The Small Cottage 96 Crescent Road

 In 1934 discussion was taking place in the housing industry concerning the role of the new flats being built in Brisbane. During the 1930 to 1935 period of time Brisbane saw a move to the concept of individual flat or what we know today as unit living. Brisbane's leading domestice architects were all involved in the design and construction of this new style of living. Previous to this Brisbane's non detached housing was based on what we would call today shared housing. Large houses were purpose built with many bedrooms sharing a common kitchen and bathroom facilities.  This article in 1934 focussed on the concept of those wishing to have a smaller distinctive home with independent living. The noted architect Eric P. Trewern provided an article for "The Home" section of the Brisbane Sunday Mail on May 6. The house was built for William Herbert Boden a Brisbane barrister.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/10194504?

The following picture is taken from the Brisbane Sunday Mail of May 6, 1934.

William Herbert Boden Barrister at Law

William Herbert “Bill” Boden “A good citizen A good friend” By Murray Hulett 

Wednesday February 4th 1970 Wynnum Redlands Herald

The death occurred at his home in Valetta Street Manly, last Saturday, of a well-known citizen and member of the legal profession in Mr William Herbert Boden. The late Mr Boden who was in his 66th Year was born at Gympie, being a son of the late Mr and Mrs James A Boden. He received his secondary schooling at Brisbane Grammar School and joined the legal staff of the Public Curator’s Office as an articled clerk. He continued his law studies until he was called to the Bar at the age of 21 years and is believed to have been the youngest practicing barrister in Queensland. Following a period of service in the legal office of Messrs Mayne and Tinbury at Roma, the late Mr Boden returned to Brisbane where he opened his own office in the early 1930’s and practised all jurisdictions including the High Court of Australia. He gave up his Brisbane practice in 1957 and gradually retired from the legal profession, but took a very active part in local affairs. Probably two of his outstanding interests lay in the development of the south bank of the Brisbane river and the formation of the Wynnum District Co-Operative Housing Society – this latter venture having started off as a single co-operative and now embracing 19 societies which have been responsible for the spending in the Wynnum District of millions of dollars which otherwise would not have become available to homeowners only for initial interest of Mr Bill Boden. During World War II the late Mr Boden enlisted in the 2nd A.I.F. as a private with the 9th Division and later joined the Intelligence Section. At St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on Monday morning, a concourse which was representative of all sections of the community, was present at the service conducted by the Rev. Andrew Wilson B.A. Afterwards at the East Chapel of Mt. Thompson Crematorium the cortege was joined by many friends and associates from Brisbane who paid their last respects. A widow and two daughters, Mrs W J Quinn of Wynnum and Mrs L E Hinrichsen of Redland Bay, survive. 

William Boden must have had a liking for the homes of the architect Eric P. Trewern. When he moved to the bayside suburb of Wynnum he initially lived in 181 Bay Terrace with his wife who was a chemist. In 1954 they are both registered on the electoral roll as living at this address which is a commercial premises. It could be assued that the was a chemist shop. In 1968 he and his wife are registered as living at 12 Valetta Street Manly. This house in Manly was another of the architect Eric P. Trewern's house legacies in Brisbane. The home at 12 Valetta Street was originally built for hotelier William O'Connor and is definitely not a small cottage where the Boden's started their married life in 1934. The house under the Boden's was named "Avalon". William Dennis O'Connor died in 1950 and by 1952 12 Avalon Street, Manly had passed out of the O'Connor familiy's ownership. Today 12 Valetta Street has been given the name Cloncrew. 

https://homesofbrisbane.blogspot.com/search?q=cloncrew

Cloncrew Still A Magnificent Harbour View

 Recently back on the market in 2021 is this house in the bayside suburb of Manly. The house maintains an almost castle like position as it stands looking out across the Manly Harbour. With the morning or evening sun highlighting the white paint and red tile it is a house worth seeing as a photograph does not do it justice. Now over eighty years old it has that timeless presence that is only given to homes of distinction. 

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

https://heritage.brisbane.qld.gov.au/heritage-places/2052

This house was built in 1936 for prominent Brisbane hotelier and Queensland Brewery Limited director, William Denis O’Connor. He had been associated with the Wynnum-Manly area for many years, having become the proprietor of the popular Waterloo Bay Hotel in 1898. O’Connor contracted E.P. Trewern from the leading firm of Brisbane architects of the Interwar period to design the new house. Trewern is acknowledged as an influential architect through his innovative use of the Spanish Mission style. This residence is the only example of a Trewern Spanish Mission design built in any of Brisbane’s bayside suburbs.

Wynnum publican William Denis O’Connor purchased the land on which this house was constructed gradually and in sections. He bought subdivisions 6, 7, 171 and 172 of Resubdivision 3 of subdivision 1 of Portion 79, comprising two roods, on 30 January 1911. He purchased subdivisions 5 and 170 of Resubdivision 3 of subdivision 1 of Portion 79, comprising one rood, on 1 November 1911. He purchased subdivisions 8 and 9 of Resubdivision 3 of subdivision 1 of Portion 79, comprising one rood, on 26 August 1936. W.D. O’Connor was a member of a family of major Brisbane hoteliers. William D. O’Connor owned numerous licenced establishments around Brisbane, including the Shamrock Hotel at 186 Brunswick Street and the Prince Consort Hotel at 230 Wickham Street, both in Fortitude Valley and the Treasury Hotel at 175 George Street in the City. But he is most remembered for his ownership of the Waterloo Bay Hotel at 75 Berrima Street, Wynnum and his involvement in the local Wynnum-Manly community. O’Connor maintained ownership of the Waterloo Bay Hotel from August 1898 until his death in 1950. While remaining the proprietor of the hotel, he often leased the popular hotel to a variety of licencees, commencing in 1901 with Bernard Kennedy. In 1929, The Brisbane Courier praised O’Connor’s reputation and efforts in the Wynnum-Manly area: “In Mr. W.D. O’Connor the district has a generous and public spirited gentleman, ever ready to assist a deserving cause and a keen follower of sport.” One example of his support for sport was his establishment of a Sports Grounds adjacent to the Waterloo Bay Hotel, from where he organised an annual woodchop contest. In 1937, William D. O’Connor joined the board of directors of Queensland Brewery Limited (brewers of Bulimba Bitter and Gold Top beers), the rival company to Date of Information — August 2012 Page 2 Castlemaine Perkins. He occupied the seat on the brewery’s board of directors that had been filled by his brother Denis, until the latter’s death. At the time of his appointment on 28 July 1937, William O’Connor indicated that he would retire from the retail side of the brewing trade. Although the Queensland Brewery Limited’s headquarters was located at 501 Ann Street in Fortitude Valley, O’Connor did not relocate closer to the City, but instead chose to retain his links to Wynnum-Manly. It is likely that his new residence at Manly was designed to be his retirement home. Previously, he and his family had been residing at the Waterloo Bay Hotel. 

By the 1930’s, Manly had developed from its origins as a seaside tourist spot for campers and day-trippers into a Brisbane suburb. Reflecting the increasing number of permanent residents in the district, the Wynnum Shire Council was created in 1902. The shire council became a town council, with its own mayor in 1913. It was amalgamated into the Greater Brisbane City Council in 1925. Manly was connected to electricity by 1923. In 1933, a Great Depression relief work program completed a large, impressive, stone retaining wall in Falcon Street, close to W.D. O’Connor’s land. This 7.5 metre-tall structure featuring a rock face that was 3 metres thick became a local tourist attraction that became known as “The Great Wall of Manly”. Such improvements drew more tourists. The site, chosen by O’Connor for his new home, was located on the lower slopes of Manly Hill, overlooking Moreton Bay. It provided a scenic view of the tourist spots of the Manly Jetty, the Manly (saltwater) baths and the Manly kiosk. It was located within walking distance of the Manly town centre in Cambridge Parade. While the property ran beside Valetta Street, this street did not connect to Royal Esplanade. Instead beach access was gained via a set of timber stairs built at the end of Valetta Street. Thus O’Connor’s new residence was to have its address listed as Valetta Street and not Royal Esplanade. It had taken O’Connor 25 years to acquire a block of land that satisfied his needs. Next he contracted the leading firm of Brisbane architects of the Interwar period, to produce a design for a large, impressive, modern home to occupy this corner, hillside block. 

Influential Brisbane architect Eric Percival (E.P.) Trewern (1895-1959) designed the house in the Spanish Mission style. Victorian-trained Trewern established his Brisbane architectural practice in 1920 at an address in Queen Street, Brisbane. The practice continued until Trewern’s death in 1959. He is still renowned for his innovative designs incorporating the Spanish Mission and the Old English/Tudor revival style in residential and commercial architecture. Trewern designed many commercial buildings in central Brisbane, but unfortunately many of these no longer exist. One important extant commercial building is the Inchcolm Professional Chambers at 73 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill. The Australian Institute of Architects describes Trewern as having “the most successful residential [architecture] firm of the interwar period” in Brisbane. He was a vice-president and then president of the Queensland Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. In his official obituary that appeared in The Courier Mail on 30 November 1959, he was lauded for having designed many leading city dwellings, including the Coorparoo Methodist Church that was to be the venue for his funeral. Despite designing many houses across Brisbane, the O’Connor residence at 551 Royal Esplanade, Manly was the only Spanish Mission style home that Trewern designed in any of Brisbane’s bayside suburbs. 

William O’Connor died on 14 January 1950. His funeral was at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Brisbane’s principal Catholic church and he is buried at Nudgee (Catholic) Cemetery. In summing-up William’s life, The Courier Mail stated that “Mr. O’Connor was well known in Brisbane for many years” due to his work in the hotel industry, particularly through his involvement with the Waterloo Bay Hotel. 

After W.D. O’Connor’s death, his home passed to Douglas Wadley and Graham Denis O’Connor. G.D. O’Connor took sole ownership of the property on 14 August 1951. The property left the hands of the O’Connor family on 11 Date of Information — August 2012 Page 3 June 1952, when it was transferred to John C. Anderson. He further benefitted from the strategic location of the 0’Connor residence, when its scenic views were enhanced further after the Manly Boat Harbour opened in 1958. This is the largest small-craft anchorage in Queensland and it was, fortuitously, built straight across the road from the O’Connor residence. In 1988, Trewern’s design of 551 Royal Esplanade was featured in Well Made Plans that was an exhibition of drawings, organised by the University of Queensland’s Fryer Library, from its Queensland Architecture Archive. This Exhibition noted that: “The Spanish style was popularised in Brisbane in the 1920s by a number of architects who (inaccurately in retrospect) related the climate of Spain (and the west coast of North America) to that of southern Qld….E.P.Trewern was a notable exponent of the style for houses….the O’Connor residence has all his hallmarks – arcade with wrought iron grilles, cordova tiles and a picturesque assemblage of roofs.