Wallflowers: ‘Rinaultrie’, Toowoomba

Guest blogger: Anna Rowe - 2025 Digital collections catalyst 

When it came to picking wallflowers to consider in detail, it was hard to go past ‘Rinaultrie’ in Toowoomba – home to the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. ‘Rinaultrie’ is a bit of a mystery, as the exact location of the house is unclear, but from the moment I zoomed in and saw its beautiful floral wallpaper, I was intrigued and had to know more!

Exploring Colour and Pattern

Colour is an important interior design element. It can influence how we perceive, experience and even interact with a space. Colourisation can be an effective tool in bringing black and white images of historical interiors from places like ‘Rinaultrie’ to life. Traditionally done by hand, in recent times AI-powered applications and other digital tools have enabled the quick and easy visualisation of images from the past in colour.

However, image colourisation has its limitations, particularly in representing the detailed patterns of decorative finishes such as wallpapers, which can be sometimes appear as textural background elements.

To better understand and visualise the wallpaper pattern at ‘Rinaultrie’, I digitally reconstructed it in detail. I began by analysing its composition, then drew the lines and shapes as vectors, assigning and grouping layers based on the tonal qualities of the original photograph. Some interpretation was required, with artistic licence used where elements were unclear. This digital reconstruction enables the pattern to be viewed at any scale and in unlimited colourways and will form part of the Wallflowers project digital interactive experience. 

The wallpaper features a bold and flowing floral pattern, reminiscent of the stylised nature-inspired designs by William Morris and his associates from the Arts and Crafts Movement. (4) The flowers appear to be chrysanthemums – a popular floral emblem in Japan and the Japanese-inspired designs of the Aesthetic Movement. (5) Each flower is approximately 16 cm wide!

Without physical evidence, the exact colours of the wallpaper at ‘Rinaultrie’ will never be known. However, similar wallpaper and textile samples from the era held in collections at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London and the Museums of History NSW, offer clues to potential palettes and have inspired the following colourways

Where was (or perhaps is) ‘Rinaultrie’?

The images of interiors at ‘Rinaultrie’ are part of a collection of 88 glass plate negatives depicting various business premises, military camps and portraits, house interiors and family groups at weddings, picnics and in gardens, in Brisbane and the Darling Downs. The collection description notes that the family groups may be the Annand family, and the home interiors are of their home 'Rinaultrie' in Campbell Street, Toowoomba in the early 1900s. (12) 

Several generations of the Annand family lived on Campbell Street over time. William Annand and his wife Janet (nee Douglas) bought portion 32, located at what is now the intersection of Campbell Street and Ruthven Street, at the first Government land sale after the town of Toowoomba was surveyed. (14) Having accidentally purchased the wrong portion, they relocated their existing homestead to the northern side of Campbell Street, where they resided until William passed in 1882 and Janet passed in 1895, aged 86. Their sons, William and James, lived on Campbell Street at that time. (15)

James Annand married Harriet (nee Gadsby) in 1871, and they had four sons and one daughter. (16) Their eldest son, Frederick William Gadsby (FWG) Annand, married Helen (nee Robinson) in 1898, and two of their sons were born at ‘Elgin’, Campbell Street, in 1899 and 1901. (17)

In 1907, FWG Annand sold a villa residence on 1 acre and 17 perches, on Campbell Street, and relocated to Brisbane. (20) However, his parents continued to live on Campbell Street, until William passed away in 1917 and Harriet passed away in 1940, not long after moving to Brisbane. (21) Her residence was referred to as ‘Rinaultrie’ in 1917, when Gunner Penhallurick, who married her daughter Elspeth, was a guest there. (22)

To add to the mystery, a search of newspapers from the time – thanks to Trove – also revealed a ‘Rinaultrie’ at Wallace Street, Newtown, Toowoomba, that was home to the Drew family from c1909 until 1928. (25) Although it is not unheard of for there to be two houses of the same name in the one town.

Wherever ‘Rinaultrie’ was (or perhaps is), one thing is apparent, its owners had fabulous taste in wallpapers! 

Call out for your photographs!

Do you know more about ‘Rinaultrie’? If you have information to share, or photographs or other materials that document historical interiors in Queensland, please get in touch via qldmemory@slq.qld.gov.au.

Anna Rowe
2025 Digital Collections Catalyst

Read other blogs by Anna Rowe:

• Wallflowers: Reimagining Historical Interiors

Read other blogs by past Digital Collections Catalysts.

References

1. University of Queensland Alumni Association (n.d.) Sitting room at Rinaultrie showing period furniture and decoration, c1900,  6129, Toowoomba and Dalby District glass plate negatives, 1900-1930, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 6129-0001-0016.
2. University of Queensland Alumni Association (n.d.) Dining room of the home Rinaultrie showing table setting and period furniture, ca. 1900,  6129, Toowoomba and Dalby District glass plate negatives, 1900-1930, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 6129-0001-0009.
3. University of Queensland Alumni Association (n.d.) Drawing room at Rinaultrie with piano and period furniture, ca. 1900,  6129, Toowoomba and Dalby District glass plate negatives, 1900-1930, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 6129-0001-0018.
4. Anon (2025) William Morris and wallpaper design, Victoria and Albert Museum, London;  Morris, W (1877) Chrysanthemum wallpaper pattern, Accession number: E.802-1915, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
5. Calver, A (2021) The V&A Source Book of Pattern and Ornament, Thames & Hudson, London, p 44; Anon (2025) An Introduction to the Aesthetic Movement, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.  
6. Colours inspired by: Morris, W (n.d.) Anemone wallpaper pattern in yellow flower colourway, late 19th century, Accession number: E.734-1915, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
7. Colours inspired by: Anon (n.d.) Wallpaper, unknown designer, c1890s, Accession number: L2024/496-1:2, John and Phyllis Murphy Collection, Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Museums of History New South Wales.
8. Colours inspired by: Steiner & Co (1903) Furnishing fabric, Accession number: T.171-1957, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
9. Colours inspired by: Anon (n.d.) Wallpaper, unknown designer, c1890s, Accession number: L2023/44, John and Phyllis Murphy Collection, Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Museums of History New South Wales.
10. Colours inspired by: Morris, W (n.d.) Anemone wallpaper pattern in blue flower colourway, late 19th century, Accession number: E.736-1915, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
11. Colours inspired by: Dearle, JH (n.d.) Granville wallpaper, late 19th century, Accession number: E.724-1915, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
12. University of Queensland Alumni Association (n.d.) 6129, Toowoomba and Dalby District glass plate negatives, 1900-1930, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
13. Town of Toowoomba Map, 1885, Queensland Surveyor-General’s Office, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
14. ‘Obituary. Deaths of Two Old colonists. Mrs. William Annand. Mrs. James Galton.’ Settler and South Queensland Pioneer, 30 November 1895, p 15; Town of Toowoomba Map, 1885, Queensland Surveyor-General’s Office, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
15. Ibid.
16. ‘Married.’ Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser, 25 February 1871, p 2; ‘Mrs Harriet Annand Dead.’ Telegraph, 10 May 1940, p 7; ‘Obituary. Mrs. Harriet Annand. Pioneer of Downs.’ Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette, 14 May 1940, p 3.
17. ‘Wedding Chimes.’ Darling Downs Gazette, 4 June 1898, p 7; ‘Birth.’ Darling Downs Gazette, 20 November 1899, p 2; Laverty, J (n.d.) Frederick William Annand (1872-1958), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University.
18. Wedding party posed in a garden, ca. 1900, 6129, Toowoomba and Dalby District glass plate negatives, 1900-1930, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 6129-0001-0020.
19. Formal portrait of a large family group outside a timber house, ca. 1900, 6129, Toowoomba and Dalby District glass plate negatives, 1900-1930, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 6129-0001-0010.
20. ‘Property Sales.’ Brisbane Courier, 28 September 1907, p 2.
21. ‘Obituary. Mrs. Harriet Annand. Pioneer of Downs.’ Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette, 14 May 1940, p 3.
22. ‘Penhallurick – Annand.’ Toowoomba Chronicle, 16 February 1917, p 3; ‘Social Notes and Doings.’ Toowoomba Chronicle, 3 November 1917, p 6.
23. Portrait of a large family group including two soldiers posed in a garden, 6129, Toowoomba and Dalby District glass plate negatives, 1900-1930, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 6129-0001-0006.
24. Formal portrait of a large family group in a garden, 6129, Toowoomba and Dalby District glass plate negatives, 1900-1930, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 6129-0001-0007.
25. ‘Marriage.’ Nichols – Drew, Toowoomba Chronicle, 20 March 1909, p 2; ‘Important Freehold Property Sale.’ Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette, 29 March 1928, p 12.