This book examines all houses in the North Queensland region in the period 1861-1920. The study begins with a brief description of the region and investigates whether any climatic or environmental factors were influential in the design of the buildings. It then describes the mining settlements and the social and economic conditions that constituted the background to house construction. A chapter is devoted to a critical examination of the origins of one construction technique - the sawn timber stud-framed wall - which dominated all building construction in North Queensland in the period. The remainder of the book examines the houses themselves; their forms, the materials and construction techniques, items of detail, and the effect of subsequent modifications