Documenting Torquay, one home at a time

FOR four decades Louise Leighton has been documenting the changing facades of Torquay.

Moving to the Surf Coast in the early 1980s after growing up in Ballarat, the former teacher has always been fascinated by houses.

More than bricks and mortar, Leighton said houses are conduits of memories unlike any other.

 

“I just love old houses and not only the history that goes with them, but the people that were in them,” Leighton said.

“I love how a house has affected the lives of people living in it, how they have affected the house’s life.”

First visiting Torquay as a child to her parents’ beach house, Leighton has watched as homes have appeared and disappeared in the town.

 

After buying her own slice of Torquay in the early 1980s, she decided to start documenting the changes to the suburb and its houses.

Today, she has hundreds of photographs, some of houses still standing, others gone.

“I walk every day and I’d go around the streets taking photos of old houses,” Leighton said.

“We’d have them developed and sit here and write on the back of them, and I began to collate them all.”

 

 

Her albums trace homes from the 1800s to today and changing architectural styles.

With many early homes now demolished, her collection captures what she calls the character of past generations.

“To me a modern house has no character, there’s no feeling in it,” Leighton said.

“You can see some very simple houses – like the one on the corner of Payne Street that’s just being knocked down – it was a very ordinary little house but that didn’t matter, because it’s the essence of the buildings that makes them special.”

 

 

Leighton has also documented main streets and public spaces, including The Esplanade, Point Danger and Spring Creek Reserve.

“There’s been enormous changes,” Leighton said.

“From watching the cows on the hill to just how far the estates have extended.”

Among her most treasured images are Sea View Villa on Anderson Street and the now-demolished brick home of GP Dr Batt.

 

She remembers first meeting Dr Batt as a child on holiday and later knowing him and his wife.

The corner home at Felix Crescent and Cowrie Road is now vacant, though its boundary fence remains. It is one of the few homes Leighton has interior photos of.

Donating her collection to the Torquay Historical Society soon, Leighton hopes it will help preserve the town’s memory for future generations.

As for homes that have stood the test of time, she and her husband Stan now live in Bromsgrove on Charles Lane.

Purchased in 1983, the former holiday house of John Longville Price has been altered internally over time but retains its character.

Throughout its 100 years of life, additions and amendments have been made, leaving scars of generations gone by.

The addition of an indoor bathroom and modern kitchen are particularly welcomed.

“We looked at a couple of houses, but as soon as I saw this, it had to be,” Leighton said.

“Even though it was really overgrown I fell in love with it, even though its floors are a bit wonky; I loved its charm.”

Though she cannot control the future of the property, she hopes that it will remain standing for generations to come.