Thornbury Street Cottages

In 1874 a large amount of land fronting Thornbury Street was purchased by John Jackson. Between this time and 1878, Jackson had four timber cottages constructed. Three of these were intended as rental investments and one was to become the Jackson family’s home. From 1878 John Jackson was listed in the Post Office Directories in Thornbury Street. By 1887 Jackson was residing at 15 Thornbury Street, with the other three cottages tenanted by George Tyler in No. 11, Mr Clark in No. 7 and Mrs Johnson in No. 1. Over the years a succession of tenants resided in the three rental cottages. In 1901, when the Post Office Directories first began recording house numbers for Spring Hill, Jackson was recorded in No. 15 and three tenants in the other cottages. These house numbers correspond with those on the 1914 Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Map as well as today’s house numbers, thus confirming the correct address for Jackson.

John Jackson was first listed in the 1878 Post Office Directories as a ‘dray proprietor’ and then in 1883 as a ‘produce merchant’. In fact, Jackson became one of the most successful produce merchants in Queensland. Jackson was originally from Northern Ireland but once in Brisbane he envisaged the potential for a successful produce merchant business. In 1878 he established his business, J. Jackson & Co., in the city on Eagle Street. The business imported seed and other farming related produce and sold it to Queensland farmers. It also exported farming produce such as dairy products and eggs. By 1905 the business was thriving and a new, large, three-storey brick building was constructed on Eagle Street to accommodate the expanding business. In an article featured in the Brisbane Courier in 1905, the business was described, “Mr.  Jackson’s motto has always been “Steady work on a sure foundation”, and in his case it has increased a business which had its origin in a small deal in merchandise until it now ranks as one of the leading commercial concerns in the Queensland capital” (The Brisbane Courier, 4 March 1905, p13). An advertisement in the 1909 Post Office Directories makes the company’s success clear.

Jackson’s two sons, William James and Joshua David, helped their father run the company. The family moved out of 15 Thornbury Street in 1912-13 but retained ownership of all four cottages. In 1923 Jackson died and the Thornbury Street cottages were transferred to Jackson’s two sons. On May 30 a public auction was held to sell the estate of John Jackson; included in this auction was “Magnificent Block…This property comprises large Residence and Four Cottages” (The Brisbane Courier, 19 May 1925, p20). The four cottages were Nos 15, 11, 7 and 1 Thornbury Street. It is unclear whether all of the property was sold at this auction; however, by the 1930s the four cottages had been sold. 

The four modest timber cottages built to the footpath on very small parcels of land are rare examples of this form of housing in Brisbane. Each cottage has been restored and all contribute to the historic streetscape in Thornbury Street.

1. Post Office Directories.

2. Certificates of Titles, Department of Natural Resources and Mines

3. Queensland Electoral Rolls

4. Allom Lovell Marquis-Kyle, The Character of Residential Areas, Brisbane, A Study for the Brisbane City Council, 1994

5. Brisbane History Group, Housing, Health, the River and the Arts, Papers No. 3, 1985

6. The Brisbane Courier, 4 March 1905, p13

7. Cairns Post, 2 May 1923, p8

8. Queensland Figaro, 11 April 1902, p19

9. The Brisbane Courier, 19 May 1925, p20

10. The Brisbane Courier, 13 February 1932, p9

11. 1914 Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Map, Brisbane City Council Archives