When European immigrants settled in Australia they built houses in styles remembered from their homeland, and in varying degrees tempered them with practical and artistic adaptations to suit their new environment. Gradually styles developed which were characteristically Australian.
In this volume, the third in the series Historic Buildings of Australia' published in conjunction with the Australian Council of National Trusts, thirty-seven of Australia's historic houses are described and superbly illustrated. Chronologically the selection covers a hundred years from 1790 (Old Government House, Parramatta) to 1890 (Government House, ACT).
Stylistically the houses range from the simple Jolimont in Melbourne, through houses of Georgian tradition to Gothic houses, such as Vaucluse in Sydney, and mansions of the Victorian land boom. As well as houses of distinctive European lineage the coverage includes early examples of styles now regarded as traditionally Australian, such as Ralahyne, a fine instance of the Queensland development of a house on stilts surrounded by a splendid verandah. Then there are houses unique in themselves, for example the elaborate mansion of Illawarra in Melbourne, built in the last frenzied years of the land boom.