frames demonstrating early construction techniques, including: timber members; stone corbels supporting edge bearers; kingpost trusses; keyed mortice-and-tenon, and step-lap joints (connecting rafters to ceiling joists) and lap-sliced ceiling joists;
  • added timber partitions: between Formal Room 3 and Formal Room 4 (c1930s), and to the eastern extension’s central hallway (lower section of partition);
  • tongue-and-groove (T&G) timber floorboards, generally lined with carpet or linoleum;
  • early interior walls:
    • plastered and painted brick walls;
    • original patterned wallpaper lining to Formal Room 1; and
    • exterior stone wall exposed internally to Formal Room 4 (plaster removed and repointed with mortar);
  • original cedar timber joinery, generally clear-finished, including: wide skirting boards, architraves, panelled doors and fanlights, panelled French doors, double-hung sash windows;
  • early door and window openings, and timber doors and windows, including early hardware:
    • porcelain doorknobs and fingerplates, some with gold decoration,
    • early keyplates and covers, 
    • cast-iron and pressed steel rim-locks, and
    • brass and porcelain window fasteners;
  • beaded T&G timber ceilings, with timber quad cornices to some rooms;
  • fireplaces to the four bedrooms, Formal Room 1 and Formal Room 2 (either side of the dividing wall), and Formal Room 4, including their cedar timber mantlepieces;
  • early porcelain conical light shades, and ceiling-mounted pull-switches;
  • large timber curtain rod with turned ends and timber rings, in brackets to Formal Room 2; and
  • wall-mounted timber telephone stand and timber coat rack to entrance hall.
• rear (south) timber wing:
  • corrugated metal-clad hip roof;
  • timber-framed and timber weatherboard-clad exterior walls;
  • beaded T&G timber board ceiling;
  • early interior plan configuration;
  • timber-framed interior walls (some are single-skin), including, beaded timber board linings and flat-sheet linings;
  • early timber doors and windows, including: ledged doors lined with beaded timber boards, double-hung sash windows, and a fixed four-light window;
  • early door and window hardware, including brass door knobs; and
  • Bakelite light switches; and
• remnants of the former detached service (kitchen) structure to the south of the Residence (west end), including stone foundations.

Features of the Residence not of State-level cultural heritage significance include:

• recent timber handrail and wire balustrade to northwest corner of the verandah;
• metal plaque to north verandah (1965);
• PVC downpipes;
• recent timber boards and metal security screens to doors and windows;
• non-original/early doors and windows;
• recent deadlocks and bolts to doors and windows;
• flat sheets covering original ceiling lining to Formal Room 1;
• paint to early cedar timber joinery;
• curtain rod to Formal Room 1;
• shelving added to door at south end of Formal Room 2;
• plastic conical-style light fittings;
• plastic light switches and fittings;
• added partition to northern hall of the rear timber wing; and
• western lean-to bedroom addition to the west end of the timber rear wing.

Landscape / Setting and Views

The residence is located on high, level terrain cut into the slope of a hill. It is surrounded by an open setting of spacious grounds, which allow views to be gained from the residence, across a northern terraced slope and out towards the Toowoomba Range. A concrete stair (formerly timber) runs down the slope to the north of the house and is aligned with its front entrance.

At the base of the stair, a wide flat terrace indicates the early location of a carriage drive (formerly entered from what is now Munro Street and extending in front of the Residence). Part of the drive, on the Prince Street side, is no longer apparent due to the construction of a modern road. The steep slope below the former carriage drive is largely cleared (formerly planted with gardens).

Formerly a combination of open paddock space and orderly house gardens, the generous grounds retain some mature trees, including a tree in the southwest corner of the site, and a row of three trees east of the residence.

Features of the landscape / setting of State-level cultural heritage significance include:

• spacious grounds;
• views from the Residence’s verandah across the terraced slope at the front of the site to the Toowoomba Range to the north and northeast;
• stair location and extent;
• terraces to the sloping ground plane, including to the residence and former location of the carriage drive; and
• mature trees, including: the cluster of camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) trees in the southwest corner of the site; and a row of three trees to the east of the residence (including two camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) trees, with a wattle tree (Acacia sp.) to the north).

Features of the landscape / setting not of State-level cultural heritage significance are:

• concrete to stair;
• all other vegetation not previously mentioned, including vines overgrowing significant mature trees;
• two outbuildings (sheds) located to the west of the residence;
• recent metal fences and associated posts; and
• recent roads / driveways and associated surfaces.

References

[1] Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Tyson Manor (QHR 600864)
[2] Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Tyson Manor (QHR 600864)
[3] Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Tyson Manor (QHR 600864)
[4] Environmental Resources Management Australia, Harlaxton House: Conservation Management Plan, April 2009, p.4.
[5] Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Main Range Railway (QHR 601480).
[6] Royal Queensland Geographical Society Journal, ‘Obituary, The Hon F T Gregory, MLC, FRGS’, 1889, pp.122-123; Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs General Advertiser, ‘Death of Hon F T Gregory, MLC’, 25 October 1888, p.3; Australian Dictionary of Biography, ‘Francis Thomas Gregory’, Biography - Francis Thomas (Frank) Gregory - Australian Dictionary of Biography (anu.edu.au), Accessed November 2023; Erwin Feeken and Gerda Feeken, The Discovery and Exploration of Australia, Thomas Nelson (Australia), Melbourne 1970, pp.155-158.  
[7] Environmental Resources Management Australia, Harlaxton House: Conservation Management Plan, April 2009, p.4; Quote included in CMP taken from Nancy Bonnin, Katie Hume on the Darling Downs: A Colonial marriage, Letters of a Colonial Lady, 1866-1871, Darling Downs Institute Press, 1985.
[8] Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser, ‘Births’, 1 February 1871, p.3.
[9] Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser, 8 January 1870, p.3; Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Weetwood (QHR 600870); Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Wesley Uniting Church (QHR 601695); Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, St James Church (QHR 601298); Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Toowoomba Railway Station, Honour Board and Railway Yard Structures (QHR 600872).
[10] Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser, ‘Births’, 27 November 1872, p.2; Queenslander, ‘Births-Marriages-Deaths’, 7 December 1872, p.4; Heritage Research and Conservation Service, Toowoomba, Westbrook Homestead: A Conservation Management Plan, March 2001, pp.15-17.
[11] Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser, ‘A trip amongst the farms at Irishtown, Geeham, Cooby, Meringandan, and Highfields’, 11 February 1874, p.3.
[12] Westbrook Homestead: A Conservation Management Plan, March 2001, pp.15-17.
[13] 1879, 1884, 1886 Photographs, ‘Harlaxton House’, Hume Family Collection, University of Queensland;  Environmental Resources Management Australia, Harlaxton House: Conservation Management Plan, p.6.
[14] The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser, ‘Harlaxton Railway Platform’, 7 August, 1878, p.3.
[15] Brisbane Courier, ‘Harlaxton, Toowoomba’, 31 December 1883, p.1.
[16] Darling Downs Gazette, ‘Sir Antony Musgrave’, 23 January 1884, p3; Queenslander, 20 August 1887, p.310; Government House, Former Governors of Queensland Accessed November 2023.
[17] Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette, ‘Death of the Hon FT Gregory, MLC, 25 October 1888, p.3; Telegraph, ‘Parliament, Legislative Council’, 25 October 1888, p.2.
[18] Darling Downs Gazette, ‘Married Again’, 13 January 1890, p.3.
[19] Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Perry House (QHR 600183; Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church (QHR 601585).
[20] Telegraph, ‘Another Vacancy: the Death of the Hon W Perry’,11 June 1891, p.5.
[21] Australian Dictionary of Biography, ‘Sir Samuel Walker Griffith (1845-1920), Accessed November 2023.
[22] Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette, ‘Local and General News’, 18 November 1899, p.2; Telegraph, ‘Executive Council Meeting at Harlaxton’, 5 January 1900, p.4; Telegraph, ‘Executive Council Meeting at Harlaxton’, 8 February 1900, p.5.
[23] Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Harris House (QHR 650237); Entry in the Queensland Heritage Register, Gabbinbar (QHR 600840).
[24] Government House, Former Governors of Queensland Accessed November 2023.
[25] The Week, ‘Social Doings’, 7 December 1900, p.6; Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette, ‘Local and General News’, 1 December 1900, p.2.
[26] Trustees Quarterly Review, ‘Toowoomba Land Market’, 1911, p.211; Environmental Resources Management Australia, Harlaxton House: Conservation Management Plan, p.9.
[27] Darling Downs Gazette, ‘Sale of Harlaxton House’, 21 April 1916, p.4,
[28] Queensland Electoral Rolls, Division of Darling Downs, 1939.
[29] Downlands Magazine, ‘Antecedents of Downlands: Link with History’, 1946, pp.14–15.
[30] QImagery, Aeiral Photographs: 1936; 1951; 1955; 1958; Environmental Resources Management Australia, Harlaxton House: Conservation Management Plan, p.12.
[31] Environmental Resources Management Australia, Harlaxton House: Conservation Management Plan, p.9.

[32] The interior of Harlaxton House was unable to be accessed in 2023. The descriptions of the residence interior are based on images held on file by the Heritage Branch, Department of Environment, Science and Innovation dating between 1992 and 2017, and images and information contained in Environmental Resources Management Australia, April 2009, Harlaxton House: Conservation Management Plan Final Report.

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