Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Queenslander
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Brick Residence
31 Gordon Avenue, Darra
Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Queenslander
31 Gordon Avenue is an interwar house built between 1932 and 1935 by Darra resident William Henry Bolton. Designed within the Queensland vernacular the house is unusual as it was constructed with bricks, a divergence from the traditional timber interwar houses that share the same style. The brick house is important in the Darra area as it reflects the importance of the growth of industry, in particular Brittain’s brickworks, and the influence it had on the development of the suburb.
Lot plan
L285_RP29729; L284_RP29729
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Face brick
Criterion for listing
(B) Rarity; (E) AestheticInteractive mapping
Lot plan
L285_RP29729; L284_RP29729
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Face brick
Criterion for listing
(B) Rarity; (E) AestheticInteractive mapping
History
Darra’s development was influenced by the railway. By 1914 a post office had been established at Darra and a primary school had been opened in 1915 as a result of the increased population. Several large industries moved into Darra in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and it was with this that the suburb moved away from a rural outpost and began to emerge as an industrious sector of Brisbane. The two main industries were Brittain’s Brickworks and the Queensland Cement and Lime Company. These large enterprises encouraged employment opportunities for many Brisbane residents and many of the workers built homes in Darra close to their place of employment. By 1921 the population of the Darra area had reached 423.
The traditional housing stock throughout the Darra area at this time was predominately timber and designed in the vernacular ‘Queenslander’ style. Prior to the establishment of the brick industry in the Oxley/Darra district in the early twentieth century the primary brick-making centre in Brisbane was in the northern suburbs of Lutwyche, Windsor and Albion. However, as the industry in these areas declined and new clay deposits were discovered in the Oxley/Darra district the centre for the industry shifted.
The first and most successful brick-maker in the area was William Brittain. The Brisbane Courier published an article in June 1915 stating, “Britian’s Oxley Brick and Pottery Works, a very large business undertaking, where every class of brick is manufactured… An inexhaustible deposit of clay and shales exists on the property.”1 The brick works continued to be one of the major brick manufactories in Brisbane throughout the interwar period.
In 1929 William Henry Bolton, a labourer, purchased 2 roods of land from George Hergott Jesser. In 1932 the Register of New Buildings recorded Bolton applying to construct a brick house on his land. The estimated cost of the house was £700 and it was to be built by Bolton himself. The evidence suggests that the house was constructed between 1932 and 1935. In 1936 Bolton was first listed at the Gordon Avenue address.
The unusual brick house built in 1932-35 at 29 Gordon Avenue is representative of the influence of the brick making industry on the development of the district and as a masonry house constructed in the early twentieth century it is uncommon in Darra. The design of the house, as a traditional ‘Queenslander’, has been adapted to incorporate the use of bricks. The design of the brickwork is unusual, decorative and accentuates the graceful lines of the traditional Queensland vernacular. The brick chimney and front brick fence are contributing features of the house.
Statement of significance
Relevant assessment criteria
This is a place of local heritage significance and meets one or more of the local heritage criteria under the Heritage planning scheme policy of the Brisbane City Plan 2014. It is significant because:
References
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The Brisbane Courier, Wednesday 23 June 1915. p8
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Fones, Ralph, Oxley! A Mind of its Own, Oxley-Chelmer History Group, 2006
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Grantham, Lona, Heritage Tour: An Historical Tour of Oxley, Oxley-Chelmer Historical Group, 2003
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Historic Titles, Department of Environment and Resource Management
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Queensland Post Office Directories
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Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Survey Maps
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Queensland Electoral Rolls
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Jenkins, Lesley, A Celebration of Culture: A Social History of Darra, Living in Brisbane, 2003
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)