EULALIA, 75 McIlwraith Ave, Norman Park
This heritage-listed home on a hill with expansive views in what was then Coorparoo was built in 1889 for Judge Patrick Real, at the time when he was a successful lawyer with one of the largest practices in Queensland.
It was designed by John Hall and Son in the International Victorian Manor style and built by Worley and Whitehead of Ipswich. Patrick named the house Eulalia, a Greek name which he liked, meaning ‘well-spoken’. The stately family home also became a popular venue for society and charity functions.
The low-set villa is built of rendered brick, with 14 inch-thick walls (35.56cm) and a hipped roof of imported reddish slates. The entrance porch leads to a beautiful wide verandah with cast iron balustrades and timber posts with decorative brackets. The verandah continues along three sides of the house.
There are two rear wings, a high tank stand and a coach house as well as extensive gardens with gums, palm trees, bunya pines, jacarandas and bougainvillea and other species.
After Judge Real’s death in 1928 the house was closed and left vacant for over ten years and became known locally as ‘the haunted house’. By 1925 most of the land had been subdivided leaving a property of about 2.2 hectares (5.4 acres) surrounding the house.