Brisbane's oldest house has had a $6.6 million renovation, courtesy of Queensland taxpayers.
The derelict Newstead House heritage museum was shut to the public in 2021 for repairs, but it will hold its grand reopening on Saturday.
What started off as a $5.5 million restoration ended up costing $6.6 million amid the discovery of asbestos, termite-damaged timber, and water-damaged brickwork.
The grand 1846 building was previously home to the fabulously wealthy merchant George Harris, who decorated the house with lurid floral and pineapple wallpaper.
The socialite threw extravagant parties at his house for the rich and powerful until he went broke investing in failed mining properties in Gympie and Stanthorpe.
Today, the house-turned-museum is run by a Board of Trustees, chaired by former Labor senator Claire Moore.
Ms Moore said they aimed to restore Newstead House to its former glory, pineapple wallpaper and all.
Having grown up in Toowoomba, she said she had fond childhood memories of visiting Newstead House and marvelling at the resplendent decor.
Ms Moore said it was a glimpse back in time to Brisbane's settler history.
"It's wonderful, like you're in a different world," Ms Moore said.
"Its value to the community you can't estimate."
Newstead's bloody history
The fig trees around Newstead House were traditionally used for the funerals of Aboriginal people, before they were driven off the land.
In the 1840s, the nearby Breakfast Creek was the site of Aboriginal camps set up to protest European settlement.
Aboriginal elder Dalaipi, self-described "delegate for all blackfellows", was based at the Breakfast Creek camps.
He wrote a series of letters that were published in the Moreton Bay Courier denouncing European settlers for their poor treatment of Aboriginal people.
He accused the settlers of betraying their Christian values by driving them off the land and leaving them to starve.
The camps were repeatedly burned down by colonisers, before being disbanded by police in the 1860s.
Fond memories
Member for McConnel Grace Grace, whose electorate covers Newstead, has childhood memories of visiting Newstead House with her sister.
Ms Grace said, to her knowledge, it was the only house left in Newstead, the rest having been converted to apartments or units long ago.
Ms Grace said, in her opinion, the restoration was worth the expense.
"It's got a beautiful place in my heart, the labour of love getting this back to its original beauty," Ms Grace said.
"History is so important, we don't want to lose all our magnificent homes in Brisbane, and I'm very excited to have spent the money because it's money well spent."
Cabinetmaker Frank van Brunschot has been painstakingly restoring an ancient wardrobe that was discovered inside Newstead House.
Mr Brunschot said the aged timber and the design of the wardrobe suggested it was made during the Great Depression era.
"As I'm working on a piece like that, it's a detective job," Mr van Brunschot said.
"As it's coming apart you're looking at the screws and nails, and it all tells a story about its history."