BH 3.4 Landowners 1854 - 1855 James Gibbon

James Gibbons

James Gibbon (1819–1888) was a land speculator and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.

James Gibbon was born in 1819 in Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. He immigrated to Victoria in 1852 and became a merchant. In 1860 he came to Brisbane and speculated in urban property. He amassed considerable land, including a large estate at Teneriffe land on which the heritage-listed Elder Smith Woolstore and Roseville house, were built. 

His own home Teneriffe House on the top of hill is also now heritage-listed. He is said to be the person who named the area Teneriffe after Tenerife in the Canary Islands. He was a member of the congregation of the Holy Trinity Church there.

Politics

Gibbon was a candidate for the Queensland Legislative Assembly in East Moreton in the inaugural 1860 colonial election, but was not successful.

James Gibbon was appointed to the Queensland Legislative Council on 22 February 1866. He held the appointment until 19 February 1887 when his seat was declared vacant as he had not attended Parliament for some years, questions about his non-attendance having been raised as early as 1885.

Later life

In about 1885, Gibbon returned to England, where he died in April 1888

His home

This large hilltop residence was built iby James Gibbon, Member of the Queensland Legislative Council and property speculator. The house was designed by Melbourne architect William Henry Ellerker, who had won the Queensland Parliament House competition in 1864, and who practised briefly in Brisbane from 1864 to 1866.

In 1854 Gibbon had purchased about 48 hectares of land along the ridge dividing New Farm from Newstead, and named the property Teneriffe. He resided at a number of addresses, including Eskgrove at Kangaroo Point and Kingsholme in nearby New Farm, until commissioning the construction of Teneriffe House in 1865.

When completed at a cost of £1,715, Teneriffe House was described as a residence of very superior character, occupying a prominent hilltop position from which it could be seen for many miles. It was constructed of rendered brick on a stone foundation, with ten feet wide verandahs on all sides, and a slate roof. Folding doors separated the large drawing and dining rooms, which each measured 18 feet by 16 feet. The kitchen, pantries and servants' quarters were detached.

Teneriffe House is a large, single-storeyed brick and timber residence located on a hill overlooking the Bulimba reach of the Brisbane River. The principal entrance is at the rear facing Teneriffe Drive, as the front of the house takes advantage of the river views.

The house comprises four sections:

The core (1865 & 1880s) is a well-proportioned, rendered brick building with a hipped roof of corrugated iron and stone foundations. It is encircled by wide verandahs with slender cast-iron columns. The front verandah is 6 metres deep and has cedar fretwork trusses and a sprung floor. The western, or rear, verandah has been enclosed. Dominating the western facade is a rendered portico with entablature, shaped pediment and decorative urns. Beyond the portico a formal entrance leads to a central vestibule, from which radiate four large rooms with cedar joinery and marble mantelpieces. Wide French doors with tall arched panels of glass open onto the verandahs from the two rear rooms. The large front room is divided by an ornamented archway and folding cedar doors. It has large step out windows which telescope into decorative timber panels. The main building now contains two flats.

Attached to the southern end of the rear verandah is a small masonry strong room, with a built-in safe. Adjacent to the strongroom, a timber wing runs east to west. This may be the original 1865 service wing. The verandah along its southern side has been enclosed, but that on the northern side survives. This wing has been converted into two flats, but some of the rooms retain c. 1920s timber panelling and plasterwork

http://www.mustdobrisbane.com/visitor-info-arts-culture-history/teneriffe-house-teneriffe


He has so many newspaper articles about his  life, but in 1853 and 1854 he was well positioned in the Colony.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

The Moreton Bay Courier (Brisbane, Qld. : 1846 - 1861) Saturday 10 December 1853 p 2 Article

... attended by most of the influential persons in town, and Mr. James Gibbon was called to the chair, and

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE. PUBLIC DINNER. TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNORGENERAL.

The Moreton Bay Courier (Brisbane, Qld. : 1846 - 1861) Saturday 15 April 1854 p 2 Article

... his health (prolonged applause, ami a voice " First Governor of Moreton Buy.") Mr. James Gibbon said  

CROWN LANDS BEYOND THE SETTLED DISTRICTS. (ACCEPTED TENDERS FOR RUNS.) (From the Government Gazette)

The Moreton Bay Courier (Brisbane, Qld. : 1846 - 1861) Saturday 8 July 1854 p 2 Article

... ," lo- ,'. James Gibbon, 97 acres and^ perches, dit c-, ,ioîj 32. James England, C2 acres* l'rood 24 ... rood 4 perches. Ditto, 'ditto, 1 rood 4 perches. Ditto, ditto, 1 rood 4 patches. Jame Gibbon Brisbane 1 

MORETON BAY. ABSTRACT OF A BILL (As amended in Select Committee.) T[?] ESTABLISH AND INCORPORATE A COMPANY, TO BE CALLED "THE MORETON BAY IMMIGRATION AND LAND COMPANY."

The Moreton Bay Courier (Brisbane, Qld. : 1846 - 1861) Saturday 12 May 1855 p 4 Article

... to say, Robert Cribb, James Swan, James Gibbon, William Hobbs, Benjamin Cribb, John Markwell, D. R ... Moffat and other«, 40a lr 20p. Jame Gibbon, Ohurehill, 30a 30p. Do do 32a 2r 37. Do Stanley, 9a 3r 17

His relationship is now with the Cribbs, and he also was a property speculator.

He was a director of "The Moreton Bay Immigration and Land Company"


Property speculator James Gibbon bought most of the originally available land on the Teneriffe hill.