Lined with an iconic pub, retail showrooms, a couple of abandoned petrol stations and even a doctor's surgery, there's no doubt Queanbeyan's Uriarra Road is a fascinating timeline of the development of my home town.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But perhaps the most fascinating property on Uriarra Road, once a busy thoroughfare for people heading to work to literally build the capital from the ground up, is this art deco-style home located at number 24.
It was built by the late Jack Whelan, a Tasmanian who moved to Queanbeyan in the early 1920s to work on Parliament House. He later worked on the construction of Capitol Theatre in Manuka and the American Embassy in Yarralumla.
Whelan was a master bricklayer and purchased the block of land at 24 Uriarra Road, then located on the outskirts of Queanbeyan, in the early 1950s to build a "dream home" for his family.
The home was designed in the art deco style of the 1930s - known for geometric forms, gleaming lacquered and veneered surfaces and far-flung influences from Egypt to antiquity.
It took Whelan 10 years to complete the grand home, which sprawls over three levels and features bedrooms with private balconies, huge decorative globe lights sourced directly from Old Parliament House and a Gatsby-style entertaining room on the ground floor.
And now, the house that Jack built, is on the market.
The property has changed hands a number of times since the Whelan family moved out in 1984 and current owner John McManus is reluctantly selling the unique home to downsize.
"It's been designed and built with so much love and care and commitment," McManus says.
"You can tell the commitment to precision, the loving care that's gone into its construction and the thought that's gone into its design.
"It's 55 years old and it's just so solid and crack free, and just beautifully, beautifully built."
McManus says he can "feel" the influence of Jack's Whelan's work on a number of iconic Canberra buildings in the design and construction of the home. The property is double brick and includes a feature wall of bricks from the former Canberra Brickworks.
"When it comes to the art deco design, you can imagine that architecture, and the work of architects like [first Commonwealth Government architect] John Smith Murdoch, would have played heavily in Jack's conscience," McManus says.
Located next door to Dr Bills' surgery - also built by Jack Whelan and a busy takeaway in the 1970s - and diagonally opposite the old Sunrise Motel, McManus says thousands of Queanbeyanites who drive past the grand house every day have probably never even noticed it.
"It's 30 metres back from the road and hidden behind a wrought iron gate," he says.
"Before I bought it, I drove past it on my way to work for seven or eight years but never noticed it."
McManus would love to see the house purchased by a young family who love to entertain and might want to bring a couple of big dogs with them (at 1100 metres, the block feels like an estate).
"It's truly a special property," he says. "With a touch of beautiful Canberra history."
24 Uriarra Road will be auctioned by Luton Properties on 11 August.
