FERNBERG :: Residence of the Governor of Queensland
‘Fernberg’ was one of the first houses built in Brisbane’s Paddington area. It was built for German merchant Johann Heussler (1820-1907) in 1865. Heussler named his home Fernberg, giving it a name of German origin that means "far away mountain". At that time, Johann Heussler was responsible for initiating a wave of migration of German and Danish immigrants to Queensland, which included some of my ancestors.
Heussler leased the property in 1872 to Arthur Palmer, then the Premier of Queensland.
In the 1880s a Scottish pastoralist, John Stevenson, bought and developed Heussler’s home into a grand Victorian mansion, engaging architect Richard Gailey, to design the iconic tower and front section of 'Fernberg'.
Later, it became a symbol of the many dreams shattered during the economic decline of the 1890s and it was unoccupied and neglected. Then in 1910, it was acquired by the Queensland Government to be Government House, the residence of the Representative of the British Crown in Queensland. Since then, it and its surrounding estate has been the home and workplace of Queensland Governors, currently Her Excellency, the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM is the 27th Governor of Queensland and representative of His Majesty King Charles III, Queensland’s Head of State. (Dr Young is married to Professor Graeme Nimmo, formerly State Director of Microbiology for Pathology Queensland.)
FERNBERG :: Residence of the Governor of Queensland
‘Fernberg’ was one of the first houses built in Brisbane’s Paddington area. It was built for German merchant Johann Heussler (1820-1907) in 1865. Heussler named his home Fernberg, giving it a name of German origin that means "far away mountain". At that time, Johann Heussler was responsible for initiating a wave of migration of German and Danish immigrants to Queensland, which included some of my ancestors.
Heussler leased the property in 1872 to Arthur Palmer, then the Premier of Queensland.
In the 1880s a Scottish pastoralist, John Stevenson, bought and developed Heussler’s home into a grand Victorian mansion, engaging architect Richard Gailey, to design the iconic tower and front section of 'Fernberg'.
Later, it became a symbol of the many dreams shattered during the economic decline of the 1890s and it was unoccupied and neglected. Then in 1910, it was acquired by the Queensland Government to be Government House, the residence of the Representative of the British Crown in Queensland. Since then, it and its surrounding estate has been the home and workplace of Queensland Governors, currently Her Excellency, the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM is the 27th Governor of Queensland and representative of His Majesty King Charles III, Queensland’s Head of State. (Dr Young is married to Professor Graeme Nimmo, formerly State Director of Microbiology for Pathology Queensland.)