Hester Villa, Heritage-listed residence in East Brisbane, Australia
Hester Villa is a timber and iron dwelling in East Brisbane, Queensland, distinguished by three-sided stepped verandahs, ornately cast-iron balustrading, and decorative timber columns topped with a fretwork pediment at the entrance. The structure extends across three separate allotments and retains the characteristic details typical of its construction period in the early 1900s.
The villa was built in 1901 for Captain Robert Pearn, a ship's master involved in Pacific Islander recruitment activities during that era. A penny placed above the doorway commemorates the construction date and the establishment of this notable residence.
Hester Villa is a private family home, not open to visitors; its name appears on the front of the house. The penny nailed above the front doorway was placed there to record the construction date of about 1901. The house reflects middling-status family housing in suburban Brisbane rather than wealthy households.
Hester Villa is a private residence at 58 Stafford Street, East Brisbane, and is not open to the public; the house and garden can be seen from the street. It stands on three blocks in an area of medium-density housing, so the exterior is best viewed from the footpath.
A penny nailed above the front doorway records the date the house was built, about 1901. The dwelling replaced the Pearn family's earlier home, which had burnt down, and it stayed in the family until 1968.
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