Hanworth on the Heathville Estate, East Brisbane

East Brisbane's development as a residential suburb began with the subdivision of 66 acres held by J. Darragh, which was one of the first holdings to be subdivided in Brisbane. A few yards away along Lytton Road from the junction with Heath Road stands what is believed to be the oldest home in East Brisbane, according to article published in the Courier-Mail newspaper on 27 May 1950.

Resident of early East Brisbane remember it as a succession of green paddocks, bounded on the east by Norman Creek, which wound through rich alluvial flats where kangaroos and wallabies grazed in the early days. Hanworth was a low-set rambling brick house, with a wide driveway, built in the '1860's and designed by one of Queensland's first architects, James Cowlishaw.

The property extended for a quarter of a mile to Norman Creek and was built by Captain Heath, R.N., who was the Marine Board chairman from 1869 until his retirement in 1890. It remained in the possession of the Heath family until Mr. Joseph Tritton bought the whole estate in 1912 and later sub-divided and sold it.

In 1913 Mrs. M. M. Wienholdt bought this historic old homestead and converted it into a home for retired gentlewomen, appropriately she changed the name to 'The Hospice"

After many years of personal attention to the institution, Mrs. Wienholdt, in the spirit of philanthropy, made a gift of the home to the Theosophical Society, in memory of her late mother.

Further information:

• Article by Clem Lack Jr. from the This is Brisbane Series