Manly is home to many heritage-listed houses, but one of those that stand out is the Michael Gannon residence because it’s rare to see substantial seaside houses like this in the suburb.
Sitting on three parcels of land at 150 Kingsley Terrace, the residence is a great example of a late 19th century seaside house. It is meticulously constructed with timber, has a wide verandah, and a french-provincial entrance.
Just like a quintessential Queenslander, it is elevated well above the ground to counteract extreme conditions like flooding, high temperatures and pest infestations.
It has an under-house area, which is enclosed with a combination of timber battens, asbestos cement sheeting and concrete block work. This area serves as a garage and storage area and includes the enclosure to the original earth closet.
A central timber stair, which leads to the verandah serves as entry to the house. It still has the original front door surrounded by patterned coloured glass.
The enclosed rear verandah now serves as the main living area. The verandah also accommodates the kitchen at the northern end and the bathroom at the southern end.
One of the significant components of the residence is the billiard room which flanks the rear section of the hallway to the south.
The architect of the house was unknown but it is believed that it was designed by architects John Hall and Son who also designed Gannon’s Breakfast Creek residence and Hawthorne villa.
Who is Michael Gannon?
The residence was constructed in 1888 for Michael Brennan Gannon, and his wife Amy.
Gannon was a member of Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Toombul, Government Auctioneer and valuator (owner of Arthur Martin & Co).
He purchased a large portion of land in the Wynnum-Manly area formerly part of Portion 57. Gannon sold off a considerable acreage of land, but retained ownership of that portion on which the residence was to be constructed.
The house became his family’s holiday home. His permanent residence was at “Waratah”, Toorak Road in Breakfast Creek.
Apart from his endeavours in politics, Gannon was known for his Brisbane’s social and sporting society.
He became the vice-president of the Albert Cricket Club in 1888 and was involved with the Queensland Rifle Association, the Brisbane Bicycling Club, and the Breakfast Creek Rowing Club.
At the time of Gannon’s death in April 1898, his widow’s place of residence was listed as ‘Manly.’
Later owners continued to use the house as a seaside home. Thomas and Elizabeth Goodman bought the property in 1927 and used it as their principal place of residence. The Goodmans remained there until the death of Elizabeth in 1953.
It was vacant until 1955 when the public trustee sold it to an investor who had the house converted into three flats.
The house remained as flats until June 1999 when the property was purchased by the current owners. The residence has been identified as a character building in the Wynnum-Manly Local Area Plan.
On 27 October 2000, it was added to the Queensland Heritage Register for its association to Michael Gannon and for its demonstration of Queensland’s cultural heritage.
The Michael Gannon residence is also significant in demonstrating the continued growth of the Wynnum/Manly area in the latter part of the 19th century.
