A townhouse development threatening one of Moreton Bay’s oldest homes has lapsed

Father time may have saved one of the region’s most historic buildings from high density development.

French/Mole farmhouse at 110 Dayboro Road, Petrie. Picture: Google

A TOWNHOUSE development that was threatening one of Moreton Bay’s most historic properties may have run out of steam.

The site of the old French/Mole house at 110 Dayboro Rd, built around 1876 and believed to be one of the oldest in the area, has been the subject of a townhouse development approval since 2016.

Housing estate approved next to the historic Gordon family farmhouse

Application to develop the pineapple farm at Strathpine has been submitted

A deadline for construction of the project passed last month and Moreton Bay Council has rejected the applicant’s request for more time.

“Council’s delegate recently refused a request to extend the currency period of this approval for a further three years,” a council spokeswoman said.

“Subsequently, the approval has lapsed. The applicant has an opportunity to appeal Council’s decision.”

The French/Mole house at 110 Dayboro Road, believed to be from 1976. Picture: Moreton Bay Regional Council

If no appeal comes forward, the previously approved townhouse development will not go ahead on the historic site, and the applicant would have to start all over again if they wanted to develop it.

The house is listed on the North Pine Historical Society’s self-guided tour of Petrie.

According to the society, Samuel Abel French purchased 15 acres and 10 perches of land on Dayboro Road on April 8, 1876.

It is believed the house was built a short time later by James Foreman, the pioneer farmer and carpenter who had settled in the area later occupied by the North Pine Country Park.

Sam French farmed the land from the 1870s, and there are many references to “French’s Farm” during this period.

In 1934, the property transferred to Samuel James Mole, the grandson of Sam’s second wife, Tamson Eliza Bunbury.

The Mole family owned the property right up to 2011 when it was sold to Lynne and Lon Argent for $360,000 in December 2011, according to Corelogic.

The French/Mole house at 110 Dayboro Road, believed to be from 1976. Picture: Moreton Bay Regional Council

The Argents got approval to develop the property for nine townhouses in 2016 and sold it in April 2017 to Puneet and Seema Agarwal for $900,000.

A real estate listing by LJ Hooker Redcliffe in 2016 stated the property was first owned by one of Brisbane’s earliest pioneers Andrew Petrie, however this was not the case.

The Agarwal family has so far been unsuccessful in meeting the council’s project deadline and progressing the development further.

There was some suggestion that the historic home, which was renovated some years ago, would be relocated prior to any development occurring.

Several residents living near the property raised concern about the townhouse development, saying the historic home should remain on that site as the land itself has historical significance.

There were also concerns about parking, road access to the townhouse development and traffic should the development go ahead.