2022 Maryborough, Baddow House, 366 Queen Street

366 Queen Street, Maryborough

We are very privileged to have historic Baddow House as part of the 2022 Maryborough Open Gardens with parts of the house open to the public as well as the gardens.

Baddow House was built in 1883 for Edgar Thomas Aldridge, the “Founding Father” of Maryborough. Christened “Aldridge’s Castle” by some locals, it was “Aldridge’s Folly” to others: a grand, two-storey home with soaring ceilings and wide verandahs overlooking the Mary River. 

In 1848, when E. T. Aldridge first arrived in the district of Wide Bay (as Maryborough was then known) he built a bark and shingle hut on his land at then Wide Bay Village, upstream of Muddy Creek, and he later built a wool store and a Bush Inn to supply the sawyers, teamsters and native police. Success as an entrepreneur soon allowed him to build or extend 2 homes on the Baddow Estate, and finally, thirty-five years after his arrival, to build his dream home, his “castle”: the magnificent Baddow House as it stands today.

The two acres of garden surrounding Baddow House are beautifully landscaped and feature brick paving, two arbours, a canal pond, and extensive plantings of shade trees including Jacaranda and Poinciana.

Devonshire tea, bottled water and ice-cream on a stick will be available with undercover seating provided; so ensure that you allow plenty of time to enjoy beautiful Baddow House with delightful tea and scones. 

Martin Simons, owner, looks forward to welcoming you to Baddow House.

♿ 🚌 ☕ 🦼

Buses are able to park in Queen Street prior to the Jupiter Street intersection. Gardens are wheelchair and scooter friendly. However, the house (including verandahs) is not accessible for wheelchairs and mobility scooters.