Yongala Lodge is a heritage-listed detached house at 11 Fryer Street, North Ward, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

[1] The earliest section of this two-storeyed, former residence was erected between 1883 and 1887, on land acquired by Townsville builders and timber merchants John and Matthew Rooney, in mid-1883.

[1] In the late 1860s, Irish immigrants John and Jacob Rooney had established a building and timber-milling business at Maryborough, where later they were joined by their brother Matthew.

In the late 1870s John and Matthew established a branch of J & J Rooney, builders, at Townsville, which was developing as the port for the Ravenswood and Charters Towers goldfields.

Constructed entirely of Oregon pine, initially it comprised two rooms on each floor, with a single-storeyed kitchen house at the rear, and verandahs front and back.

The heirs reconstructed as Rooneys Limited, concentrating on building prefabrication initially, then furniture manufacture and retail trading, until winding up the firm in 1946.

The original central section of the building has decorative cross-braced cast iron balustrade and single-skin, exposed frame construction.

A central stair, with turned timber balustrade and twin flights from the landing, leads to the first floor dining and the managers residence at the rear.

It is now even more rare, being the only identified, 19th century, two-storeyed residence to survive in Townsville, and retains sufficient original fabric to be illustrative of its type.

In addition, the building contains some elements of individual architectural merit including the finely detailed staircase and entrance, the cantilevered porch and the construction technique of exposed framing.

The building makes an aesthetic contribution to the streetscape of Fryer Street, particularly in the quality of some of its architectural elements, including the cast iron balustrade, main entry door and surround.