
Drawing room suite
Terence Rorke Workshop
Historically important Queensland furniture constructed from Yellowwood timber. Commissioned or owned by Robert and Alice Pollock, wealthy owners of Gympie's Lady Mary gold mine around 1870. The Royal Historical Society of Queensland, the custodians of this furniture, commissioned Frank to work on these pieces. The case study below briefly outlines some of the conservation and restoration work undertaken by Frank van Brunschot Fine Furniture.
Background
The furniture pieces that were worked on include a loo table, a set of six balloon-backed dining chairs, a chaise longue (part of a drawing room suite— the grandfather and grandmother chairs will be addressed at a later date, subject to funding), and a state chair. All pieces are constructed from solid Yellowwood (Flindersia Xanthoxyla). These items were made in the Terence Rorke workshop, an early Queensland retailer and cabinetmaker located on Queen Street in Brisbane. Most of this furniture has survived quite well, with damage and marks consistent with its age and use. However, the balloon-backed chairs have suffered significant damage over the years. These chairs are unusually asymmetrical (twisted, with different heights and shapes), which Frank suspects is largely due to previous poor-quality repairs and restoration work. This case study will focus on the chairs.

Furniture before conservation. All work is undertaken in accordance with the Australian ICOMOS Burra Charter 2013, which sets standards for best practices in the conservation, maintenance, and care of cultural materials.

Terence Rorke, Cabinetmaker, Upholsterer, and Bedding Manufacturer, Queen Street, Brisbane. Terence Rorke was born in Ireland in 1843. From 1866 until his death in 1896, he retailed and manufactured in Brisbane.
Process
The work that these chairs required was quite extensive. All work is documented in detail. Both photographically and a written report was provided.
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Chairs were disassembled as needed. Joinery is assessed on a case by case basis. Most of the joinery came apart easily. Some joinery that was solid or had little movement was left as the risk of damage outweighed the benefit of taking it apart.
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Off centre, too short and misaligned dowels from old repair work, were realigned, refitted and re-glued.
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The correct species, Flindersia Xanthoxyla, common name Yellowwood, was used to re-do the old repairs that were made poorly out of Queensland Maple.
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PVA (polyvinyl acetate), a modern glue from old repairs, post 1960 was removed and all the joinery re-glued with traditional collagen-based hide glue.
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The carved back intermediate rails on some of the chairs were broken. The remnants of old repairs were removed. The rails were structurally consolidated as needed, losses replaced with Yellowwood and re-carved as required.
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The original finish on these chairs was unfortunately long gone, replaced by a mixture of 20th century finishes, crudely applied.
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The modern finish was removed. The original timber surfaces were left intact to retain the old patina.
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The chairs were French polished. Blond de-waxed shellac was used, applied with a French polishing rubber in conjunction with very fine pumice powder to fill the grain.
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Finally a sacrificial coating of hard wax was applied to protect the French polish.

Remedial work on these chairs involved addressing damage from poorly executed previous repairs. The photo above illustrates how misaligned some of the dowels were. It is crucial that damaged and broken dowels are properly removed and replaced.

Although mortise and tenon joints are considered the best type of joinery for leg and rail construction, dowel joints can also be strong and structurally sound if they are well aligned, properly fitted, of suitable length, and made from appropriately hard timber.

Repairs were made to the top rail and the carved intermediate section.

The Yellowwood Frank used to replace the old repairs was carved and shaped to reclaim the original form.

Balloon-backed chairs were a very popular style during the mid to late Victorian era. The top back rails of these chairs are particularly vulnerable to damage and often require specialized repairs.
Outcome
It was a pleasure to be part of the process of reclaiming a suite of Queensland colonial furniture. The furniture is currently on display at the Commissariat Store Museum, located at 115 William Street, Brisbane. For further information regarding the furniture, please refer to an in-depth article researched and written by Judith McKay and David Bedford entitled "Reclaiming a Suite of Queensland Colonial Furniture," published in Australiana magazine.
In recent years the Royal Historical Society of Queensland has engaged Frank van Brunschot to repair and conserve some outstandingly significant furniture in its collection, dating from 1850 to 1884. Frank’s work has proved exceptional in its craftsmanship, understanding of traditional methods and materials, and respect for professional conservation practice. In all cases he has provided detailed reports of the work undertaken for the guidance of future generations.
Judith McKay & David Bedford
Royal Historical Society of Queensland Museum committee.