Made internationally famous by the Australian children's TV show Bluey, the old Queenslander house is an iconic piece of Brisbane architecture. Constructed largely between the mid 1800s to the 1950s, the Queenslander is a design that has endured and can be found everywhere in the inner suburbs of Brisbane, Toowoomba and many historic Queensland towns.

This Queenslander highlights some of the most stereotypical features of the housing design. It is a simple worker's cottage with weatherboard timber walls, a battened verandah and a butterfly staircase. This combination of battened verandah and butterfly staircase gives the humble Queenslander a feeling of grandeur. The gabling is typical of the design, though is not present on all Queenslanders and gives the entrance a feeling of colonial era luxury.

If you inspect the walls adjacent to the verandah carefully, you will note the VJ walls, which give the houses so much of their character. The colour scheme for this house is authentic. Painted or unpainted tin rooves, white stairs with blue highlights and mustard coloured walls can be found on many Queenslanders in South East Queensland. Queenslanders are traditionally built on white concrete stumps to prevent them from getting flooded by large annual rainfall, though many modern renovations have built in underneath to increase the usable space.

Inside you will find a kitchen and dining room, two bedrooms and a newly renovated bathroom. Out back is an old Hills Hoist, a type of clothesline pioneered in Australia which were found in most backyards big enough to contain them.

Located on an average suburban block, the Queenslander has a Jacaranda tree in the front yard and an old gum tree in the back. The Jacaranda is an imported weed from South Africa, but nevertheless proliferate across South East Queensland and are celebrated annually in springtime festivals. Gum trees are an Australian native that can be found throughout much of the country and can grow extremely tall. Next to the gum tree is a birdbath which has attracted the local wildlife.

The roof can come off the house and the house and yard can be hinged open for play purposes.

While this building and yard are not based on any specific real building, it combines many of the features that are found in South East Queensland housing and I really hope that you enjoy the build as much as I enjoyed making it.