The story behind the historic Queenslander destroyed by storm

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A historic Queenslander destroyed by a severe storm that lashed Brisbane was already partially demolished, and what remains is now beyond saving.

The unoccupied home at Highgate Hill, in Brisbane’s inner south, slipped off its pilings in the strong winds on Sunday afternoon.

The severe storm caused power outages to almost 75,000 homes in the greater Brisbane region, with nearly 266,000 lightning strikes taking down 369 wires and three substations.

A property at Highgate Hill in Brisbane’s inner south has been destroyed in a severe storm.

Taking in Brisbane as well as Toowoomba, South Burnett, Gympie and North Burnett, almost 90,000 homes were knocked out.

The riverfront home at Highgate Hill was built in the 1930s and was described as a “renovator’s delight” in a 2021 listing.

The property was eventually sold for $3,250,000, according to Domain.

Construction workers were on site on Monday assessing the damage from the storm.

A property in Highgate Hill in Brisbane before recent construction.

A worker confirmed to this masthead that following another inspection the rest of the home would be scheduled for demolition.

Local Ian Curr said Sunday’s storm was “intense” and many locals parked under a nearby overpass and on the kerbs under trees in attempts to avoid hail damage.

The house proved a spectacle, with people driving past to check out the damage most of Monday morning.

Another local is also renovating a home, but not raising it. The storm damaged their home, causing water to leak through the roof. Their son told them it could be worse and showed them the Dudley Street house.

The proposed development of a property on Dudley Street in Highgate Hill, Brisbane, that has since been destroyed in a storm.

The property is part of the traditional building character overlay in a character residential zone, but a development application lodged in 2023 said it was set back from the road and did not have a “prominent visual relationship to the street”.

The applicants noted a vacant lot in front of the home would likely result in it being less visible in future. They further noted that multiple extensions and additions had been built since the original construction.

The applicants proposed to demolish the lower level of the existing house, upper level of the house (including the roof) behind the highest and rearmost part of the roof, the existing front stairs and front open verandah/balustrade, front/side verandah, including part of the original roof, undisclosed internal structures, and some of the front windows to accommodate a new door.

New works were proposed to include a rear extension and building underneath the existing house.

The application was approved last year, with demolitions taking place before it was damaged in the storm on Sunday.

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