Buderim House. A majestic, heritage-listed 1915 Federation Queenslander steeped in the colourful history of Buderim’s early pioneers. A house described in The Brisbane Courier, dated August 18, 1917, as “one of the finest gentleman’s residences in Queensland”.
In the 1930s, it was the perfect location for garden, bridge and dinner parties – and even a royal visit. Later, it was also a popular tea house, art gallery and wedding venue.
Today, hundreds of motorists drive past this once-famous house at Orme Road, Buderim every day. And while many long-time residents and historians know its significance, there are many people who don’t.
The latter are missing out on a fascinating slice of local history.
Originally commissioned by Herbert Victor Fielding, the son of pioneering Buderim farmer John, the stately three-storey home is now owned by local couple Brendon and Victoria Murray. Coincidentally, Victoria’s mum is a Fielding, but they haven’t been able to find a family connection – yet.
The Murrays’ journey to purchasing Buderim House is serendipitous – it was always “meant to be”.
The couple share a passion for restoring old houses, collecting antique furniture and are country people at heart. If you ask me, Buderim is lucky to have such good custodians taking care of this important landmark.
With its heritage listing, caring for Buderim House comes with responsibility and Brendon and Victoria are perfectly suited for the role.
Brendon, who is a partner at Grenfell Murray Business Advisors and Accountants, was born in the Hunter Valley and met Victoria at the University of New England in Armidale, where she was studying town planning.
“I grew up with a grandmother who was an award-winning gardener,” recalls Brendon. “I spent every school holiday with her, and I was mulching, mowing and pruning from a young age. Even when Victoria and I bought our first very basic house, I made sure the lawns and hedges were immaculate.”
Victoria grew up in Southport, which was a country town in those days. “From an early age, my life revolved around my parents’ love of colonial houses and renovations – it’s in my blood,” she says.
“So, with Brendon’s gardening abilities, we are very much suited.”
That love of gardening has rubbed off on their son, Hugh, who is studying to become a landscape architect. His touch is evident everywhere in the beautiful gardens, although he ruefully comments that he just follows his dad’s orders.
Brendon and Victoria’s first house renovation was a “humpy cottage” at Holland Park. “Victoria did a fantastic job of restoring it over the next 10 years, then we moved onto the next one, a beautiful Colonial house,” says Brendon.
At the time, Brendon was a partner in a Brisbane-based accounting firm, but when the opportunity came up to open an office on the Sunshine Coast, he was interested. He just had to convince his wife.
And it took quite a bit of convincing. “Our children were in grades five, seven and 11 and they were in good schools,” Victoria shares. “My family was in Brisbane, and we had a lovely life.”
However, the children were excited about joining their friends at boarding school in Brisbane and voted four to one for the family to move to the Sunshine Coast. Victoria reluctantly agreed, but insisted they find a new renovation project.
“Buderim House was actually for sale at that time – in 2014 – but we couldn’t afford it, so we found this very run-down dairy farm at Cooroy,” Brendon says. “There were holes in the floor and smashed windows. The kids wouldn’t get out of the car.”
Victoria smiles at the memory, adding, “It smelt, and it was horrible, but the house had good bones and a beautiful view of Cooroy Mountain.”
“I thought she had lost her mind; I really thought that renovating such a run-down house was beyond us,” recalls Brendon. But following a lot of hands-on hard work, a few years later, the 40-acre property was featured in the October 2021 issue of Country Style.
Victoria was adamant that she would never leave their Cooroy home, but fate had other ideas. “The neighbour’s farm came on the market and people had to drive past our farm to inspect it,” says Brendon.
“A couple knocked on our door and offered to buy it. We said, ‘Thank you very much for the compliment, but we’re not selling’. Over the next six months, they kept coming back and making new offers. But Victoria was digging in her heels.”
After another good offer, Brendon scoured the internet and discovered that Buderim House had been listed that week. “I rang the agent, Tristan Kurz, who has now become a good friend. Victoria would not even look at me on the way down. She would only look out the window. As we walked across the front lawn and up the stairs, Victoria looked at me and nodded.”
“The house had such a beautiful feeling, which is very much how we have always bought properties,” adds Victoria.
It’s not hard to understand the feeling Victoria had when she first stepped onto the wide, wraparound verandah and saw the entry door with its leadlight panel proudly proclaiming ‘Buderim House’.
Stepping into the house immediately transports you back to a world of elegance and refinement. On the left is a grand dining room and living room with soaring ceilings and decorative cornices, an area which hosted the King’s son, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, for a weekend visit in 1934.
Then there are the original timber floors, French doors, timber joinery milled from the property and the iconic turret, said to have once served as an unofficial light-signalling tower for the region.
Meanwhile, Brendon was captivated with the 1.5 acres of beautiful land, the enchanting private forest, veggie gardens and impressive European-inspired pool area. This would become his happy place.
When they moved into Buderim House in July 2025, there were seven bedrooms, however, they’ve used one as a study and another as a sewing room for their daughter, Pip’s small fashion label, The Ruffle Room. Hugh also has a spacious workroom to create his landscaping designs.
Asked what they most loved about living at Buderim House, Brendon says, “Funnily enough, I don’t find it grand. It’s more like a rambling family home. I enjoy being able to work in my study while the family play raucous Scrabble in the family room.”
Victoria rolls her eyes at the “raucous Scrabble” comment, adding, “It’s always full of people – our children, their partners, friends, family and our menagerie of dogs. Our eldest daughter, Claire from central Queensland, visits often with our grandson, and I love the fact that it’s a big house that all the family can enjoy.”
This house, with such a rich and colourful history, is set to be home to many more happy memories.
The pioneers of Buderim House
When John Fielding, aged 23, boarded the SS Fortitude at Gravesend, England in 1848 for a perilous four-month journey to Brisbane, he had no idea he would become a famous Buderim pioneer.
The SS Fortitude was the first of three ships chartered by Reverend Dr John Dunmore to bring free immigrants to Brisbane. On board was 19-year-old Jane Bulcock. It’s not known if there was a shipboard romance, but John and Jane married in May 1849, producing 11 children. One of those children was Herbert Victor Fielding, born in 1870, who became a leading figure in the story of the Fielding family of Buderim.
One of Herbert’s legacies was Buderim House, which he commissioned in 1914. Just prior to completion in 1915, Walter Frank Oakes, a civil engineer from Lismore, made him an offer he could not refuse; however, he insisted on three changes – a turret, a leadlight panel in the front door proclaiming ‘Buderim House’ and a flagpole. Fast forward 111 years and the turret and leadlight panel remain today.
The sale of the property included a 45-acre banana plantation and, according to the Nambour Chronicle, Walter used dynamite in the holes where the banana suckers were planted to loosen the soil. Unable to make the plantation successful, Walter sold the property back to Herbert in 1925, who went on to farm bananas, coffee, pineapples and cattle.
In 1927, Herbert parted ways with the house yet again, selling the building and around 1.6 hectares to Harold J Murphy. Harold, a councillor in the Maroochy Shire Council from 1932 to 1936, owned the house until 1954.
The Murphys loved to entertain and regularly held events, many for charities. These events were described in detail in various newspapers, with the May 1941 issue of the Nambour Chronicle reporting that the Murphys hosted a large garden party with stalls selling arts, crafts, fruit, produce, cakes and sweets. There was also a scone competition and garden golf. The event was held in aid of a fund that supported those who were fighting in the Second World War to “preserve the British Empire”. It raised 64 pounds.
The Murphys also had the honour of hosting Prince Henry, the Duke of Gloucester, for a December weekend in 1934. But first, they made improvements to “add to the comfort of the royal guest”, including removing the ‘thunderbox’ from under the mango tree and replacing it with a throne-like toilet.
Buderim House has undergone many changes over the years, including trading as a popular tea house and art gallery. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in March 1993 and was lovingly restored by Tim and Jackie Banks, who owned it from 1996 to 2020. It was then purchased by architects and extended under the strict guidelines of the Heritage Council.
Current owners, Brendon and Victoria Murray, say they are acutely aware that the house is an important piece of history. They are always looking for things that need to be fixed to ensure the house is constantly maintained to a high standard. Yes, Buderim House is in very good hands.
Sources: Buderim Historical Society, National Library of Australia, Nambour Chronicle, The Brisbane Courier.