Wallflowers: Westbrook Homestead

Guest blogger: Anna Rowe - 2025 Digital collections catalyst 

Photographs of building exteriors are generally well represented in the historical record. Interiors not so much. Whether it was due to lighting levels or other technical challenges for early photographers, or lack of interest or access to spaces considered private, photographs of residential interiors from the nineteenth century are relatively rare. What’s even rarer is finding a wallpaper sample that matches exactly – and in colour! This was one of the interesting discoveries for the drawing room and library at Westbrook Homestead.

Westbrook Homestead

Westbrook Homestead is located in Westbrook, approximately ten kilometres southwest of the Toowoomba CBD (1). Established on land taken up by John 'Tinker' Campbell in 1841, Westbrook Station was one of the first pastoral runs on the Darling Downs. Westbrook Homestead was built by subsequent owners in 1867 and is entered in the Queensland Heritage Register (2).

During a tour of the Toowoomba district in 1891, photographer James Oakden Bain visited Westbrook Station and described the numerous features of the Homestead, including the interiors (4).

Amongst the associated outbuildings, Bain noted the presence of a gas room, in which gas was produced from gasoline for the purposes of illuminating the principal rooms, and a “dark room – yes, a real live photographer’s dark room” (6). 

Several years later, Bain Studios captured a series of images of Westbrook Station and Homestead that illustrate the house and its then occupants, the Jennings family, including the decorative interiors of the drawing room and library (7). 

The Drawing Room

The drawing room was considered a formal space for entertaining guests and thus often received the most decorative attention in the Victorian era home. Usually positioned adjacent to the dining room, reflecting its use as a “withdrawing” space for social interactions, the drawing room was considered a female domain and was decorated to achieve a soft, elegant and harmonious aesthetic (9).

Photographed in 1895, the drawing room at Westbrook featured a decorative scheme of patterned wallpapers, rugs and linoleum floor coverings, ornate timber joinery and furniture, and patterned and textured upholstery. The room was filled with delicate ceramic vases, figurines and other ornaments, and framed portraits and landscapes hanging on the walls. 
 

A closer look at the wallpaper designs reveals a delightful flowing floral filling and a relatively formal tiled floral dado. In a eureka moment, I was excited to discover that the dado is an exact match for a sample from the collection at Rouse Hill Estate in New South Wales (11) ! The gilt rich design comprises six repeating tiles containing floral motifs seemingly inspired by the Japanese style that was popular in the late nineteenth century (12).  Interestingly, it appears that the dado wallpaper at Westbrook Homestead may have been installed sideways.

I used Google Gemini Nano Banana AI to colourise the photograph of the Westbrook Homestead drawing room, based on the colours in the Rouse Hill Estate dado sample. A scheme in shades of cream, brown, green and rose pink, with accents of gold (difficult to achieve in digital form), considered suitable for a late Victorian drawing room (15).

As with the wallpaper at ‘Rinaultrie’, I then investigated the Westbrook Homestead drawing room filling pattern in more detail and reconstructed it using digital drawing techniques. This included viewing the original image using a digital magnifier, through which I observed that the flat, all-over pattern featured not three but four different flower types! Such multi-species composition was not uncommon for the era (17).

The Library

In contrast to the drawing room, the Victorian era home library was considered a male domain and was decorated in subdued tones, to achieve a ‘sober and thoughtful’ aesthetic (19).  It housed leather-bound books and other items that reflected the knowledge and interests of its occupant and was generally arranged to convey warmth and richness (20). 

The library at Westbrook Homestead featured a decorative scheme of patterned wallpapers, textiles and floor coverings, dark timber bookshelves and a desk positioned for natural light. It appears to have been located opposite the drawing room, a common arrangement for the era, as the library wallpaper pattern was visible in the mirror overhanging the drawing room fireplace (22). While the wallpapers in both rooms comprised a floral filling and bordered dado, the library patterns were relatively restrained and structured in their composition. 

The dado pattern comprised square and diamond tiles with floral motifs surrounded by intricate geometric patterns. Such designs were often printed on embossed paper, to imitate the tooled and panelled leather hangings from Japan (and later England) that were popular in the late nineteenth century (24).  Interestingly, it appears that the horizontal dado border was also used vertically, to line part of the wall behind the open bookshelves. Perhaps to cover an alteration or a change in furniture arrangement? Or to supplement insufficient quantities of the main dado wallpaper?

Using Google Gemini Nano Banana AI, I applied a traditional scheme of warm browns, creams and ochres, with accents of gold, to generate a colourisation that offers a glimpse of how the library might have looked in the late nineteenth century. 

As with the drawing room, I then reconstructed the library filling pattern in detail. It comprises a formal arrangement of stylised plant forms – possibly daisies or gerberas – with arched and interlocking stems and two-dimensional floral motifs. Similar examples can be found in the extensive works of late nineteenth century English designer, Lewis Foreman Day, made available online by the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, London (26). 
 

Wallflowers Interactive Experience – Coming Soon!

Interested in viewing the Westbrook Homestead and other historical wallpaper patterns in an unlimited variety of colours? In my next blog post I will share details about the Wallflowers Interactive Experience, where you can generate and download your favourite combination to use as your own computer or mobile screen ‘wallpaper’.

Anna Rowe
2025 Digital Collections Catalyst

Read other blogs by Anna Rowe:

• Wallflowers: Reimagining Historical Interiors
• Wallflowers: ‘Rinaultrie’, Toowoomba

Read other blogs by past Digital Collections Catalysts.

References

1. John Oxley Library Admin (2012) Queensland Place Histories: Westbrook, Toowoomba, State Library of Queensland website.
2. Heritage Branch, Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, Queensland Heritage Register entry for 600636 Westbrook Homestead.
3. Anon. (n.d.) Open carriage outside the Westbrook Station homestead, ca. 1877, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Negative number: 177011. 
4. Bain, J (1891) ‘Ramblings Around Toowoomba’, Darling Downs Gazette, 11 March 1891, p 4.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
8. Bain Studios photographer (1898) Jennings family and friends at leisure on the Westbrook Homestead front verandah, 1898, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0004.
9. Forge, S (1981) Victorian splendour: Australian interior decoration 1837-1901, Melbourne, VIC, Oxford University Press, p 36.
10. Bain Studios photographer (1895) Interior views of the Westbrook Homestead drawing room, 1895, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0006.
11. Anon. (n.d.) Wallpaper, unknown designer, c1890, Accession number: HR81/145, Rouse Hill Estate Collection, Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Museums of History New South Wales.
12. Murphy, P (1981) The decorated wall: eighty years of wallpaper in Australia, c. 1850-1930, compiled by Phyllis Murphy for the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales, pp19-21.
13. Bain Studios photographer (1895) Interior views of the Westbrook Homestead drawing room, 1895, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0006.
14. Anon. (n.d.) Wallpaper, unknown designer, c1890, Accession number: HR81/145, Rouse Hill Estate Collection, Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Museums of History New South Wales. Sample image rotated 90 degrees to the left, to match the orientation of Westbrook Homestead dado.
15. Evans, I, Lucas, C & Stapleton, I (1983) Colour schemes for old Australian houses, Glebe, NSW, The Flannel Flower Press Pty Ltd, p 66.
16. Bain Studios photographer (1895) Interior views of the Westbrook Homestead drawing room, 1895, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0006. Image colourised using Google Gemini Nano Banana.
17. Murphy, P (1987) Decorating with wallpaper: guide to conservation and restoration of buildings, compiled by Phyllis Murphy for the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), p16.
18. Rowe, A (2025) Reconstructed wallpaper pattern ‘Westbrook Homestead – Drawing Room’, digital drawing by Anna Rowe. Based on Bain Studios photographer (1895) Interior views of the Westbrook Homestead drawing room, 1895, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0006. Colours inspired by Anon. (n.d.) Wallpaper, unknown designer, c1890, Accession number: HR81/145, Rouse Hill Estate Collection, Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Museums of History New South Wales.
19. Forge, S (1981) Victorian splendour: Australian interior decoration 1837-1901, Melbourne, VIC, Oxford University Press, p 60.
20. Ibid.
21. Bain Studios photographer (1895) Interior views of the Westbrook Homestead library, 1895, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0005.
22. Forge, S (1981) Victorian splendour: Australian interior decoration 1837-1901, Melbourne, VIC, Oxford University Press, p 60.
23. Bain Studios photographer (1895) Interior views of the Westbrook Homestead library, 1895, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0005.
24. Murphy, P (1981) The decorated wall: eighty years of wallpaper in Australia, c. 1850-1930, compiled by Phyllis Murphy for the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales, p 19.
25. Bain Studios photographer (1895) Interior views of the Westbrook Homestead library, 1895, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0005.
26. Various designs by Lewis Foreman Day, Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, London.
27. Rowe, A (2025) Reconstructed wallpaper pattern ‘Westbrook Homestead – Library, digital drawing by Anna Rowe. Based on Bain Studios photographer (1895) Interior views of the Westbrook Homestead drawing room, 1895, 34609, Westbrook Station and Homestead and Jennings Family Photographs, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Image number: 34609-0001-0006. Colours inspired by Brace, Wallpaper design by Lewis Foreman Day, ca. 1887 - ca. 1900, Accession Number: E.23093-1957, Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, London.