Elamang, Watson Street, Booval

'Elamang' was designed by renowned Ipswich architect, George Brockwell Gill. The house was built for Richard Patrick Watson, on property formerly owned by J. W. Daisey.  C. A. H. Watson lived in a house that was on the property before' Elamang' was constructed.

The cost of the house was £1200. T. J. Humphreys was the contractor and sub-contractors were Messrs. Cuthbert (iron-work), Catlow (paining), S. Langdon (brick-work), and Jamieson (plastering).

The Queensland Times report on the new residence on 22 February 1898 provided the following detailed description of 'Elamang'.

The residence is truly "beautiful for situation," standing in an elevated position, and catching the refreshing "sea breeze;" while the substantial nature of the house provides a snug and secure shelter when Boreas blows a ruder blast. Mr. Watson intends to lay out the grounds in front of the villa, which stands a little farther back from the road than did the old house; and suitable fencing and entrance gates will, ere long, be constructed. The main building contains seven rooms, the dimensions of which are as follows: Drawing-room, 18ft x 15ft; Dining-room, 22ft x 16ft; bedroom No. 1, 18ft x 15ft; bedrooms Nos. 2 to 5, 15ft x 11ft and 14ft x 12ft. The wing contains on the ground floor a large kitchen, servant's bedroom, pantry, bathroom, lavatory &c.; and in the basement a spacious laundry and wash-house, fitted with washing troughs and copper, as well as a large larder. The apartments in the basement have a cement floor throughout. An octagon work-room was built at the northern end of the eastern verandah. A fine large verandah, 9ft. wide, runs all round the building, broken at the angles by octagonal bays, with hipped roofs, finished with iron terminals. The approach steps, which are of brick cement rendered, are treated boldly, the brick walls finishing with circular sweeps against the cemented piers at the bottom steps. The entrance porch, which projects 3ft. from the face of the verandah line, is a distinct and beautiful feature in itself. The sweeps supporting the framing, the turned balusters of freize panel, and the large boards and finial are bold in design. The entrance doorway is a fine one, and looks exceedingly well with its solid cedar door and richly-glazed upper panels, and the embossed glass, glass panels, side-lights, and fans are of particularly choice design. The hall is about 30ft. by 7ft. 6in. It is broken in the middle by a semi-circular archway, finished with large embossed mouldings and bases, archivolts, and keystones, and panelled on the soffite. the passage in the rear is 22ft. by 5ft. 6in., and is shut off from the hall by means of a tinted glass door and side-lights. All the rooms are well furnished, the doors are six panelled, and the openings are embellished with handsome cedar architraves and turned bosses. The best rooms are treated with large compound cornices, giving a striking appearance to the apartments. The drawing and dining rooms and the two best bed-rooms are furnished with fine marble chimney-pieces and tiled grates. The walls of the hall, passage and dining-room are varnished, and the other apartments throughout the main building are painted appropriate colours. The roofs are of iron, and the ridges are surmounted with cast-iron crestings and standards. The projecting eaves of the roofs are carried on large framed pine brackets. The verandahs are finished with cast iron freize-work and palisadings of choice designs, and the roofs are lined and painted on the under side. Ample provision has been made for a supply of good water, there being six 1000-gallon tanks on the premises. The water is laid on from there to the bathroom, kitchen, wash-house and pantry. the chimney stacks are rendered in cement, and panelled out and fitted with cornices and terra-cotta pots. the windows in the main building are telescopic, the front one tripled and finished on the outside with archivolts stuck on moulded caps. There still remains a few finishing touches to be imparted to the structure, and when these are completed and the grounds laid out, the villa will, without doubt, be a splendid ornament to the suburb in which it is situated.