Trove Tuesday : 143 Station Road Silkstone

Searching through the Pictures, photos, objects collection on Trove today I came across an old 1890s photograph of John Livingstone AULD, his wife Susannah AULD nee MILLS, and five of their children. Interesting the photograph is taken outside their home located at 143 Station Road in Silkstone (Ipswich, Queensland).

John and Susannah Auld at their home at 143 Station Road, Silkstone, Ipswich, 1890
Image courtesy of Picture Ipswich, Ipswich City Council

The description included with the image Metadata states:

The Auld family previously lived at ‘Waterstown’, Hill Street, North Ipswich and West Moreton paddock (Swanbank) and Thompson Street, Silkstone. Auld was a partner in the Aberdare Coal Mine at Ipswich. He was also a prolific poet with many of his poems appearing in the Brisbane newspapers. One of his poems is reproduced in Ray Whitmore’s book ‘Coal in Queensland’.

A direct link to the entry on Trove can be found here.

Does the house still exist?

A search using Google Street View can reveal the current status of a house. In this case, navigating to the street address and turning on street view reveals a house of similar structure to the one captured in the photograph of 1890.

143 Station Road
Google Street View - image captured March 2014

Viewing from different angles from the road, although not clear in the above screenshot, shows the three dark doors, veranda[h], as well as the unique wooden crosses on the front wall.

Research into the Land Titles could also reveal further information about when they purchased and how long the AULD family owned the property. A good starting point for land research in Queensland can be found at State Library of Queensland - Land records ...but that is a task for another day.