Teneriffe House

This tucked away hilltop rendered brick homestead was designed by Melbourne architect William Ellerker and built in 1865 for Hon James Gibbon MLC. In 1882 he sold it to importer Robert Wilson who subdivided the land and glammed up and extended the house substantially with a billiards wing, extra bathrooms with plunge baths, a butler’s pantry and extra servants’ rooms.

Like so many restless renovators, not long after it was finshed Wilson sold up and moved on, leaving the house to a further succession of high profile owners including bank managers and eventually, in 1905 a grazier Reginald Hillcoat and his family moved in after World War I in 1919.

In 1925, around the time of Hillcoat’s death. the house was chosen as the setting for Queensland film maker Charles Chauvel’s first movie, a silent black & white work entitled ‘The Moth of Moonbi’, about a young country girl who was attracted to the bright lights of Brisbane city.

The same year the BCC resumed 3.5 acres of the estate including the orchard, which was transformed into Teneriffe Park. Although the house was converted to flats in the mid 20th century Hillcoat’s daughter remained in the house until her death in 1983.