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.