Six Queensland Colonial Judges and their Houses 1859–1901
From a lecture by David Gibson and Carolyn Nolan
Newstead House is Brisbane’s
oldest surviving residence.
The land, at the junction of Breakfast Creek and the Brisbane River, was purchased in 1845 by Patrick Leslie, a pioneering pastoralist on the Darling Downs. By 1846 Leslie had erected a two storey cottage on the site.
In 1847 he sold the property to his brother-in-law, Captain John Clements Wickham. Wickham, a retired naval Officer, was the foremost government official in the Moreton Bay district, acting as Police Magistrate and later Government Resident.
Wickham altered the plain two-storey cottage with stone foundations, plastered brick walls and slate roof. He added two rooms and installed folding cedar doors between the original sitting room and bedroom to accommodate a ballroom as required.
During Wickham’s occupation, Newstead functioned as an unofficial government house and was an important focus of Brisbane social life.
After Wickham returned to Scotland in 1859, Newstead House was leased to the first Attorney-General of Queensland, Ratliffe Pring (later appointed a judge of the Supreme Court). Pring remained at Newstead House until 1862. Newstead House was a museum and headquarters for the Historical Society of Queensland (now Royal Historical Society Queensland) from 1930 through to the 1980s, except for three years during World War II when the house was occupied by the US military.
In 1975 the Friends of Newstead was formed to assist the Newstead House Trust with the conservation and presentation of the House.
The name Newstead House
The word ‘newstead’ is a Scottish term meaning a new place or building.
Contemporary photo of Newstead House
199 Breakfast Creek Road, Newstead
