With the extension of the railway from Brisbane to Sandgate in 1882, the permanent population grew, and weekend holiday-makers turned the township into a bustling seaside resort.

In 1867 it was subdivided into five blocks, and in January 1874 the four which fronted Shorncliffe (Parade) were acquired by Graham Lloyd Hart of Greylands, a prominent Brisbane solicitor.

During their occupancy, the original picket fence was replaced with the present masonry and timber structure, and by the early 1950s, a tennis court had been created on the lawn to the south of the residence, and the open space between the two rear wings had been covered.

[1] Saltwood is a single-storeyed chamferboard residence, with a hipped corrugated iron roof, located on the southern corner of Swan Street and Shorncliffe Parade.

[1] The earliest northern section of the building has verandahs to three sides, with shaped timber brackets, chamfered posts with capitals, cross-braced balustrade and boarded ceilings.

[1] The central transverse section consists of two large projecting bays, to the northwest and southeast, surmounted by a timber finial with bracketed eaves, sash windows and shutters.

The former kitchen has a large fireplace, plaster ceiling, built-in cupboards and sash windows with diamond pattern, lead framed glazing.

[1] The street frontage has a substantial brick pier and timber batten fence, with a gateway on the northwest supporting an overhead beam with the name SALTWOOD.

Saltwood demonstrates an uncommon aspect of Queensland's cultural heritage, being one of the more intact of the large seaside holiday homes erected in Sandgate in the last half of the 19th century.

Saltwood has a special association with the Hart and Drury families, who were prominent in Queensland social, legal, business and government circles in the last quarter of the 19th century.