The place which functioned as the Queensland Police College until 2012 at Chelmer, was established c. 1900 as a private residence, with additions in the form of staff quarters and a ward block constructed between 1941 and 1942 when the house was converted into a convalescent hospital for the Australian Red Cross Society.

The substantial, middle-class residence is thought to have been erected c. 1900 for Thomas Beevor Steele, a Brisbane insurance agent.
Steele acquired title to the Laurel Avenue site in March 1900.
At this time the property comprised two blocks totalling nearly one and a half acres, stretching from what is now Laurel Avenue to the Brisbane River.
A £950 mortgage on the property taken out in September 1900 may have helped finance construction of the house, which was named Waterton.
Steele, who previously resided at Indooroopilly, is first listed as resident at Chelmer in the 1901 Queensland Post Office Directory, suggesting that the house was constructed by this date.
In February 1901, a Brisbane Courier newspaper article identified the Steele family as residing at "Waterton", Chelmer, a name that remained in use during its earliest years.
In design and decorative elements, the house also suggests an early 20th century date of construction.

Title to the property passed in September 1913 to Alison Eavis Harding Frew (1883-1952), a prominent Queensland civil engineer, who resided there until c. 1940.
A. E. Harding Frew specialized in bridge design, his work including approximately 80 bridges throughout Queensland during his career.
He was a consulting engineer in Melbourne during the 1920s and on the Pyrmont Power Station at Sydney in the early 1940s.
He was a consultant on the 1926 Brisbane Cross River Commission and was the designing engineer for the William Jolly Bridge in Brisbane, from 12 November 1926 to 1932.
From 1932 to 1935 he was the Engineer for Bridge Construction on the Hornibrook Bridge project, the bridge linking Sandgate and Redcliffe.
Much of this work was carried out during the period in which he and his family were based at 17 Laurel Avenue, Chelmer.

In 1938, Harding Frew acquired two blocks of land adjacent to the southern border of his Laurel Avenue property, creating an estate of approximately 3.75 acres (1.52 ha) with a long river frontage.
However, he appears to have encountered financial difficulties about this time, taking out a number of mortgages on the property, and reputedly was bankrupted.
In January 1939, Queensland Trustees Limited, as mortgagees in possession, offered 17 Laurel Avenue for sale at auction.
At this time the dwelling comprised four bedrooms, a large dressing room, drawing and dining rooms, sitting rooms, lounge, spacious front and side verandahs and sleep-out, and a well-appointed kitchen and bathroom.
There is a suggestion that Frew had made extensions to the c. 1900 house, but this has not been confirmed.

The property did not sell in January 1939.
In July 1940, title to just over 1 rood (11,000 sq ft; 1,000 m²) near the southeast corner of the site was transferred as a residential subdivision block, and in December 1940, the house and the remaining land, nearly 3.5 acres (1.4 ha), was transferred to the Australian Red Cross Society for use as a convalescent home for Australian servicemen returning from the battlefields of the Second World War.
The purchase price was £2,000, which scarcely reflected the value of one of the oldest and largest family homes in the Chelmer district.
Title was transferred to Red Cross trustees Edith Wassell and George Rees in 1941, and to the Australian Red Cross Society in 1947.
The Society converted the house into the Lady Wilson Red Cross Convalescent Home, providing for the rehabilitation of convalescent Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen.
The home was named in honour of Lady Wilson, President of the Queensland Division of the Australian Red Cross at this time, and wife of His Excellency Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, Governor of Queensland.

Conversion of the house into a convalescent home required additions to, and some alterat
The place which functioned as the Queensland Police College until 2012 at Chelmer, was established c. 1900 as a private residence, with additions in the form of staff quarters and a ward block constructed between 1941 and 1942 when the house was converted into a convalescent hospital for the Australian Red Cross Society.
The substantial, middle-class residence is thought to have been erected c. 1900 for Thomas Beevor Steele, a Brisbane insurance agent. Steele acquired title to the Laurel Avenue site in March 1900. At this time the property comprised two blocks totalling nearly one and a half acres, stretching from what is now Laurel Avenue to the Brisbane River. A £950 mortgage on the property taken out in September 1900 may have helped finance construction of the house, which was named Waterton. Steele, who previously resided at Indooroopilly, is first listed as resident at Chelmer in the 1901 Queensland Post Office Directory, suggesting that the house was constructed by this date. In February 1901, a Brisbane Courier newspaper article identified the Steele family as residing at "Waterton", Chelmer, a name that remained in use during its earliest years. In design and decorative elements, the house also suggests an early 20th century date of construction.
Title to the property passed in September 1913 to Alison Eavis Harding Frew (1883-1952), a prominent Queensland civil engineer, who resided there until c. 1940. A. E. Harding Frew specialized in bridge design, his work including approximately 80 bridges throughout Queensland during his career. He was a consulting engineer in Melbourne during the 1920s and on the Pyrmont Power Station at Sydney in the early 1940s. He was a consultant on the 1926 Brisbane Cross River Commission and was the designing engineer for the William Jolly Bridge in Brisbane, from 12 November 1926 to 1932. From 1932 to 1935 he was the Engineer for Bridge Construction on the Hornibrook Bridge project, the bridge linking Sandgate and Redcliffe. Much of this work was carried out during the period in which he and his family were based at 17 Laurel Avenue, Chelmer.
In 1938, Harding Frew acquired two blocks of land adjacent to the southern border of his Laurel Avenue property, creating an estate of approximately 3.75 acres (1.52 ha) with a long river frontage. However, he appears to have encountered financial difficulties about this time, taking out a number of mortgages on the property, and reputedly was bankrupted. In January 1939, Queensland Trustees Limited, as mortgagees in possession, offered 17 Laurel Avenue for sale at auction. At this time the dwelling comprised four bedrooms, a large dressing room, drawing and dining rooms, sitting rooms, lounge, spacious front and side verandahs and sleep-out, and a well-appointed kitchen and bathroom. There is a suggestion that Frew had made extensions to the c. 1900 house, but this has not been confirmed.
The property did not sell in January 1939. In July 1940, title to just over 1 rood (11,000 sq ft; 1,000 m²) near the southeast corner of the site was transferred as a residential subdivision block, and in December 1940, the house and the remaining land, nearly 3.5 acres (1.4 ha), was transferred to the Australian Red Cross Society for use as a convalescent home for Australian servicemen returning from the battlefields of the Second World War. The purchase price was £2,000, which scarcely reflected the value of one of the oldest and largest family homes in the Chelmer district. Title was transferred to Red Cross trustees Edith Wassell and George Rees in 1941, and to the Australian Red Cross Society in 1947. The Society converted the house into the Lady Wilson Red Cross Convalescent Home, providing for the rehabilitation of convalescent Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen. The home was named in honour of Lady Wilson, President of the Queensland Division of the Australian Red Cross at this time, and wife of His Excellency Sir Leslie Orme Wilson, Governor of Queensland.
Conversion of the house into a convalescent home required additions to, and some alterat
Chelmer Police College