The verandah | An Australian way of living

— An extract from The Verandah: An Australian Way of Living by Simon Griffiths

Just about everyone must have some old photographs tucked away, of family, friends or relatives enjoying life on a verandah somewhere in Australia. They might be taking tea, enjoying a meal, spending time with pets and family, or just having a drink on a balmy summer afternoon. A bundle of old photographs in black and white, or faded colour prints: smiles and enjoyment obvious on people’s faces. Some might not be remembered now – is that Great Uncle George sitting on the verandah, enjoying life? Or is it a distant cousin, half forgotten?

The verandah is one of the most iconic and enduring elements in Australian architecture. More than a design feature, it is an interface between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’, between private space and public life. The verandah is a cultural and climatic response to how Australians live in this vast country of ours, from the slab huts of the first settlers through miners’ cottages from the glory days of the gold rushes in Australia to large, imposing mansions built to announce the ‘arrival’ of the owners. They are a symbol of Australian life and a great place to take family photographs! Verandahs are as varied as the Australian continent.

The Verandah: An Australian Way is not an exhaustive catalogue of verandahs but rather a collection of some favourites. These are the verandahs I remember visiting over the years: large; small; grand; and not so grand. Some are from my childhood, that my father would drive past to admire, such as Corio Villa (see below). This must surely be one of my favourite houses, with a fabulous verandah. When we visited Geelong I was fascinated by the complexity and abundance of its pattern and beauty – it looked like a giant wedding cake…

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ABOVE: THE GARDEN OF ST ERTH, BLACKWOOD, VICTORIA – The cottage and garden that could be from central casting are home to The Diggers Club. The sandstone cottage was built by Cornish stonemason Matthew Rogers and named after his birthplace. The verandah provides a home to two old church pews, the perfect place to enjoy the garden with its many vistas and lushly planted borders.

DABEE, NEW SOUTH WALES – The property of convict, public servant and settler Richard Fitzgerald, Dabee’s verandahs, with sandstone flags and elegant verandah posts, wrap around the main house. The garden is filled with the otherworldly calls of peacocks. To the front of the house, seating is arranged to catch the best vistas of the garden and farmland beyond.

p49 — CORIO VILLA, GEELONG, VICTORIA – Prefabricated in 1855, Corio Villa was a Scottish flatpack prefabricated house destined for the colonies. Designed by architects and engineers Bell & Miller and manufactured in Edinburgh by Charles D. Young & Co., it was assembled in Geelong by Alfred Douglass in 1856 after its original purchaser, William Nairn Gray, died and left the house unclaimed. It is said that the house was put together without plans because they had been lost.

p60-61 — MULGOA COTTAGE, MULGOA, NEW SOUTH WALES – This bungalow was built circa 1810 by William Cox and then enlarged to create an encircling verandah. Weatherboard cladding of the exterior walls hides their brick nogconstruction while the original timber shingles of the sweeping roof were replaced with patent iron tiles.

THE STONES, CLYDESDAL, VICTORIA – The front verandah at The Stones is shown with primitive timber posts, while the verandah to the rear of the cottage is more enclosed and holds interesting furniture, rows of straw hats, collections of vases, pot plants and textiles.

THE OAKS, BLAKISTON, ADELAIDE HILLS, SOUTH AUSTRALIA – The wonderfully lush and unusual planting at The Oaks, circa 1870s–80s, is complemented by the bright striped canvas blinds, the large black fretwork brackets and typical Adelaide quoining around doors and windows. The blinds on the verandah can be rolled down to regulate the heat in summer. Where better to enjoy a snooze than on a verandah in a gently rocking hammock set in amongst old oak trees?