BRISBANE'S HISTORIC HOMES.
XLV.—Milton House.
(See illustrations on page 37.)
By F. E. LORD.
AN historic home indeed is Milton House, situated in sight of Milton Railway Station, and associated with it, as well as the old name of McDougall,
are the other well-known names of Kent, Manning, Walsh, Crombie, and Dr. Hugh Bell. In its vicinity the names McDougall, Manning, Walsh, and Crombie are perpetuated in streets called by those names. Mr. Bartley tells us, on page 106 of his "Opals and Agates," that Milton House was built by Mr. Eld- ridge, the chemist. So, as he was a well-known member of Brisbane's community when Mr. Bartley first arrived in the old town in 1854, and the late Hon. J. F. McDougall pur- chased it in about the year 1855, Milton House must have been in exist- ence for some years previous to this date. But whether it was named by Mr. Eldridge or by Mr. McDougall I do not know, nor the origin of the name. When Mr. McDougall purchased the property the house was a square, compact building of two stories, with a veranda running across the front He added the balcony, widened the front veranda, and continued it round the two sides of the house, and added quite a number of rooms at the back, consisting of maids' rooms, pantries, and store rooms, also a new kitchen and laundry. The original kitchen was detached, and there was not even the old-time connecting gangway between it and the house, I understand. Mr. McDougall also added the wing of rooms seen in the view of the house taken from the side, which were used as visitors' rooms, I think. What were windows before the balcony was added by Mr. McDougall were turned into french lights. The room to the left of the middle door was Mrs. McDougall's bedroom, with a dressing-room at the back, and the front and back rooms on the opposite side were the nurseries. The centre door on the balcony opened into a small vestibule, used by Mrs. McDougall as a sewing-room, chiefly. On the right-hand side of the front door on the ground floor was the dining-room, a fine, large room, and the drawing-room was on the left. The staircase leads up to the second story from almost the centre of the rather-wide hall, which is lofty, as are all the rooms in this fine old home, with its cedar woodwork and .its many fireplaces. So, with its spacious tree-studded grounds, its terraces, and its flower
beds, Milton House was, and still is, a lovely home. It—like all the old-time homes —stood in many acres of land. A comparatively-modern historian speaks of 20 acres surrounding it, but I have been told that its land originally extended as far as Samford, and took in what are now Windsor and Wilston. The cow yards were situated between, the house and the present Milton Railway Station, and, of course, there were the essentials, coachhouse and stables. THE late Hon. J. P. McDougall—the initials stand for John Frederick —was a member of a very old colonial family, his grandfather, Mr. Ronald McDougall. having arrived in N.S.W. with his family in the year 1796. He settled on a grant of land near Parra- matta, and since that time his descen- dants have been chiefly connected with the pastoral industry. Mr. J. F. McDougall married, in 1846, Catherine Maria, daughter of Major D'Arcy, of the 28th Regiment, who had dis- tinguished himself in the wars in which he had been engaged. Among his decorations was the star of Gib- raltar, treasured by his elder grand- daughter, now living in Toowoomba, the wife of her cousin, Mr. Edwin McDougall. It was from Texas station, in the south-west of Queensland, that the late Mr. J. F. McDougall came to take up residence at Milton House in the year 1855, travelling up in his large buggy, with servants and luggage in other vehicles, and a mob of spare horses. The family then, I understand, consisted only of she who is now Mrs. Edwin McDougall. The next child, Mr. Roderick McDougall, now of Sandgate, was born at Cambooyah, on the journey up to Brisbane, so, naturally, the trip was not accom- plished in a few days. Truly no praise is high enough for our brave pioneer women. The first child to be born in Milton House to Mr. and Mrs. McDougall was another daughter, Miss Louie McDougall, of Toowoomba. Then came a boy, Angus, who died in very early childhood; then another.son, Stewart, was born, and lastly Ronald, the "Laird" of Cooyar station, in the Brisbane River district, it is a part of old Rosalie Station THE late Hon. J. F. McDougall was appointed one of the 12 members of the Queensland Legislative Council in the year 1860, after our separation from New South Wales in the previous year. The appointment was at first for five years, and at the expiration of that time for life, and he assisted Sir Maurice O'Connel and Sir Charles Nicholson to open the first Parliament. During the absence of Sir Arthur Palmer, in the fulfilment of his duties as administrator of the Government while Sir Anthony Musgrave was absent on leave, Mr. McDougall filled
the chair of the Legislative Council. In about the year 1884 he turned his attention to pastoral pursuits, again, and purchased Rosalie station—from which our suburb of Rosalie takes its name—from Messrs. Kent and Wien- holt. To this station home Mr. McDougall and his wife and family trekked, as they had done previously from Texas to Brisbane, in their own vehicles, with their servants and mob of spare horses. But the elder daughter was left behind in Brisbane at board- ing-school. Some of her holidays, her week-ends, she told me, were happily spent with the Murray-Prior family at old Montpelier, Kangaroo Point described in "The Queenslander" within the last few months—in the home of the late Mr. Robert McDouglas, also of Kangaroo Point, and other old Brisbane homes. The Kents had been living at Rosa- lie so on the McDougall family taking up their residence there the
former rented Milton House from Mr. McDougall. Later, at Rosalie, was born the last of that family, the late Mr. Fergus McDougall. THE next tenant in Milton House was Judge Manning, I understand, a brother of Sir William Manning, of N.S.W. Then, in about 1877, the late Hon. William Henry Walsh, M.L.C., an old pioneer of the Burnett and one-time Speaker in the House, rented Milton House from Mr. McDougall, and lived there with his family for about nine years. In about 1886, during the absence of Mrs. Walsh and her three daughters in England, Milton House was sublet to the late Mr. James Crombie, of Greenhills station. In 1887, or thisreabouts, the whole property was sold to a syndicate, con- sisting of the late Hon. John Steven- son, the late Hon. B. D. Morehead, Mr. D. T. Seymour, and others. The river frontage was purchased by the late Mr. John Hicks in allotments, and the house, with its present quite spacious grounds, was bought by the late Dr. Hugh Bell, whose trustees eventually sold it to the late Mr. Siemon. His son, I understand, still resides there. Space forbids my doing more than mention, at the present time, the names of other well-known old fam- ilies who lived at historic Milton House. Their combined histories would fill quite a large volume. The clan of McDougall is a very old one. They are called the McDougalls of Lorne or Dunolly, the family seat being Dunolly Castle, in Argyllshire. The story of the clan coming into posses- sion of the famous brooch of Lorne, through one of its members snatching the coat, or plaid, to the shoulder of
This little maid is wearing a frock of white voile with a email pink rose pattern, the berthe collar, which is in one with the short front panel, is of plain white voile.