Aberfeldy

Aberfeldy was designed by local Ipswich architect, Henry Wyman for William and Mary Kippen (nee Broughton), circa 1878. 

William Kippen was born in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland in 1850 and he came to Australia with his parents in 1855. They settled in Texas, Queensland but in 1862 William Kippen and his widowed mother moved to Ipswich. He joined the Queensland Times newspaper, moving through the ranks from compositor to reporter and eventually, between 1914 and 1938, he served as chairman of directors. 

The Kippen's spent 12 years retired at Southport, but later they returned to Ipswich where Mrs. Kippen died in 1938 and Mr. Kippen died in 1940.

Aberfeldy has been enlarged and its roof-line has grown more elaborate since it was built.

Aberfeldy, a low-set timber house, is distinctive because of its complex gable roof-line and the emphasis granted to its decorative features. Its facade has twin projecting gables, finished with cast-iron finials and timber pendants, which are backed by fine timber bargeboard fretwork. The entry is defined by a frontispiece, which projects from the verandah roof, and which has a decorative timber fretwork pediment and a cast-iron fringe to its ridge. Aligned with the frontispiece is a gablet, set centrally on the roof ridge which spans between the gable projections. The gablet and the frontispiece have finials which match those of the main gables. Set into each of the main gable walls is a small, louvred ventilator panel. The house has a chimney with a terracotta pot. It has verandahs on three sides, shaded by separate straight roofing. Its front verandah features cast-iron balustrades and fringing. Between the support posts, which have moulded capitals, are infill lattice panels. Window hoods at the side of the house have timber fretwork and brackets. Details of the rear of the structure were not visible from the street. Two palms planted at either side of the front entry path contribute to the house's streetscape value; planting these palms symmetrically seems to have popular in Ipswich. The house also retains an arched picket fence, spanning between support posts which have a bevelled head, beneath which is a moulded surround.