McIlwraith's Auchenflower
Auchenflower's migaloo story starts in the 1850s as surveyors mapped out rural estates between Milton and Toowong. Roads marked on the map above align with today's Milton Road, with Haig Road and Birdwood Terrace on the north and what subsequently became Coronation Drive along the river's edge. However, the name 'Auchenflower' did not emerge until Queensland Premier Sir Thomas McIlwraith arrived in the neighbourhood in 1885.
McIlwraith bought a thirteen-acre (five-hectare) hilltop property on the river side of Milton Road — #38 on the map — from John Ward, who acquired the property from John Markwell in 1876,. Ward built "one of the most substantially built and elegantly finished residences in or out of Brisbane" with several bedrooms, a ballroom, and verandahs. McIlwraith extended the building, added his own touches, and turned the estate into one of Brisbane's social hubs.
