Coniston Lane

Coniston Lane is a narrow single-vehicle lane off McLachlan Street, which has been in use since the mid-nineteenth century. The lane provided access to the yards at the rear of properties along Brunswick Street, particularly the Empire Hotel, which originally opened in 1865 (the current building was constructed in 1888). The unnamed lane had an unsavoury reputation and was invaded by police on multiple occasions in the 1920s and 1930s. The lane also acted as a service avenue from the 1920s, when the Valley underwent significant commercial and industrial development. Morgan and Wacker’s workshop was constructed on the McLachlan Street side of the lane in 1925 and the Truth and Sportsman newspaper building on the Brunswick Street side in 1928. The lane was probably named as part of a push to recognise Brisbane’s service lanes in the late twentieth century, and follows the pattern of using English street or place names.