Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Description: The wealth which the future Sir James Dickson (1832-1901) acquired as an auctioneer and estate agent, enabled him to erect Toorak House on 20 acres overlooking the Brisbane River at Hamilton in 1864. It was named after another house in Melbourne which had been built by cousins. Dickson's distinguished career included service as Chairman of the Royal Bank of Queensland, several months as Premier in 1898, and in 1900 an appointment to the delegation led by Alfred Deakin which travelled to London to negotiate terms with the British Government, on the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Bill. Toorak served as his residence for almost forty years and was the venue where he entertained distinguished guests. It also was a family home where he lived with his (first) wife, Annie (pictured) and where their six sons and seven daughters were cared for by Chinese servants. Second son, Frederick (1859-1928) became Crown prosecutor in Brisbane.
View this image at the State Library of Queensland: http://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/9470