Ormond - Home of Dr Fowles

 Ormond and Dr Fowles

At the turn of the 20th century Teneriffe Hill only had the estate of Teneriffe House. As the estate was sub divided and the houses of prominent citizens were built upon the hill access by public tansport was of concern. The residents of Chester amd James Streets had lobbyed the council for an extension of the tram from Brunswick Street and or Anne Street. 

A tram travelled down Brunswick Street to New Farm Park and a tram came down Fortitude Valley to Commercial Road and then to the Bulimba Ferry Terminal. The local Teneriffe residents wanted a tram extension along James Street to allow easier access to Teneriffe. A compromise it appears was the building of a set of stairs that ascended from Paterson Street to Teneriffe Drive. 

Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Tuesday 9 January 1912, page 4

Notified motions by Alderman Best "That a one burner lamp be placed at a convenient point for lighting the footpath and stairs connecting Paterson street with Teneriffe Drive.

The access to Paterson Street was a short walk from the tram stop at Commercial Road and Kent Street.

The house at 40 Teneriffe Drive on the left at the top of the stairs that ascend from Paterson street is “Ormond”. Built in 1909 for Dr. E. W. H. Fowles. Dr. Fowles born at Oxley and the son of a school teacher became a well known identity in early 20^th century Brisbane and Queensland. A barrister by profession the house is allegedly named after Ormond College at Melbourne University where he studied.

A biography of the life of a Teneriffe resident whose family provided a great service to the people of Queensland is provided in the link following.

https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fowles-edwin-wesley-6226

During WW2 the US forces occupied Ormond and Teneriffe House and the local stories abound. One being that a staff car would be ordered to ferry the officers the 50 meres between the two houses.

Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Saturday 29 December 1945, page 4

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FOWLES. Relatives & Friends of Mrs. E. W. H. Fowles, of "Ormond," Teneriffe, are invited to attend the Funeral of her beloved Husband, Edwin Wesley Howard Fowles, M.A,, L.L.B., D. Litt., to leave Kingsholme Methodist Church, Teneriffe, on conclusion of Service commencing at 10 o'clock on Monday Morning, for the Mt. Thompson Crematorium. No flowers. JOHN H1SLOP & SONS. Funeral Directors. 

Mullen's Cottages

 The Shafston Estate and Kangaroo Point had numerous features to draw residents. Though separated from the city by the river, ferry services were provided and industrial work was available in the area. Nearby services like hotels, churches and schools added to its residential appeal, and a water supply was added in the early 1870s. The size of the allotments on offer in the Shafston Estate was a further inducement: the subdivisions ranged from 40 perches to four acres, significantly larger than the allotments available in other inner-city areas like Spring Hill or Petrie Terrace. 

In January 1876 labourer John Mullen purchased one rood (40 perches, or a quarter of an acre) of land in the Shafston Estate. The block fronted Cairns Street, with a side frontage to Lambert Street. Mullen, who had arrived in Brisbane with his wife and five children in 1873, took up residence in Cairns Street by 1878. He may have been in residence earlier; in October 1876 his Cairns Street ‘property’ was used as a reference point in sales notices, though whether he was living there at the time is unknown. Mullen likely built the house himself. The transverse gable house was two-storeyed, with a small room upstairs, likely to accommodate his family. Downstairs, the house featured a fireplace and brick chimney to provide heat, while verandas on three sides allowed occupants to take advantage of the river breezes and the dual street frontage. Kitchen quarters were built in a separate extension. The house was similar in style to neighbour John Gibbins’ house, which was built on the opposite side of Lambert Street at around the same time (1876-8), and is also included on the Brisbane City Council heritage overlay. 

In 1882 Mullen moved to Bowen Bridge with his family to operate the Bowen Bridge Hotel, leasing his Kangaroo Point house to tenants. Three years later, however, his application for a renewal of the licence was refused, and he returned to Kangaroo Point. From there, Mullen took up work as a quarryman, licensing the Merton Road quarry in Woolloongabba. Additionally, he took advantage of his large landholding to construct three small rental properties next to his house in 1886. The forty perch site was not large enough to provide each house with a sixteen-perch land holding, the minimum subdivision size required under the Undue Subdivision of Land Prevention Act 1885. Mullen circumvented the legislation by keeping the houses on a single holding.

Mullen’s cottages were constructed at the height of a population and building boom in Brisbane. This boom saw dramatic growth in the demand for housing, especially on the south side of Brisbane. Demand was particularly high in Kangaroo Point, where the population had increased from 1,903 people in 1881 to 3,204 in 1886. In response to the increasing population, landowners like Mullen constructed rental houses on their properties. Mullen’s single storey cottages were smaller than his own house, but proved popular for workers seeking employment in the city or local area. The cottages were particularly well situated for the latter purpose, as Moar’s shipyard opened at the river end of Cairns Street in the 1880s, providing job opportunities for wharf and ship workers.

Mullen resided in his Cairns Street house until his death in 1898, when the property passed to his unmarried daughter Margaret. She retained ownership of the property until 1945, leasing all four cottages. The area remained popular with tenants, particularly following the opening of the Story Bridge and the re-opening of the Cairns Street shipyard in the 1940s. The family’s old house was rented to a series of tenants, mostly working class, widows and wharf workers. The cottages passed through a number of owners in the latter half of the twentieth century and were restored in the 1980s. They were held on a single block of land until 2007. In 2009 the houses were converted to commercial use and in 2016 operate as offices.

Thornclyffe - Remastered Elegance

There are advantages to the life of heritage buildings when developers become involved. This is Thornclyffe now remastered as part of a new apartment complex in Kangaroo Point. The striking contrast of 19th and 21st century architecture is a feature of the streetscape.

The following is taken from the Brisbane City Council's Heritage Register.

This house is located on land owned at one stage by Queensland explorer, squatter and writer of Queensland history, Henry Stuart Russell.1 Russell, who purchased the property in 1852, completed the notable Kangaroo Point home of Shafston House, which had been started by the previous owner Robert Creyke.2 This property was part of the land which adjoined the house.3 This land was one of a number of allotments (covering over 44 acres) that were offered for sale by the Honourable Louis Hope.4 Hope, apart from being owner of Shafston House, was M.L.C. from 1862-1882 and was a major figure in establishing the colony’s sugar industry.” 

Thomas Faulkner purchased various parcels of land offered by Hope during 1875 and 1877 and subsequently sold the land to Barbara Murphy, “Widow” in 1881. The land sold by Faulkner to Mrs Murphy was not one complete allotment. Faulkner rather provided the land to Mrs Murphy from the various separate allotments he had purchased from the Hope sale. Thus a new title was drawn up providing Mrs Murphy with just over one acre and one rood, which extended in an offset pattern from the corner of Lambert Street and King Street (now Castlebar) to the Brisbane River.

The house appears to have been constructed in c1884-1886, the Post Office Directories showing the property as “vacant land” in 1883-1884. In October 1886 Barbara Murphy secured a mortgage from Sir Thomas McIlwraith for £800. She subsequently took out further mortgages in June 1887, June 1888, and October 1888 for £300, £300 and £200 respectively. In 1886 Barbara Murphy married Henry William Llewellyn. Llewellyn joined the Queensland Public Service three years later as a “Draftsman & Clerk” in the Colonial Secretary’s Department.

Although the Llewellyns appear to have resided at “Thornclyffe” up until the early 1890s they retained ownership until December 1907. This house was constructed during the height of the housing boom of the 1880s. This boom saw an expansion of residential. It was clearly constructed as a substantial residence in an idyllic locality at Kangaroo Point, designed to take full advantage of its high position along the Brisbane river. The land, at the date of construction, not only provided river frontage but, also bounded Shafston House. Shafston House had recently (1883) undergone extensive renovation.

Of interest to me is the information relating to the building of the house by Barbara Murphy in 1881. My research has found that Barbara Murphy at that time was the widow of Francis Bartley Murphy (grazier) who had died in 1877. Barbara McLean had married France Bartley Murphy in June 1867. 

Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Saturday 9 August 1879, page 6

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Legal Notices.

In the Supreme Court of Queensland.

Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.

In the LANDS and GOODS of FRANCIS BARTLEY MURPHY, late of Maxvale, Maranoa, in the Colony of Queensland, Grazier, Deceased.

NOTICE is hereby given that, after the expiration of fourteen days from the date of the publication hereof, application will be made to the said Honorable Court that LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION of all and singular the legal and personal estate and effects of the above-named Francis Bartley Murphy, deceased, who died intestate, may be granted to BARBARA MURPHY, of Maxvale aforesaid, Widow of the said deceased.

Dated at Brisbane this 8th day of August, A.D. 1879.

CHARLES STUART MEIN, Proctor for the Applicant, Queen-street, Brisbane. 

The marriage of Francis Bartley Murphy and Barbara McLean was notified in the press of the time.

Rockhampton Bulletin and Central Queensland Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 - 1871), Saturday 15 June 1867, page 3

MARRIAGE.

ON the 13th instant, at the English Church, Rockhampton, by special license, by the Rev. Mr. Searle, Francis Bartley Murphy, youngest son of Bartley F. Murphy, Esq., M.D., Dublin, to Barbara, eldest daughter of Jonathan McLean, Esq., Bindango, squatter, Queensland.

Home papers please copy.

Alpha Cottage - Lost in Time

 Kangaroo Point still existed as a shire or town until the amalgamation of the nineteen town councils and shires that made up the greater Brisbane area. The Government of Queensland created the City of Brisbane with a view to uniting the then Brisbane metropolitan area under a single planning and governance structure. The City of Brisbane Act 1924 received assent from the Governor on 30 October 1924. On 1 October 1925, 20 local government areas of various sizes were abolished and merged into the new city. While the Kangaroo Point of today bears very little resemblance to 1925 if you look there are still examples of the early colonial era. 

The following is taken from the Brisbane City Council's Heritage Register.

‘Alpha Cottage’ is located on land that was acquired by Queensland explorer, squatter and writer of Queensland’s history, Henry Stuart Russell. Russell purchased the property in 1852, and completed the notable Kangaroo Point home of Shafston House, which had been started by the previous owner Robert Creyke. This particular allotment (then 1 rood) was purchased by Francis Blanchard in 1875. It was one of a number of allotments (covering over 44 acres) that were offered for sale by the “Honourable” Louis Hope in December 1874.

 Hope, was a MLC from 1862-82 and was “a major figure in establishing the colony’s sugar industry.” Blanchard took possession of the land in late 1875. However, the listing of the cottage did not appear in the Post Office Directories (PODs) until the 1883-84 edition. Neither Blanchard or his wife appear to have ever lived in the cottage. Francis Blanchard is first listed in the PODs in 1889, where his occupation is supplied as Pilot. His address is listed as Cardwell. Blanchard’s name then disappears from the Directory to reappear in 1901 where he is listed as “Magazine Keeper of Pinkenba.” In 1910 the cottage passed onto his widow, Emma Blanchard who is listed as living in Cornwall Street Woolloongabba. The property was transferred to Katherine Nicholson and Florence Burrell in the following year.

Herberton Albion

This late nineteenth century timber and tin cottage was constructed circa 1888 for Thomas Madsen, a labourer and van proprieter. It is a fine example of a worker’s cottage built during Albion’s emergence as a prosperous suburban centre. Madsen sold the cottage in 1897 to James Brier who named it ‘Herberton Cottage’. It is one of the few nineteenth century colonial workers residences that survive in Albion.

Placed on the Brisbane City Council Heritage Register in January 2004 it is situated just off Sandgate Road, Albion. Albion in the late 19th century was a hive of industry with Andrew Petrie's quarry and brickworks attracting many workers to the area. 

The following is taken from the Brisbane City Council Heritage Register.

While Albion had initially been a semi-rural area dotted with grand houses, the coming of the railway in 1882 saw the urbanisation of the area, which was largely populated by Scottish migrants. In 1885, rail duplication work began from Albion to Eagle Junction stations to meet the demands of the railway branching off to Doomben which resulted in Albion becoming more attractive for residential development. By the late 1880s and early 1890s Albion was one of a number of prosperous suburban centres that had arisen in response to the expansion of Brisbane from its former small city core. This cottage was built circa 1888 for Thomas Madsen after he purchased the 16 perch (405 m2) allotment in 1885. In 1886, Thomas borrowed £140 from the Permanent Building Investment Society and probably used the capital to finance the building of this worker’s cottage. ‘Herberton Cottage’ was one of the earliest houses built in Lever Street; in 1888 there were only three houses and a Wesleyan Church in what was then known as Thomas Street. Madsen worked as a labourer and then a van proprietor and may have been employed at the brickworks at the end of Lever Street. When Madsen sold the cottage in 1897, the new owner, James Brier, named it ‘Herberton Cottage’. In 1915, Alice Tunney purchased the property. Her husband Robert Tunney was also a labourer and may have worked at Campbell’s Pottery. The Tunney’s, who had been living in Lever Street since 1895, may have also purchased, or even built, the neighbouring cottage, ‘Myrtle,’ as Robert Tunney is shown in the Queensland Post Office Directories as living next to Herberton Cottage in 1912. From aerial photographs and sewerage maps, ‘Myrtle’ and ‘Herberton Cottage’ appear to have been identical in design. ‘Myrtle’ has since been demolished and replaced with another house, however ‘Herberton Cottage’ remains as a fine, intact example of a nineteenth century worker’s residence and is one of only a few remaining in Albion.

The Victorian streetscape of Albion remains as a reminder of a time long gone in Brisbane architecture.