Now is your chance to get better acquainted with a Redlands Coast icon.
Following the completion of restoration works, the heritage-listed Willards Farm on Birkdale Community Precinct has opened for walking tours guided by Redland City Council’s Local History team.
The tours are currently being held fortnightly on Wednesdays (see online for dates and times at redland.qld.gov.au), with each one-hour session providing fascinating insights into the property, the families that once called it home, and the social history of the period.
Tours also invite visitors to discover how Council has meticulously restored the site’s historic buildings, honouring their original heritage value and enabling the community to stroll the grounds as though they’ve stepped back into the pioneering era.
Protecting heritage
Restoration works on the property were guided by heritage specialists, with traditional construction techniques used where possible to retain the site’s charm and historical character.
Timber panelling was milled on site, for example, and timber dowels were used in place of nails in the milking shed to replicate original building methods.
In total, the restoration involved more than 600 individual design decisions, each carefully reviewed and approved by heritage experts to ensure the site’s historical integrity was preserved.
The restoration incorporated the farmhouse, fencing, milking shed, garage, and the elevated water tank.
Several artifacts were recovered from the property during the restoration process, many of which are now on display in the farmhouse and available to view during tours.
These artifacts include doll clothes, a toy farmer figure from the 1920s–1940s, a swatch of knitted fabric, a lock mechanism, and shards of green glass.
Looking to the future
As one of the last remaining examples of the region’s farming and agricultural history, Willards Farm holds significant heritage and cultural importance for the city and the broader region.
Council’s forward-thinking decision to purchase the property in 2016 has ensured that both current and future generations can explore and celebrate this history with their friends and families.
At the time of Council’s purchase, the property had fallen into a state of disrepair and was facing the possibility of demolition to make way for housing development.
Now the property has a bright future, with tours just the start of Council’s plans to get the community better acquainted with the homestead.
Willards Farm is also set to become a key part of the broader 62-hectare Birkdale Community Precinct (BCP) as it takes shape in the coming years.
Positioned off Old Cleveland Road East, the BCP is Council’s largest and most diverse community project to date and will see the site transformed into parklands, cultural spaces, heritage experiences and much more.
It is planned to become a place with a space for everyone and will allow the community to enjoy authentic and unique family-friendly experiences without having to leave the city.
Willards Farm tours are open to adults and children, with tickets currently available for purchase for $10 plus a booking fee through Redland City Council’s website at redland.qld.gov.au.
The tour is open to people of all abilities, with a lift and accessible toilets installed on site to ensure everyone can enjoy the Willards Farm experience.
The tours have proved very popular since bookings opened in mid-April this year.
Feedback from visitors has included that they are appreciating learning about the early farming community – including our complex social history – and stories about the Willard family.
From the 1860s to now and into the future
- The former farm is believed to have been developed by the Willard family in phases from the 1860s
- James Willard was an agricultural labourer from England and his wife Margaret Jones a servant from Ireland
- The Willards milled timber on site, grew crops, and operated a dairy herd before also opening a cattle dip on the land in the early 1900s
- The original farmhouse consisted of a two-room house with verandas and a separate kitchen wing
- In about 1910, another wing was connected to the farmhouse, adding two extra rooms to the home
- Some features of the property suggest that the Willards were relatively prosperous, with the mechanical milking machine considered to be a luxury at the time
- Other previous owners of the property over the years included the Cotton, Daniel, Brook and Brandt families
- The property entered the Queensland Heritage Register in March 2022, recognising its significance as an example of early Queensland agricultural history
- Willards Farm covers about 8200 sqm and will form one of the seven hubs set to be delivered within the broader 62-hectare Birkdale Community Precinct.
