Gracemere Homestead, Heritage homestead in Gracemere, Queensland

Gracemere Homestead is a heritage property in Queensland with multiple single-story structures made of timber and corrugated iron, connected through gardens and pathways near Gracemere Lagoon. The estate includes a guest cottage, detached kitchen, office, carpenter's shop, and vehicle shed arranged across the expansive grounds.

Charles and William Archer reached the Dee Range in May 1853 and named the water below Farris, later Gracemere after Thomas Archer's wife Grace. Charles stocked the run with sheep in 1855, and Colin Archer designed and built the first slab house in 1858 from timber felled on the property. A second wing followed between 1862 and 1874.

The name Gracemere honours Grace Archer, wife of Thomas Archer, replacing the earlier name Farris, taken from a lake near the family's Norwegian home of Larvik. The first wing, built in 1858, was a slab house with two rooms and verandahs on two sides; its west verandah was shaded by a timber pergola overgrown with bougainvillea.

Exploring the grounds requires attention to the spread out buildings, as gardens and pathways guide access to different sections of the estate. Comfortable footwear is advisable since walking covers uneven terrain across large open areas.

The first wing of the house, designed by Colin Archer, was built in 1858 from timber felled on the property; Colin's journal records that it took from May to July to complete. Its walls were clad in vertical ironbark slabs, the roof in timber shingles, and a west-facing verandah shaded by a pergola was soon overgrown with bougainvillea.