Sell historic Lamb House so it can be preserved for Queensland
A rare and magnificent slice of Queensland architectural history is in danger of being lost forever unless urgent action is taken to preserve it for future generations, writes Kylie Lang.
Opinion
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BRISBANE’S historic Lamb House must be sold before it crumbles to the ground.
Its reclusive owner Joy Lamb, whose late husband had the good fortune of inheriting this grand old home that hugs the Kangaroo Point cliffs, refuses to part with the property.
But she also refuses to pay for essential repairs.
In fact, discussions around demolishing it have recently come to light, according to the State Government which has stepped in, for a second time since June, to protect it.
All in all, this is an appalling situation that should have been sorted out long ago – and it’s time Mrs Lamb faces reality.
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Too much of Queensland’s splendid heritage architecture has been lost, whether through neglect, avarice or ignorance, and Lamb House should not be next in line for the wrecking ball.
This week, the State Government issued a second stop order to save the 118-year-old two-storey former mansion from demolition.
Well done to Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch for imposing a stop order until November.
Brisbane City Council has offered to partner with the government to buy Lamb House in a bipartisan bid to protect it for the citizens of Queensland. Well done on that front too.
When I visited the property in June last year, on Mrs Lamb’s invitation, it was a shambles.
A stinking mess and a fire hazard, to be precise.
Filthy mattresses, rancid rubbish and broken bottles littered the once pristine lawns.
Veranda floorboards had rotted completely, windows were smashed, and Mrs Lamb said she wasn’t game to venture inside.
I didn’t attempt to dissuade her.
Widowed in 2013 and with no children, Mrs Lamb moved out of the home in 2015 after the second storey bathroom floor collapsed.
She said “squatters, druggies and thieves” had subsequently trashed the place, turning it into “an absolute disgrace”.
That was 14 months ago, and with gaping holes in the roof, I hate to think how much worse it must be now.
Mrs Lamb was angry at the squatters and at the seeming inability of police to kick them out, but mostly, she was angry at developer Kevin Seymour, whom she said wanted to buy Lamb House so he could knock it down and erect a high-rise complex.
Mr Seymour said he wanted to personally fund its $12 million restoration.
“There is no better example of our history that warrants preserving,” he wrote in The Courier-Mail.
“I don’t want to see a repeat of Cloudland or the Bellevue Hotel on the site — that would be very soul destroying both for our citizens and our city.”
The stoush between the pair, who’ve known each other for decades, put Lamb House in the headlines but did nothing to solve its deterioration.
Mr Seymour is right. Lamb House is worth saving.
On a prized 3160sq m of hilltop land overlooking the CBD, it is a rare and stunning example of federation architecture.
It was designed in the very early 1900s by Alexander Brown Wilson, who was also responsible for landmarks including the Plough Inn pub and who founded an architectural dynasty carried on today by great-grandson Hamilton.
Added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992, Lamb House has been hailed as “a most accomplished building in its architectural design, materials, workmanship and setting”.
I can only imagine what a ravishing beauty she was in her heyday, and the dinner parties Mrs Lamb and her late engineer husband Frank must have held.
But those days are gone, and all that remains is a rotting shell.
The State Government can continue to slap stop orders on the property, as it has done with the Broadway Hotel in Woolloongabba, stepping in for a ninth time in July to stop owner Malcolm Nyst from bulldozing parts of it.
And Mrs Lamb can continue to ignore requests from government heritage specialists to undertake essential repairs.
Or she can end this stand-off right now, and sell the home so it can receive the love it deserves.
LOVE
■ Jeff Horn stating the obvious: he doesn’t have the hunger of younger fighters. Call it quits and enjoy time with your family, Hornet. Ultimately, there are no winners in boxing.
■ The CFMEU pulling its financial support from the Labor Government’s left faction. Don’t stop there, go the whole hog and save Queensland from ending up in bed with the economically clueless Greens.
LOATHE
■ That it’s somehow fine for crowds to file out of the Gabba, people almost on top of each other in the name of sport, yet restaurants and other businesses are struggling to make a buck due to COVID-safety restrictions.
■ The vitriol piled on Anthony Seibold. Was he a great coach in terms of results for the Brisbane Broncos? No, but he didn’t deserve to be savaged.
Kylie Lang is associate editor of The Courier-Mail. Email: kylie.lang@news.com.au