Hamel

Purpose- built flats were a relatively new phenomenon in Brisbane in 1930. Prior to this, it was more common to convert larger houses to flats or to subdivide large allotments and build smaller houses in response to the housing shortages of the 1920s. The bulk of flats erected in Brisbane in the interwar period were built as rental investments with investors favouring more central locations close to workplaces, shops, entertainment and schools, with easy access to public transport. Brunswick Street in New Farm was an ideal location, being close to the city and the tramlines radiating from it. At this time, many of the old large estates at New Farm were being subdivided for new development, including purpose built flats. Council ordinances adopted in 1926 regulated development of flats stating that if the building was not more than three storeys in height it may occupy two-thirds of the allotment. “As a result, Brisbane’s interwar flats rarely exceeded three storeys”.1

Further controls were introduced during the 1930s in response to concerns about slum development, which excluded flat development in streets less than 50 links wide and restricted site coverage to 50% and buildings to two-storeys unless they were constructed of fire-resistant material such as brick or concrete, when they may be three storeys. Purpose-built flats in the 1930s varied from moderate-rental blocks and bachelor flats to more prestigious luxury flats or apartments. Often the latter were aimed at the long-term rental market and erected in single blocks of two to three storeys of masonry or fibrous cement, comprising six to eight flats.2

The architectural firm Chambers and Ford, which designed ‘Hamel’, was a partnership of Claude William Chambers and Eric Marshall Ford. Chambers and Ford practised in Brisbane from 1920 until 1951and “were responsible for the design of a number of apartment buildings in Brisbane in the interwar period.” Chambers was a highly experienced and notable architect, who worked for a number of prominent Brisbane firms during the nineteenth century and formed several partnerships in the twentieth century, including Chambers and Powell (where E.M. Ford was office manager); Chambers and Ford and Chambers and Hutton. The partnership of Chambers and Ford designed several Brisbane churches notably St Margaret's Church of England, Sandgate (1927), Woolloongabba Church of England (1930) and St James' Church, Kelvin Grove (1943).3

‘Hamel’ is a modern design incorporating elements of the Interwar Georgian revival style identified in Apperly, Irving and Reynolds (1989). Rayner took out mortgages over the property in 1931 and 1932, possibly to pay for the completion and finishing of the flats. Originally managed by Maurice MacAllum, ‘Hamel’ flats were owned by Rayner and registered for 13 persons until 1956 when they were converted to tenements by the new owner, Pietro Cremasco. They were resold almost yearly to new owners in the late 1950s, and alterations were made in 1958 returning Hamel to registered flats. The flats have had relatively long term owners since 1975.

1. Queensland. ‘Julius Street Flats New Farm’ 601895. Qld Heritage Register citation. http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/chims/placeDetail.html;jsessionid=7f00000130d72bead3155fcc4a7daabfc8c83e016a58.e34NaN8SbNyKci0Lc34Kc3yLch8Le6fznA5Pp7ftolbGmkTy?siteId=16631. Accessed 18.01.10

2. Ibid

3. Queensland. ‘Holy Trinity Church, Woolloongabba. Qld Heritage Register citation http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/chims/placeDetail.html;jsessionid=7f00000130d70ea38bd579134c6c8c7f9cad84868f13.e34NaN8SbNyKci0Lc34Kc3yLch8Le6fznA5Pp7ftolbGmkTy?siteId=16612. Accessed 18.01.10

4. Apperly, Richard, Robert Irving and Peter Reynolds. A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present. North Ryde: Angus & Robertson, 1989

5. Benjamin, G. & Grant, G. Reflections on New Farm, New Farm & Districts Historical Society Inc, New Farm, 2008, pp 61-65; 106

6. Bennett, H, ‘New Farm from quality street to mixed assortment’, Brisbane Houses, Gardens, Suburbs and Congregations, Papers No 22 Brisbane History Group, 2010 pg 151-175

7. Brisbane City Council. Building Registers. 30 Sept 1930

8. Brisbane City Council. Building Cards. 768 Brunswick Street

9. Brisbane City Council, 1946 aerial photographs.

10. Brisbane City Council Surveyor’s Notebook, 1925

11. Brisbane Courier. 22 Apr 1932, p 12

12. Kennedy, Michael Owen. ‘Domestic Architecture in Queensland Between the Wars’, Master of the Built Environment (Building Conservation) thesis, University of New South Wales, 1989

13. Queensland Post Office Directories, 1929-30, 1931-32, 1933, 1934, 1935

14. Queensland Certificates of Title

15. Watson, Donald and Judith McKay. A Directory of Queensland Architects to 1940. (St. Lucia: U of Q Press, 1984)