The Sunday porch: no idea

dwelling-with-laddernational-library-of-australia“Dwelling with ladder and wooden structure on top,” Dunbar, Queensland, between 1900 and 1951, by John Flynn, via Australian Inland Mission Collection, National Library of Australia Commons on flickr.

I have no explanation for the second-story (sleeping porch maybe?). . . but it’s kinda cool.

Life in gardens: a girl has a name

Girl and dog, 1899, State Library of QueenslandMargaret Granville Wandooline (“Wanda”) Stuart . . . posing with “Garrick” at her home in Toowong, Brisbane, Queensland, 1899, photographer unknown, via State Library of Queensland Commons on flickr.

Wanda was the daughter of P. W. G. Stuart, private secretary to the Governor of Queensland.

This is the last post in this week’s theme, “children made to pose in gardens.”

The Sunday porch: Queensland

Queensland porch with shell, ca. 1895, via State Library of Queensland“Decorated corner of a veranda,” Queensland, Australia, ca. 1895, photographer unknown, via State Library of Queensland.

The shell of the giant clam (Tridacna gigas) pictured above was probably taken from the waters around the Great Barrier Reef.  Today, the mollusk is a “vulnerable” species due to overharvesting.

The Sunday porch: interiors

More well-furnished porches in Queensland, Australia. . .

5 Queensland porch interior, late 19th c., StateLibraryQueensland“Verandah at The Hollow, near Mackay, Queensland, about 1875,” photographer unidentified (all photos here), via State Library of Queensland Commons on flickr (all photos here).

I love the office setup on this very deep porch with an adjoining fernery or bush-house. There is also a sewing machine on the table between the two women.

These photos are not very clear, but you can click any thumbnail in the gallery below to scroll through larger versions.  There are four additional pictures there too.

7 Queensland porch interior, late 19th c., StateLibraryQueensland“Unidentified family on the verandah of a Cairns residence, ca. 1895.”

What a beautiful plant collection.

2 Queensland porch interior, late 19th c., StateLibraryQueensland“Furniture on the verandah of a Queenslander home, ca. 1925,” photographer unidentified.

The white chairs on the left with the extended armrests are “squatter’s chairs,” typical to Queensland porches. There are two more examples here.

Additional links:
Gracemere Homestead 1940 photo,  RockhamptonGracemere Homestead in 2001, GracemereHomestead history

W.C. Hume short biography, Brisbane, squatter’s chair

The KingsfordsCairns

The Sunday porch: tea party

Tea on porch, 1887, State Library of Queensland, Australia“Group of women having a tea party in Queensland, Australia,” ca. 1887, photographer unknown, via State Library of Queensland.

Beautiful Platycerium or staghorn ferns on the wall and columns. These could be Platycerium superbum, which are native to Australia. The one on the left seems to be supporting another plant — maybe a coleus.

How quiet it is, how silent,
like an afternoon in Pompeii.

Louise Glück, from “A Summer Garden