The rain has returned today but luckily wasn’t too bad when we left the hotel this morning. Our plan for today was to visit Newstead house then do one of the historic walks I had found so first stop was to head down to the ferry to catch the ferry up the river to the house. We got off at the stop just past Newstead house as the ferry book had suggested that was what we should do. Unfortunately where we got off the ferry was rather like a building site so we had to follow the temporary route to get to the pavement. As we started walking along it became clear why there were roadworks in place, both the edge of the road and parts of the path were in a very bad way, this coupled by the fact it was both still raining quite heavily and also the way the Australians drive is the real cause of problems and by the time we got to Newstead house we were absolutely soaked but luckily it isn’t too cold so although we were damp it wasn’t too much of a problem. Newstead house is the oldest remaining house in Brisbane. Built in 1846 it has been extended over the years. When built it was a two storey brick and stone Georgian cottage. From 1847 when the property was purchased by Captain Jon Clements it became the unofficial government residence. We walked round the house, which is very nicely decorated in period furniture, it is said that it is haunted but not by who. Unfortunately one of the residents used the house for the purpose it seems to have been built – lavish parties, but their lifestyle and income didn’t quite match so they ended up having to mortgage the property, after it was sold they actually continued to live there, the only difference being that they paid rent rather than owned the house. The main living quarters are on the 1st floor and below is the cellar and servants room. The house employed a cook who had a boy and girl to help the house keeper, in addition there was a gardener who lived in a cottage in the gardens. After we finished looking round the house, we walked back to the ferry, although this time we walked back to a different stop along a road that followed the river which was much nicer. We timed it quite well, arriving just before the ferry. We got off on the other side of the river today and walked round to a restaurant to have something to eat then as it was still raining we walked back to the hotel to relax before re-packing ready to leave tomorrow.
