Oribin House, Unique Heritage Listed Tropical Home

Summary:

Prepare to have a relaxed tropical experience in our unique heritage listed family home. The iconic 4 bedroom property blends old and new, with celebrated architecture.



In the desirable suburb of Whitfield, the expansive property includes a large swimming pool, established gardens and various verandahs. It backs onto Mt Whitfield Park Conservation Area, providing a tranquil, private, spacious, tropical retreat often visited by colourful butterflies, echidna's, wallabies and birds.



The Space:

A celebrated Cairns heritage listed property of architectural significance designed and built by the late Edwin Oribin as his family home in 1958. We have loved living here.



Located only 15 minutes from Cairns City centre and 10 mins from the Esplanade and Airport by car. The house is a 15min walk from the Cairns Botanical Gardens, and 10min walk to the shops, cafes and restaurants of Edge Hill.



The original part of the house is captivating in its beautiful use of materials- polished concrete, glass, and hand crafted silky oak timber. Bedroom 4, the original master bedroom, with queen bed, is in this part of the house. It overlooks the pool through stunning, tall, silky oak windows. This room is not air-conditioned, but has good airflow and a powerful ceiling fan. In keeping with the original design of the house, this room has no door, so a curtain and screen give privacy.



The kitchen, lounge and dining area have wall length views into the lower garden. A study and reading room are located in the original building. A lengthy tiered verandah overlooks the dry-creek gardens and pétanque pitch with resident bush turkey.



The Modern extension (2009) contains 3 beautiful bedrooms and a walk through TV lounge, all fully air-conditioned. The Master Bedroom has a king bed, its own tree level balcony, walk in ward robe and ensuite bathroom. Bedrooms 2 and 3 both have 2 single beds which can be converted to king beds on request. Both bedrooms have private sliding doors opening onto a shaded verandah and upper garden with views looking up towards Mt Whitfield.



Enjoy a fully equipped kitchen including coffee machine, rice cooker, miele oven and cook top and microwave. There is a filtered water dispenser in the fridge door, dishwasher and a WeberQ BBQ available to use.



A light breakfast for your first morning is provided.

Bread, butter, jam, milk, tea and coffee. Dishwashing tablets/ liquid and clothes washing detergent are also provided.



WIFI is available throughout the house. A large flatscreen TV is located in the TV lounge that also has it's own bar-fridge and wash basin.



The gardens are private, mature and include a large swimming pool, bamboo clad cubby house and pétanque pitch set amongst lawns and gingers. The fruiting trees include mango, tamarind, star fruit, mangosteen, mandarin, and limes, for those tropical cocktails! There are many places to sit and relax.



There is a generous covered parking for 2 cars.



The walls are adorned with artwork from the Torres Strait and Badu Island Art Centre in particular with whom we have a strong personal connection. If you are tempted the artists can be contacted via their website with details in the house rules folder. We hope you enjoy our unique art collection.



Guest Access:

Guests can enjoy the whole property.



The Neighborhood:

Set in a desirable area of Cairns close to the Botanical gardens, Edge Hill restaurants, cafe's and amenities. The street is peaceful and quiet, lined with mature trees and established properties. The property backs onto the conservation area of Mount Whitfield Park, where there are several popular bush walks.



Getting Around:

Car hire is recommended to make the most of activities in the Cairns region. Taxis or Ubers are of course an option.

There is a Bus stop on Woodward St. Shops, bakery and restaurants are a 10 minute walk away.



A well maintained set of walking tracks through Mt Whitfield Park can be accessed from the Tanks art area adjacent to the Botanical gardens. The shorter Red arrow walk is a 30 min circuit whilst the Blue, Yellow and Green arrow tracks take longer and take you further into the local rainforest.



Other Things to Note:

There is one steep exterior staircase, not required on a daily basis, but may be perceived as a danger to infants or toddlers. A stair gate is fitted for safety.



There is an enchanting pond with stone bridge at the entrance to the house which families with young children should be made aware of.



The original house is not air conditioned but has an ingenious design to maximise air flow through the house. This is augmented by strong effective ceiling fans in every room however, in summer and wet season between Dec- March, it can feel very humid in Cairns.



It should be noted that some areas and verandahs open directly to the gardens creating a tropical inside/outside environment that can be shared with gecko's and insects. It's part of the beauty of the property and the rainforest to which it borders.



Interaction with Guests:

Please message directly if you have any queries or if there is anything we can help you with when you arrive or in advance.