Newstead House is one of Brisbane’s grandest homesteads and the city’s oldest surviving home. It’s open Friday to Sunday and offers a window back in time, to late Victorian Brisbane. It was built in 1846 for Patrick Leslie who, with his brothers, were the first pastoralists to settle on the Darling Downs. The house is open to visitors and there are regular tours.
Newstead House offers a series of events and festivals including the ‘Little Historians’ festival which is perfect for families with kids aged between 5 and 12 and there’s heritage games on the green, crafts, dancing and a whole lot more. There’s also ‘Sundays by the River’ which are on the first Sunday of each month and boast jazz music and food trucks.
Breakfast Creek Hotel is just across the road from Newstead house and offers plenty of heritage and history of its own. It was built in the late 1800s in the French Renaissance style and today offers up 14 types of steak and has the world’s largest rum bar.
A great way to visit both these locations is with River City Cruises. They depart daily from Southbank and have half day tours of the River. Guests can hop on and hop off. For example, they can drop guests off at Newstead House at about 11, then they just pop across the road to the Breakfast Creek before returning to Newstead by 1.15pm to be picked up.
RACQ member can also get discounts on tickets when travelling with River City Cruises.
Contacts:
River City Cruises
RACQ Member Benefits
Newstead house
