Yandina’s Grand Old Dame She is a grand old dame whose story began in 1899 at Bridges, just two kilometres from Yandina. A classic beauty and now a local icon.
Yandina Historic House is a treasure trove of historical objects, and the grounds host Yandina's giant interactive sundial
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andina Historic House was built by John Gustave Sommer and named Tillstead by his wife, Fredericka. It changed hands several times over the years before finding its forever home in a parkland setting at 3 Pioneer Road.
by REBECCA MUGRIDGE
You may have driven past the precious piece of preserved history, visiting the Ginger Factory or Nutworks, and wondered at its heritage and treasures inside. It’s a beautiful old-style house with steps leading up to a sweeping verandah that welcomes you to an information desk, manned by some of the most knowledgeable volunteers and local historians you could meet. One such volunteer is Judy Grandcourt, who loves
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being involved with the house, “It is very interesting, good fun and we are working with such a nice group of people, plus I have always loved history.” Deeper inside you find local history and research books – if you have a family name from the Yandina area, chances are a volunteer like Margaret White can find some information on it. Margaret’s local knowledge and expertise as the Yandina Historic House Secretary is extremely valuable. “We are happy for people to come and look at our collection. In it we have a list of names, so if you know anybody here or from here and say you said to me, ‘look, have you got any Days?’ I might look and then ask ‘Is it an Ellen or Carol or Gordon or Rob?', you say 'Rob' and then looking it up we see he was one of seven kids and
Paul Duff shows a copy of a letter by Captain Cook