El Nido or Casa Ana regardless of the name this home is allegedly the first of the Spanish Mission style homes in Brisbane. Erected in the middle of 1927 for businessman E.P. Powers it was also one of the most expensive. State heritage listed and still a prominent landmark it is another of the defining works of architect Eric P. Trewern. The following taken from Wikipedia and referenced to the State Heritage Register is a very good summary.
The Braeside Estate was subdivided during the 1920s economic boom, when rising Council rates combined with the lure of attractively increasing prices obtained for inner city suburban blocks in good locations, led to the subdivision of most of the remaining large suburban estates at New Farm, Hamilton, Ascot and Clayfield. Edward Ferdinand Powers acquired title to subdivision 1 in September 1927; title to subdivision 2 was transferred in 1928, as was that to Braeside on subdivisions 4 and 5 and re-subdivision 1 of subdivision 6; and subdivision 3 was transferred in 1932, although possibly sold in 1927–28. New houses on subdivisions 1-3 were erected and occupied by 1929.[1]
The block which Powers acquired in 1927 comprised 30.8 perches (780 m2) of steeply sloping land with views over the Hamilton and Bulimba reaches of the Brisbane River, and east toward the mouth of the river. The site may also have contained the buildings associated with Braeside House, evident in the c. 1925 aerial photograph.[1]
In mid-1927 Powers commissioned architect EP Trewern to design a substantial Spanish Mission styled residence for this site, to take advantage of the views. The design was well publicised (likely by its architect) and attracted considerable interest at the time, being heralded in the Architectural and Building Journal of Queensland of 11 July 1927 as:[1]
"The Spanish House Introduced to Brisbane Spanish architecture is to be introduced to Brisbane in home designing. Mr EP Trewern, architect, has received from a local medico a commission to erect a residence for him of this type, and, as the location is on the Hamilton Heights, it will be seen to advantage."
A similar claim that Spanish Mission design was being introduced to Brisbane was repeated in the Daily Mail newspaper of 28 October 1927:20, which published a sketch of the principal elevations. The same sketch also appeared in the Architectural and Building Journal of Queensland of 10 November 1927:54. Of particular interest were the Cordova-style roofing tiles, manufactured by the Shannon Brick and Tile Company (of Sydney and Brisbane) and reputedly used for the first time in Brisbane.[1]
Elements of Spanish Mission style were not new to Brisbane in 1927, having been used on picture theatre facades since the 1910s. Craigston Flats on Wickham Terrace, erected in 1927, employed elements of the Spanish Mission and/or Mediterranean styles. However, El Nido was the earliest or one of the earliest Spanish Mission style houses in Brisbane, and was designed by a prominent architect who subsequently popularised this style for domestic housing in Brisbane. Other important Spanish Mission style houses designed by Trewern include Santa Barbara at 209 Moray Street, New Farm (1929–30, cost £4,000) and 17 Griffith Street, New Farm.[1]
1. State Heritage Register
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