First published 29 Oct 2026, 10:26am
The couple behind the restoration of iconic Lamb House are selling the Highgate Hill property that started their love affair with historic homes almost 40 years ago.
Steve and Jane Wilson have carved out a reputation as custodians of some of Brisbane’s most renowned homes.
Their property portfolio includes the painstaking restoration of once derelict ‘Lamb House’ at Kangaroo Point followed by the more recent purchase of the adjoining property ‘Rockfield’.
Lamb House, Kangaroo Point – Photo Steve Pohlner
But it was another near derelict historic home at Dornoch Tce that started their resume of historic real estate restorations in the late-1980s.
At the time, the Wilsons were a young married couple living across the road from what appeared to be a boarding house.
“I got talking to this guy in a footy jersey who lived there who said, ‘This place is pretty amazing, do you want a look?’ Mr Wilson said.
“There were about 12 people living there and the house looked pretty bad, but it was liveable.”
Set on a 2211sq m hilltop block overlooking the city, the heritage-listed home was designed by acclaimed Brisbane architect Alexander Brown Wilson, who also designed Lamb House.
“We just loved the architecture, and it really started our life-long love of renovations,” Ms Wilson said.
“And this one was a real journey for us, coinciding with the growth of our family.
“When we first moved in, we were a young married couple and then went on to have five children, so we kept needing more space.”
Known as ‘Kinauld’, the house has had three major renovations , including the addition of two contemporary architectural wings.
“We absolutely adored the heritage elements of the house, and we felt this responsibility to the past,” Ms Wilson said.
“When we added new things, we didn’t mimic that heritage but instead created spaces that were in keeping with it.”
Offering sweeping views of Brisbane city, the home now features seven bedrooms, formal and informal living spaces, an entertaining pavilion, swimming pool, and tennis court.
“We also built into the attic and added a tower so you can see the university to the south,” Mr Wilson said.
“There’s hardly been a time when we haven’t been adding to it. Even in the last couple of years, we added a wellness centre with sauna.”
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While the property has been a passion project for the Wilsons, it has also served as their family home, seeing their children from infancy to adulthood.
“It’s a house that embraces a large family,” Ms Wilson said.
“It works incredibly well because there are lots of respite areas but there is also this sense of connection, and it’s also an amazing party house.
“We used to have tennis afternoons on a Friday followed by fish and chips, we’ve had 21sts with a marquee on the grass and a 40th birthday where we put a dancefloor over the pool.”
The property’s pedigree as a party house dates back long before the Wilsons. Legend has it Kinauld once played host to an event attended by Hollywood heavyweights Sir Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh.
“They came to a party at the house in the 1940s and Vivien Leigh fell in love with the veranda railing,” Ms Wilson said.
“The folklore is that the owners gave her pieces of the wrought iron that she took back to California to replicate for her own home.”
Conceding restoring heritage homes wasn’t for the faint-hearted, the Wilsons said ‘Kinauld’ had given them the confidence to take on a project as significant as the restoration of Lamb House.
“These are unique houses and this is a one-off, which is what we love about it,” Mr Wilson said.
“It’s been such a journey of discovery where we learnt to embrace heritage in a way where you can live a thoroughly modern lifestyle but still step back in time.”
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