The two houses in Grays Road that have sat beside each other for more than 130 years make a splendid sight. Not quite identical twins but with enough architectural similarity provided by the architect Arthur Morry to give individuality. Today they have been maintained by their owners as if they were new. They are a wonderful example of the colonial homes of the wealthy merchant class of the late 19th century Brisbane.
Wanda Walha
Wanda Walha was built in 1886 for successful merchant William Alexander Wilson. It was probably designed by his neighbour, the architect Arthur Morry. Originally a grocer, Wilson was also a partner in the neighbouring West End Sawmill & Steam Joinery Co Ltd. This may explain the choice of timber as the material for Wanda Walha. He also built a number of other timber houses on his five acre (2 hectare) property, for rental.
William Alexander Wilson
Wilson also dabbled in resubdivision, when, in April 1886, he had Subdivision 1 converted into Allotments 147 and 148. His multiple land holdings in Hill End were a reflection of his success as a grocer and owner of several stores in the area. Wilson had been born in the West Indies where his Irish father was a teacher. William Wilson had learnt the grocer’s trade at Enniskillen in Ireland before immigrating to Sydney in 1863. In 1873, he moved with his family to Brisbane where he set up shop in George Street. By 1886 he had moved his business to shops in Hill End and had expanded his interests to include a partnership in a local lumber firm, the West End Sawmill and Steam Joinery Company.
Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Thursday 14 February 1878, page 4
Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954), Saturday 30 October 1886, page 4
COMMERCIAL.
BULLETIN OFFICE, Friday Evening.
Our Brisbane contemporaries speak more hopefully of the prospects of trade in that city, and are inclined to think that the action of the banks in refusing further aid to certain tradespeople will have a good effect in the immediate future. The Courier of last Saturday says:-"Some of the wholesale houses complain of the week having been very dull, whilst others state that business has been very brisk and satisfactory with them. There is almost an entire absence of speculation, however, and taking an all-round view of the state of trade, it must be admitted that the atmosphere is clearer, and the prospects of a fair steady business from this out are brightening." One pleasing feature in connection with the failure in the metropolis of late is that the meetings of creditors are being made of a public character. At one an objection was taken to the presence of a Courier reporter by the Chairman, at the instance of the insolvent's solicitor, but the iusolvent stated when creditors appeared favourable to the proceedings being reported he did not see why the reporter should not remain. The Courier's reprsentative watched what transpired, and was able on the following morning to tell the residents of Brisbane that the insolvent had assigned his estate three times since 1866. Another gentleman Mr. W. A. Wilson, a grocer attributed his position to the dulness of the land market, too much capital being locked up in unproductive speculation, and the failure of joint purchasers in land, there by throwing the whole liability upon himself. As soon as the contingent liabilities were settled, be hoped to make arrangements to tske over the estate.
Robert Scott
Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Wednesday 16 April 1930, page 20
OBITUARY.
Mr. R. J. Scott, whose death occurred yesterday, was born at Kangaroo Point on February 10, 1853, and his education was begun at the private school of his father, the late Mr. John Scott, which was one of the first educational factors in Brisbane. He went to Ipswich with his father, who opened the first National School there, and he was one of the first boys in the colony to obtain a scholarship, which gave him entry to the Ipswich Boys' Grammar School. His first business experience was with the firm of J. and G Harris in Ipswich, and he travelled long distances on horseback inspecting cotton crops in the West Moreton diston district in the interest of that firm. He was subsequently with Gibbs, Bright, and Co. and the Flour Mill-ing Company in Brisbane, and his retirement a few years ago was from the position of accountant in the Department of Public Lands. He was a keen horticulturist. Music was one of his principal interests in life, and he occupied the position of organist and choir master of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church for 16 years, from 1873 to 1889, the present organ in that church having been erected under his supervision. He was predeceased by his wife five years ago, and he is survived by four daughters and one son. The funeral will leave the deceased's late residence, Wanda Walha, Gray-road, Hill End, at 10.30 a.m. today, for the Toowong cemetery.
Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Wednesday 22 July 1925, page 19
THE LATE MRS. R. J. SCOTT.
Mrs. Isabella Scott, wife of Mr. R. J Scott, retired accountant of the Department of Public Lands, passed away sud-denly on 13th instant, at her home, Wanda Walha, Gray-road, Hill End. Mrs. Scott's parents (Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm, McLean) came from New South Wales in 1848 to Ipswich, where Mrs. Scott was born in 1852, and she had lived in Ips-wich and Brisbane since then. She was married to Mr. Scott in November, 1875, so that their golden wedding would have been celebrated four months hence. She was revered by a large circle of friends, including a number of returned soldiers, to whom she was very hospitable, having kept her house open to enlisted soldiers for rest and recreation both before they left for and returned from the war. She is survived, in addition to her husband, by four daughters, one son, and two grandsons, and also two sisters, Mrs. D. Kerr, of Maryborough, and Mrs. P. McCallum, of Nanango, and two brothers, Messrs. James and John McLean, of Ipswich. She was the youngest of a family of nine, which included the late Mrs Hugh Campbell, of Ipswich.
Hillside
This property was part of a land grant issued to John Perrell Wilkie of Brisbane in January 1854. Wilkie paid £32 for 16 acres of crown land, in South Brisbane, that had been given the designation Portion 54. In August 1874, Edward Thomas Jones Wrench and Robert Pemberton Richardson, both of Sydney, bought Portion 45 from Wilkie. They held the title for only a few months before transferring Portion 45 onto Robert John Gray in January 1875. Gray had already obtained the adjacent Portions 46 and 47 in September 1874, so this latest purchase brought his total land holdings in this part of Hill End to 33 acres and 1 rood. This made Robert Gray one of the largest landowners in the area, a fact reflected later in the naming of Gray Road after him.
In 1885, Gray subdivided Portions 45, 46 and 47 into two allotments, with the smaller allotment of Subdivision 1 being drawn the land in Portion 45. The larger allotment, designated as Subdivision 2, Gray sold to John Potts and Gustavus Caesar Horstmann in January 1885. The remaining 3 acres and 1 rood of land of Subdivision were sold, by Gray, to William Alexander Wilson in March 1885. Potts and Horstmann resubdivided Subdivision 2 into smaller blocks and eight of these were subsequently sold off to Wilson during 1885 and 1886. Wilson also dabbled in resubdivision, when, in April 1886, he had Subdivision 1 converted into Allotments 147 and 148. His multiple land holdings in Hill End were a reflection of his success as a grocer and owner of several stores in the area. Wilson had been born in the West Indies where his Irish father was a teacher. William Wilson had learnt the grocer’s trade at Enniskillen in Ireland before immigrating to Sydney in 1863. In 1873, he moved with his family to Brisbane where he set up shop in George Street. By 1886 he had moved his business to shops in Hill End and had expanded his interests to include a partnership in a local lumber firm, the West End Sawmill and Steam Joinery Company. In that year Gray had his family home, which he named ‘Wanda Walha’ built next door to the land currently occupied by 9 Gray Road.
There is some confusion as to the architect who designed ‘Wanda Walha’. The Queensland National Trust suggests that it was “probably designed by Arthur Morry, whose own home ‘Nassagaweya’ stands nearby.” But the book Queensland Architects of the 19th Century gives credit for ‘Wanda Walha’ to architect George Cotton Clark. Clark (also known as Clarke) had been commissioned to design two dwellings at Hill End. ‘Wanda Walha’ as erected first at 15 Gray Road and the Clark began work on the nextdoor house at 9 Gray Road. This residence was ‘Hillside’. The use of timber to build both ‘Hillside’ and ‘Wanda Walha’ was still unusual for large Brisbane private homes in the 1880’s but it would become the norm by the turn of the century. The deciding factor for the choice of building for both of these homes was probably the easy accessibility of timber from Wilson’s nearby West End Sawmill. ‘Hillside’ was completed by 1888 and Wilson had probably intended to offer it for lease, as he was having other, smaller wooden homes built nearby for a similar purpose. But in May 1888, Edward Cook Pritchard and his wife Mary Ann purchased 9 Gray Road. While the Pritchards were undoubtedly the first occupants of ‘Hillside’, Edward C. Pritchard’s occupation remains a bit of a mystery. In the dual 1889 Post Office Directories, he is listed as both the Reverend Pritchard and as the manager of the Mutual Temperance Life Insurance Company. The Pritchard’s time at ‘Hillside’ was only brief for in March 1889, the property was sold back to William Wilson. Thereafter Wilson rented ‘Hillside’ out to professionals such as Lewis Phillips, an auctioneer. By the early 1890’s, Wilson had also placed ‘Wanda Walha’ on the rental market. But the rental from ‘Hillside’ and his other properties were not enough to save Wilson from financial difficulties. In 1910, Wilson put ‘Wanda Walha’ up for sale but with little success and, in 1912, all Wilson’s land was repossessed by his mortgagee, William Beit. Beit had the land containing ‘Hillside’ and ‘Wanda Walha’ resubdivided and sold. The block containing ‘Hillside’ was reduced to its existing size of 32.4 perches and in June 1912, the property was sold to John Sutherland. Frances Lilian Wilkins, wife of Frank Wilkins purchased ‘Hillside’ in April 1916. Frank Wilkins worked as an indenture agent for shipping interests and his family became the longest continuous owners of ‘Hillside’. After Frances Wilkins death in 1962, the property was shared amongst 10 family members: Frank Wilkins, George Maxwell Wilkins, Frank Geoffrey Wilkins, Stanley Alan Wilkins, Roy Wilkins, Leonard Watson Wilkins, Vida Francis Lewis, Clarice Rosalind Cunningham, Nancy Lilian Wheeler and Myra Caroline Sutherland.
The Wilkins family relinquished control of ‘Hillside’ in February 1965, when they sold the property to Robert and Eileen Lawrence. Prior to this sale, in September 1964, Robert Lawrence had gained Brisbane City Council approval to convert ‘Hillside’ into 10 flats. Reflecting the poor, run-down image that South Brisbane had at that time, ‘Hillside’ had a rapid turnover of owners in the 1960s and 70s. The Lawrences sold the property to Dereck Leslie Rintel in June 1966 and he, in turn, passed ‘Hillside’ onto Demitrios Katsadoros and Zampeta Catsadoros in February 1968. Katsadoros enclosed the house’s verandah in order to create even more rooms for rent. In September 1972, George and Vespina Petavrakis purchased ‘Hillside’. In April 1973, a proposal to convert the property into a four-storey block of eight units never got beyond the planning stage. In September 1975, Kieron Owen Timothy Quinn purchased ‘Hillside’ and began restoring it to its original condition. Tim Quinn was elected as Alderman for The Gabba Ward of the Brisbane City Council in 1985. In 1997, he became the Deputy-Mayor of Brisbane. Source Queensland Heritage Register and the Brisbane City Council Heritage Register.
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