The Queensland Window That Started with a Sawmill Truck!

Ever wondered why those glass louvre windows became such a familiar sight in Queensland homes?

Back in the early 1930s, Owen Herbert Gray, a cabinetmaker and sawmill owner in Proserpine, North Queensland, came up with an ingenious new type of window.

And according to the family story, the inspiration came from a problem at home.

Gray's wife, Alice Edna, had casement windows - but their house was beside a narrow laneway used by sawmill trucks.

When the trucks went past, opening the windows wasn't exactly ideal.

So Owen apparently told his wife:

“I'll fix that. I'll make you a set of movable louvres.”

Alice wasn't keen.

Her concern was that louvres would make the room too dark.

Owen's answer?

“No. I'll make them out of glass.”

And that's where the story of the Everlite begins.

Gray's invention was not the first louvre window ever conceived. Louvre and jalousie-style ventilation systems had existed before.

What made his invention special was the adjustable glass louvre.

He filed an Australian patent for his “Improved adjustable louvre” on 29 April 1932, and the patent records Gray as the inventor.

Queensland Government heritage material identifies the Everlite as the first patented adjustable glass louvre and dates the invention to 1932.

The idea was wonderfully suited to Queensland.

Instead of opening one big sash or casement window, a series of narrow glass blades could be tilted open.

Let the breeze through. Keep natural light coming in. Adjust the opening depending on the weather.

For a warm Queensland climate, that was a pretty clever solution.

And the invention became part of the visual language of Queensland homes for generations.

There's an important little history lesson here too.

If you're looking at an old Queenslander and wondering whether its windows are original, 1932 is a useful date to keep in mind.

The patented Everlite glass louvre came along after many of the classic Queenslander houses had already been built, so louvres seen in an older house may represent a later alteration or renovation.

Of course, every house has its own story - and that's what makes old houses so fascinating.

And perhaps the best part of the Everlite story is that it apparently didn't begin in some giant laboratory or engineering department.

It began with a husband, a wife, a troublesome sawmill truck…

…and a simple question:

“Can I make this better?”

From Proserpine in 1932 came an invention that helped define the look and the ventilation of Australian homes.

Now you know the story behind the louvre!