Queenslanders: Their Historic Timbered Homes

Rod Fisher

In a single timely tome, Rod Fisher packs a lot of what’s known about the history of the timbered house in Qld: the sum of research, writing and practice over four decades. While breaking new ground on its origin and development, the first 4 chapters concern several key themes:

1. the evolution of a Vernacular class of housing in the north of Australia: from aboriginal to modern day, comprising a series of styles and the means of identifying each one by era and attribute
2. the historical context to traditional housing: using census data and contemporary testimony to amplify its configuration which reflects cyclical condition, personal choice and social acceptance
3. the human dimension to the main varieties of habitat and its environment: specifically the pros and cons of observers and occupants of the day followed by resolution of their discrepancies
4 whether Brisbane was in any way different from the rest of the state: examining which varieties made the greatest imprint, from elite and multiple types to the predominant gabled, hipped, pyramidal and later multi-gabled dwellings of the Vernacular tradition.