Photo by: Michael Gardner

Terrace Houses: 87-89 Darling Street, Dubbo. New South Wales

This is one of those rare examples of a country terrace house.  The regional city of Dubbo in New South Wales has a few examples of terraces and semi-detached housing. This type of housing was courtesy of the boom following the arrival of the railway in 1881 which made Dubbo a trade junction for almost all the large mainland cities. This row of three terrace houses was built just north of the railway station.  It is of brick construction with stucco render has a similar feel to the modest working class Sydney terraces of similar vintage with its parapetless gable roof , exposed party walls and double verandah with upper storey lacework and the otherwise plain form.

The corrugated iron roof has a similar pitch to the verandah roof, giving the impression of a single roof.  The verandahs are framed by bare party walls with blind arches on the ground floor between terraces.  The verandahs are decorated with cast iron lace, however the upper storey is given the emphasis, with a central column and discrete brackets and a fine balustrade comprised of panels of repeated vertical struts between two horizontal friezes.  Unusually there is no verandah walls on one of the end terraces, instead the balcony wraps around to provide a view down the leafy street.

Thanks again to Michael for the great info.