Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Composite
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Residence 'Letty Katts'
Letty Katts Residence
Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Composite
This interwar residence was built circa 1925 for Lucretia Katts, her husband Anton, and their daughter Violet, also known as ‘Letty’. Letty Katts went on to become a pioneer of Australian song writing in the 1940s and 50s and composed most of her music around Australian themes. Two of her best-known ballads were Never Never (1945) and A Town Like Alice (1956). Letty lived in this house with her parents until the mid-1940s, however it remained in the possession of her family until 1975. The house is an unusual example of interwar architecture, combining a number of different style elements to form a pleasing and unusual design.
Lot plan
L1_RP47689
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Terracotta tile;Walls: Masonry
People/associations
Letty Katts (Occupant)Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (H) Historical associationInteractive mapping
Lot plan
L1_RP47689
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Terracotta tile;Walls: Masonry
People/associations
Letty Katts (Occupant)Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (H) Historical associationInteractive mapping
History
In 1920 the War Service Homes Commissioner bought an eight acre parcel of land from James Ferguson. This block, bounded by the present Samford Road, Gizeh, Cairo and Imbros Streets, was subdivided into 34 blocks. Lucretia Katts bought the first two blocks in May and November 1925 and evidently built this house immediately. In 1930 most of the second block was sold to Harry Phillips, who also built promptly and lived here until after 1939.
Gizeh Street (sometimes spelt Gezal Street) is first listed in the postal records for 1926. Anton Katts lived here from 1926 until at least 1939, with his wife Lucretia Pimblett whom he married in 1921 and Violet, a music teacher (probably shortened to Letty).
Letty Katts was a composer of popular music, mainly piano, from the 1940s until the 1970s. Much of her published work pursued Australian themes - the Never Never, Overlanders, A Day in the Bush, and West of the Great Divide characterise her song titles across several decades. Probably Katts’ best known work is the music and words of the title song for the 1956 film A Town Like Alice, starring Peter Finch and Virginia McKenna.
Katts lived here until the mid 1940s, and her family remained in the house until at least the late 1960s, probably until their sale of the property in 1975.
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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Queensland Title Deeds
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Queensland Post Office Directories
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Brisbane City Council Detail plan 1563, 30 April 1954
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Information from Music Unit, State Library of Queensland
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Queensland Electoral Rolls, 1941, 1946, 1967
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Queensland Births, Deaths and Marriages
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)