Whepstead, Wellington Point, Heritage villa in Wellington Point, Australia

Whepstead is a two-storey timber villa with a substantial attic, built in 1889 on Main Road, Wellington Point. Its ground floor holds a drawing room, dining room, breakfast room, study, bathroom and wide entrance hall; a timber staircase leads to four principal bedrooms opening onto encircling verandahs, with two attic bedrooms above. It was designed by Claude William Chambers and built by Patrick Horisk.

Gilbert Burnett commissioned architect Claude William Chambers to design this grand residence in 1889. The villa was built after Burnett transformed his sugar plantation into a successful sawmill operation.

The building shows how wealthy Queensland residents in the 1880s expressed their status through ornate timber details and generous room layouts. These design choices reflected the tastes and values of affluent families during that era of prosperity.

Whepstead stands on Main Road at Wellington Point, in the City of Redland. The two-storey timber house is set within its original grounds, so look for the large villa rather than a formal entrance. It is a heritage-listed private property, not a public museum, and access to the interior depends on the current use of the building.

The house was built of cypress pine cut at Burnett's own Trafalgar Vale sawmill, which by 1884 he claimed was the largest country sawmill in the colony, employing about 40 workers. An 85-foot steamer, the Eucalypta, carried timber from Stradbroke, Coochiemudlo and Macleay islands to a wharf on Hilliards Creek, where a travelling crane unloaded it.