CONTRIBUTED BY JAN GOETZE, SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
‘Stratford Villa’, or ‘Tingalpa’, was built at Wynnum on Mountjoy Terrace as a home for the Mayor of Wynnum Manly in the early 1900s. The area was formerly dominated by farm land but on the cusp of development.
The front stairs lead up to the home’s main entrance and upstairs rooms, which preserves the layout of the original homestead – but now thoughtfully modernised by more recent owners. Its original soul remains, however, in key features such as the heritage brick of the main upstairs chimney and the large bay windows marking the house’s façade.
The house was sold to a prominent stonemason of the area, who left his mark on many of the buildings in the business centre of Wynnum/Manly. As the area evolved in the 1940s and 1950s, the house continued to be a local landmark, even acting as the location for a movie at the time, its details sadly lost to record.
After hosting two generations of the family from 1916 to 1980, it then stood silent for nine years and, as surrounding blocks were divided, ran the risk of its history also being lost. It fortunately found itself in the hands of new owners in 1989, who devoted much care to restoring and renovating the home, work that was later built on by the current owners.
The large mango trees flanking the home and camphor laurels marking its façade are believed to be over 100 years old, dating back to its early days.
The house now sits on one of the last remaining large blocks in the area not subdivided and holds heritage status for its links to the past. It holds memories and stories of many families in its over 100-year history. And now it’s on the market, another lucky family will have the opportunity to enjoy it.
