"Delcotta is a fine example of an Interwar Old English style residence designed by influential Brisbane architect,
EP Trewern. It was built 1929-30 for Mr and Mrs A. Ure McNaught, a Brisbane dentist and his wife. It provides
valuable evidence of the transformation of Clayfield in the interwar years from a semi-rural retreat for the wealthy
to a fashionable middleclass suburb.
History
Delcotta was built in 1929-30 shortly after the large block of land on which it is situated was purchased by Mrs A
Ure McNaught, the wife of a Brisbane dentist.
The two-storey Old English style home was built on land which was part of the large gentleman’s estate of
Stanley Hall (now St Rita’s College). This land was subdivided in the early 1920s by pastoralist, Edward Blume.
In 1926, the remainder of the estate, including the 1885-86 mansion, was sold to the Order of the Sisters of the
Presentation in Queensland. The Sisters established a convent school on the site – now St Rita’s College. The
houses built in Enderley Road, Craven Street and Alexandra Road during this period were often on large
allotments and architect designed for Brisbane’s professional and merchant classes.
The McNaughts engaged Brisbane architect, EP Trewern, to design a new home for their large corner block.
Trewern who established his Brisbane practice in 1920 after working for the Queensland Government, was
known for his commercial and domestic buildings designed in the latest architectural styles. He was also active
in the development of professional bodies for architects in Queensland. Two of the best known examples of his
domestic work are the homes El Nido (1928) on Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton and Santa Barbara (1929-30)
at New Farm. Both houses were designed in the Spanish Mission style which Trewern is attributed with
introducing to Brisbane. Trewern also designed homes influenced by the Californian Bungalow style, such as
the 1924 home of Mrs Raff at 77 Enderley Road.
The McNaught’s new home, which they named Delcotta, was constructed by builder, B Hollingsworth, in another
of the Interwar period’s popular styles, Old English or Mock Tudor. As the names suggest, these houses
imitated the white rendered walls and half timbering of 16th century English architecture. Other characteristics of
this style which appear in Delcotta include a tiled gabled roof, asymetrical massing, tall chimney, oriel and bay
windows with leadlight glazing, herringbone brickwork, catslide roof and the jettying of the upper storey. A rear
wing connected the house to a garage and a small verandah facing south. Trewern designed several houses in
this style which was particularly popular in Clayfield and the nearby suburbs of Ascot and Hamilton.
Like other attractive homes built in Enderley Road in this period, Delcotta featured in the newspapers of the day
as the epitome of style. It was pictured in the Truth on 19 October 1930 along with the neighbouring house in Craven Street, also in the Old English style."
Eric Freeman Tristram and Cressida Vivian Greenland the first owners of Jorupa on Craven Street. The name Jorupa was derived from the first initials of the Tristram children. Eric the son of the founder of Tristrams soft drinks became the manager of the company with the death of his father. His mother still maintained ownership of the company and overall responsibilty. Tristrams was a Queensland institution through the large part of the 20th. century. Cressida was an avid gardener and the home Jorupa was regularly featured in the gardening sections of all Brisbane papers throughout the period 1930 to 1940.
The Brisbane Courier December 8 1932
Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Thursday 8 December 1932, page 8
Jorupa of the Extensive Views.
TREASURES FROM ABROAD LEND THEIR GRACE MRS. TRISTRAM'S HOME,
The charm of beautiful things some purchased in Brisbane, others brought from as far away as Persia, Italy, and England some the work of modern craftsmen, others so old that their makers have been dead for hundreds of years yet all brought into harmony with each other by the strange ties that link beautiful things of every period' and country.
That is the charm of Jorupa, the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. F. Tristram, in Craven Street, Clayfield.
JORUPA (the name of which was coined by Mr. and Mrs. Tristram from the names of their three children, (Joan, Ruth, and Paul) was built about six years ago, and was one of the first houses in Brisbane to adopt the idea of a fenceless garden. It is two story, built of red brick and rough-cast, and in architecture is old English, slightly adapted to suit the Brisbane climate.
The smooth green lawns in front of the home slope down to a tiny brick wall that is less than knee-high, and along the top of the wall have been planted masses of pink petunias, ming led with fragrant verbena hanging down in festoons. Phlox and roses fill the other flower beds, and at the gate stand a little tamarisk tree, and a feathery pink Christmas bush. As a pleasing contrast to the straight lines of the rest of the garden, the crazy pathway curves in a semi-circle from the front gate to the branching steps, which are white, and are half-covered with focus creeper, otherwise known as "climbing fig."
In Orange and Brown.
In front of the house is a spacious veranda, on which the young folk of the home often entertain their friends, its crow's ash floor being particularly suited to dancing. All the floors of Jorupa are of stained and wax-polished crow's ash, and that of the hall is admirably set off by the dark-toned South African timber that panels its walls Mrs. Tristram always chooses orange coloured flowers to beautify this vestibule, and at present there are clusters of cannas that match the goldfish swimming in their bowl in one corner. An old bronze statue of a crusader is the only other ornament in the hall.
One of the most noticeable features of the blue and grey lounge on the right of the hall is the position of the piano, which has been placed at right angles to the wall, so that the playing and singing of a person seated at it may be heard to the best advantage thus placed, the back of the piano is exposed to view, but with its covering of blue and grey material it resembles an ornamental screen, and. matches the curtains hanging at the long bay window overlooking the front garden
In one corner of the lounge is a Renaissance fire-place, brought from Italy, and surmounted by a painting of an Italian scene, and on the mantel-piece are arranged Cloisonne vases. There are many beautiful vases in this room, the oldest of them being a tall delicately coloured one that was made in Austria more than 100 years ago Other interesting features that appeal to art-lovers are the chairs, belonging to the Adam period, and the genuine Persian brass tray.
Mrs. Tristram delights in old china and glassware, and has many fine pieces in her dining-room, which is across the hall from the lounge. One of her English tea sets is more than 130 years old, and she is also the .possessor of a Polish set, with each of its tea cups fitted with a tiny pedestal foot. All the furniture in the dining-room is Italian, made of black walnut, and over the table hangs a heavy old 6-candle chandelier of bronze and brass. Curtains of black, gold, and grey drape the long window seat, and the floral wall-paper is in pastel-toned, shaaow tissue design.
Conveniently situated diriectly behind the dining-room is the pantry, to which is the kitchen, a large white room, with a capacious refrigerator and two built-in dressers. All kinds of modern conveniences have been installed here, but the most interesting device is the double draining board of white porcelain, which has been made so that it may be lifted right out for cleaning purposes.
Restful Rooms.
Although all the family sleep on the top story, their dressing rooms are on the lower story, and open off a corridor running behind the dining-room and the lounge. The walls of the corridor are hung with etchings, which, with one exception, are the work of Australian artists.
Master Paul Tristram's room is that of a typical, out-of-doors boy, with sporting equipment, and on the wall the wings of a hawk shot by himself. The daughters of the home each have a dainty girlish room, while the main bedroom, furnished in rose pink and possessing its own private veranda, enjoys an aspect that makes it cool in summer and warm in winter. Sage and various lighter tones of green, with pure white fittings, provide an uncommon colour scheme for both the tiled bathroom and the shower room, while at the end of the passage is the study, a cosy little place, where home lessons are done.
Commanding a view so extensive that by day St. Helena and Moreton Island are clearly discernible, the upper story of Jorupa at night over-looks a veritable fairyland of twinkling lights, and provides delightful sleeping quarters. On this story, too, is the billiard room, and there is still a large amount of space that could be converted into attic rooms if desired.
Jorupa has much that is novel and much that is old. "The right thing in the right place" seems to have been the guiding principle in its furnishing scheme, and the result is that the interior of the home is as interesting and beautiful as its exterior.
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