Afternoon Tea @ Burnett House
The best way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon at Burnett House is with a cuppa and a scone.
By Tamara Howie
On the third Sunday of every month the National Trust NT throws open the louvres and doors at the heritage-listed building and puts on a selection of home-baked treats.
Co-coordinator Chris Millowick says the atmosphere in the space makes for a great place to catch up with old friends or make some new ones.
“We don’t have a lot of small tables, so part of its charm is that you often have to share a table with others and there is lively conversations as people meet other people,” she says.
“It’s very informal, and very laid back, and we have a wonderful group of volunteers who have been helping out for many years who do the waitressing or serve tea and coffees.”
Burnett House is in the Heritage Precinct at Myilly Point and is one of the last remaining tropical designed houses by Beni Burnett.
Burnett was the Commonwealth’s principal architect in the NT in the 1930s and was given the job to design homes for Darwin’s senior public servants and military personnel.
“Burnett House is one of the earliest examples of real tropical architecture,” Millowick says.
“He used louvres, high ceilings and flow through ventilation.”
Since its completion in 1938 the house has survived both the bombing of Darwin and Cyclone Tracy, which flattened most of the town in 1974.
Sun 16 Sep | 3-5pm | Burnett House, Myilly Point | $5 assorted treats | See the event listing
