Information

Archerfield House was the homestead for the huge property that included all of Forest Lake and much more (though not Archerfield). Henry Farley selected the land in 1876 and built the earliest dwelling in the wider region. The house was described in a sales advertisement in 1881: ‘ARCHERFIELD… Beautifully situated on a rising ground, in a climate which, from the elevation, is much breezier and cooler than that of Brisbane, is the dwelling-house, a well-finished two-storied structure containing twelve rooms with verandahs, balcony, porch, and hall. The building is well furnished and in excellent repair… The other improvements are good and substantial, and entirely consistent with a really high-class family residence, the stables, coach-house, fowl house, and all outbuildings being in perfect repair…’.

Over the years, several companies bought Archerfield Station and their managers lived in the homestead. Michael (Stumpy) Durack was perhaps the only owner to actually live on the property (1882-86) when two Durack children were born at Archerfield House. Archerfield House burned down in 1928 and was replaced by a caretaker’s cottage. The site is now Homestead Park, Forest Lake.

Citations

The Queenslander, 5 November 1881; Vicki Mynott, Before Forest Lake, Inala Heights: Richlands, Inala & Suburbs History Group, 2017.

Image Citations

Archerfield House. The Queenslander, 4 January 1913, p 23.

Map References

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