[1] JD O'Connor, born in Ireland c. 1860, had emigrated to South Australia in 1878, and was in business in Adelaide before moving north to Queensland, reputedly for health reasons, in 1889.

[1] In 1904, JD O'Connor obtained title to nearly 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) of hillside land at Hamilton, formerly part of the Eldernell Estate and first subdivided in 1890.

[1] Sydney-trained architects George T Eaton and Albert E Bates had formed a partnership in Rockhampton c. 1894 and developed a successful Central Queensland practice in the late 19th century, with branch offices established at Mount Morgan and Longreach by 1898, Clermont in 1900, Gladstone in 1901, Maryborough in 1902, and Townsville by 1902.

Their style was eclectic, drawing upon both eastern and western classical traditions, with a particular emphasis on verandahs and pavilions - both as a decorative device and as appropriate to the warm Queensland climate.

[1] Eaton & Bates called tenders for a large villa residence on the Eldernell Estate, Hamilton, in June 1905, and this is thought to refer to Cremorne.

It has extensive grounds sloping down the hill to Kingsford Smith Drive, ending in a steep stone cutting, and is a prominent landmark from the southern suburbs.

A bituminoid driveway, accessed from Mullens Street through brick entrance pillars and a timber trellis, sweeps in front of the house and up around the eastern side of the property to a carport at the rear.

[1] The house is almost L-shaped in plan, and has a corrugated iron roof which is a complex of hips, gables, ridges and pavilions, with decorative gablets and finials, and three brick chimneys.

[1] The front elevation is dominated by a deep, open verandah with large rotundas or pavilions at the southwest and southeast corners, which take advantage of the views and river breezes.

This verandah has simple timber valances, posts and balusters, and the rotundas have ogee-shaped cupolas above a frieze of pink and green glass panels.

The front exterior wall has later fibrous cement sheeting and timber battening, creating a vaguely Tudoresque appearance.

Part of the eastern verandah, adjacent to the drawing room, is enclosed as a sunroom, with a single door opening onto the southeast corner rotunda.

Drawing and dining rooms are separated by a side passage which leads east off the central hallway to what is now the sunroom (formerly part of the eastern verandah).

Cremorne, a large, substantially intact timber residence constructed in 1905-06, is important in illustrating the continued development of Hamilton in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, as one of Brisbane's most prestigious suburbs.

The house is an outstanding example of Queensland federation-period domestic architecture, which, with its generous verandahs, distinctive rotundas, and attention to ventilation in the design, materials and details, addresses both aspect and climate in a creative and aesthetic manner.

The house is important as the only identified Brisbane example of the domestic work of architects Eaton & Bates, who made a significant contribution to Queensland architecture in the late 1890s and early 1900s.