ARCHBISHOP’S ART DECO SLICE OF PAST HITS MARKET
A HISTORIC art deco house formerly used by the Brisbane Archbishop as a holiday retreat has hit the market.
Villa Margaret on Tamborine Mountain was built in the 1930s to exude character of the art deco period.
Tamborine Mountain Historical Society archivist Paul Lyons said Archbishop of Brisbane Sir James Duhig used the residence as a holiday retreat. “In 1946 William Adams bought it and extended it,” he said.
“He’s the one who called it Villa Margaret because he had a daughter called Margaret. His daughter was very ill and he wanted her to convalesce up here but she passed away.
“After that he gifted it to the Archbishop of Brisbane.”
Mr Lyons said he recalled being at school in the 1940s when Archbishop Duhig visited the mountain.
“I know he came up once every couple of years,” Mr Lyons said.
“He wouldn’t have come up here for any other reason than to visit the catholic college. It was mainly the nuns who were up here. If any one of them wanted a holiday he allowed them to convalesce up here.”
Archbishop Duhig passed the property on to the Canossian Sisters to be used as a retreat.
The current owners paid $1.02 million for the 1429sq m property in 2008.
The house was then extensively restored to blend modern conveniences with its historic charm and is now used as a luxury short-term holiday retreat.
The three-level residence retains many of its original details from its near 90-year history including stainedglass windows, intricate cornices and crows ash timber flooring.
The commanding double brick and stone facade stands out as do the stone paths and garden walls.
On the first level is the formal living area – this is where the Archbishop’s housekeeper also had her quarters.
Harcourts Coastal Paradise Point agents Steve and James Weir are taking the property to auction.
“It’s a unique piece of history for the Gold Coast that has had such a great past,” Steve Weir said.