Robinson Farmhouse at 302 Saint Vincents Road in Banyo, the oldest surviving residence in Banyo and the Nudgee area, has come to market for the first time in nearly five years, giving buyers a rare chance to own a piece of Brisbane history that has been standing since 1882.
The four-room cottage is a recognised local heritage place under the Brisbane City Plan 2014, listed as the earliest surviving residence in the Banyo and Nudgee area and the oldest nineteenth-century residence in Banyo. There are two nineteenth century farmhouses left in the entire suburb; the Robinson Farmhouse is the older of the two. For Nundah and Banyo residents, seeing this address come up for sale is the kind of thing that stops people mid-scroll.
A Cottage With a Story Older Than the Suburb Itself
William Bulcock Robinson built this modest cottage around 1882 along the road to St. Vincent’s Orphanage, on an 18-acre block he had purchased in August 1880. The style of the cottage, with its very steep gable-ended roof, is typical of houses built earlier than the 1880s, suggesting the structure may have been relocated to the property from elsewhere in Brisbane.
The house stumps were cut from local trees, and rough-edged timber hewn by axe, adze or saw was used to construct the four-roomed cottage. The roof trusses were made from tea tree timber, and the roof was originally covered with timber shingles before being replaced with galvanised iron sheeting. It is the kind of construction detail that makes you appreciate both the craftsmen who built it and the people who have kept it standing ever since.
William B. Robinson first appears as a resident in the Nudgee District in the 1889 edition of the Queensland Post Office Directories. The Robinson family held farms throughout Banyo, Virginia, Geebung and Aspley, and Robinson Roads East and West in Banyo are named after the family. The land around the farmhouse remained sparsely settled for decades, with the area only beginning to urbanise in earnest after the Robinson family created the Robinson’s Paddock Estate in 1928, which opened up Paradise and Langdon Streets and Redhill Road to residential buyers.
What the Home Is Today
The current owners, Katherine Young and Brett Advocaat, purchased the property in August 2021 for $735,000 and have spent their time there maintaining its heritage character while integrating contemporary comforts. The three-bedroom, one-bathroom home now features landscaped surrounds and a newly installed pool on the 647-square-metre block, which backs onto parkland.
“We fell in love with the rich history and the unique soul of the house,” Brett Advocaat said. “It’s been a privilege to maintain a landmark where locals still stop by to share stories of the house from their childhood.”
That last detail says something important about what this address means to the people who grew up near it. Robinson Farmhouse is not just old; it is remembered. Locals carry it in their personal histories, and the current owners have found themselves the custodians of those memories as much as the building itself.
“Being so central and near the park, we have experienced the growth of Banyo, watched birthday parties, and observed the locals playing volleyball or pickleball,” Advocaat said. “These are all things that we can take in from our kitchen window or while tending to the garden.”
The Last of Its Kind
There are only two nineteenth century houses remaining in Banyo. Robinson Farmhouse at 302 St Vincent’s Road is one, and the Blinzinger Farmhouse former at 274 Tufnell Road is the other. While both are former farmhouses, each represents a different period in Banyo’s development and a different nineteenth century architectural style. Losing either to neglect or unsympathetic redevelopment would remove something irreplaceable from the suburb’s physical record.
In 2000, a group of community members comprising the BANGEE Festival Committee identified 302 St Vincent’s Road as a local heritage place and listed it as Location 22 in the Banyo-Nudgee Heritage Trail publication. That community recognition, driven not by planners but by local residents who understood what they had, says more about the house’s place in the suburb’s identity than any formal listing could.
A Home That Belongs in the Right Hands
For anyone who has walked past Robinson Farmhouse and felt the pull of it, this is one of those listings that does not come around often. It is heritage-listed, which means future owners take on the responsibility of stewardship that comes with that designation, but it is also a genuinely liveable, renovated family home in one of Brisbane’s most accessible northern suburbs, a short walk from Banyo Station and adjacent to parkland that the current owners have watched come alive with community life for the past four years.
Properties like this do not simply sell; they find their next keeper. Enquiries for Robinson Farmhouse at 302 Saint Vincents Road, Banyo can be directed to the listing agent.
Published 30-March-2026
