Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Victorian 1860-1890
Style
Queenslander
Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Victorian 1860-1890
Style
Queenslander
‘Tivoli’ was built circa 1889 for surveyor Allan Alfred Spowers and his wife Annie when Corinda was still a predominantly rural area. The house was originally built on just over two acres of land, which was gradually subdivided throughout the twentieth century in line with the residential development of the area. In 1907, Allan was appointed Surveyor General of Queensland and was also a Fellow of the Queensland branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australia. He lived in the house until his death in 1938 and the house remained in the ownership of the Spowers family until 1952.
Lot plan
L1_RP155605
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Timber
Criterion for listing
(A) HistoricalInteractive mapping
Lot plan
L1_RP155605
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Timber
Criterion for listing
(A) HistoricalInteractive mapping
History
The area from Chelmer to Corinda was known as “Boyland’s Pocket” in the 1850s, Captain Boyland having leased the area in 1851. In 1860 the new Queensland Government opened up the district for selection, at a price of 1 pound per acre, resulting in the establishment of a number of farms ranging anywhere between 25 and 70 acres in size. Attempts were made by pioneer selectors during the 1860s and 1870s to produce maize, potatoes, bananas, cotton, sugar cane, and arrowroot. The opening of a railway bridge at Indooroopilly in 1876 reduced the isolation of the area, and allowed for increased subdivision. The first main building wave occurred in the 1880s, a boom period for Brisbane. However, many of the allotments sold at this time remained vacant for years, and continued to be used for small farming operations. Later waves of building, occurring after each of the World Wars, gradually reduced the amount of farmland, and new housing continues to envelop those gracious older houses which once stood on acreage, surrounded by gardens.
In 1888 Annie Isobel Spowers, wife of Allan Alfred Spowers, purchased 2 acres and 2.4 perches of land from Alfred Henry Brown, near Corinda Hill, at the time a desirable location for elite residences. Isobel was the daughter of William Montgomery Davenport Davidson, a former Surveyor General of Queensland. Her husband Allan was also a surveyor, having been admitted as a contract surveyor for the Real Property’s Transfer Office and the Department of Public Lands in 1882. He was appointed to the staff of the Lands Department in 1885 on a salary of ₤320, with ₤200 pounds for equipment. By 1900 he was a J.P, and in July 1907 he was appointed Surveyor General for Queensland. Allan Alfred Spowers was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of Australia (Queensland branch), acting as president in 1911-1912.
A.A. Spowers is first listed in the POD in 1890, living in Corinda. Although he does not appear on the Oxley electoral roll until 1898, with a claim from August 1895, his son James Howard Spowers was born in Corinda in November 1889, and the above suggests a build date for “Tivoli” of that year.
Allan died in 1938, and Isobel died in 1947. The original property had been subdivided in 1912, 1923, 1925, and 1929, and in 1951 it was divided again. James Howard Spowers and Henry Macaulay Turner received the house and 2 roods, 16.8 perches of land. It was sold in 1952 to Cyril Gerard Gore, and was eventually subdivided in 1976, leaving the current 1450m2 lot.
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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Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland Certificates of Title
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Walter Taylor South Character and Heritage Study, BCC Heritage Unit, 1997
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Queensland Post Office Directories
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Queensland Electoral Rolls
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Brisbane City Council Water Supply & Sewerage Detail Plans
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Anglican Church of Australasia, Parish of Sherwood, (Brisbane), Cemetery and Columbarium Wall, Monumental Inscriptions. Rosemary and Eric Kopittke, Queensland Family History Society. 1995
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Queensland Government Gazette, 1882, 1907,1908
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Fred John’s Annual, London 1914
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Website: www.clendonfamilytree.org.uk/d1524.htm
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised April 2023)