English, Scottish & Australian Bank (former)

Fortitude Valley was established during the 1850s, spurred by Lang’s Scottish Presbyterian immigrants who were denied land grants by the colonial government. Schools and churches were established during the 1860s with the census of 1861 reporting a population in the district of over 1300. The 1880s was a time of great commercial and residential growth in the Fortitude Valley area as both the population and the economy boomed.  The imposing new Holy Trinity Catholic Church replaced the existing one in 1882 and large ornate hotels such as the Empire, the Prince Consort and the Wickham were constructed to cater to the rapidly growing population. New commercial premises were also erected to take advantage of the economic prosperity.

Early photographs show that Bolger’s building was originally more ornate, in keeping with the flamboyant style favoured in the 1880s. It had two triangular pediments, the bases of which are still evident today.

Bolger occupied the building until the 1890s when it was taken over by Jason Yetting and Son, Tea Importers. During the later half of the 1890s the building was used as a boot warehouse then from 1901 until 1920 by Albert Goodall, a bootmaker. Another boot manufacturer, John Charity, gained title to the property in 1920 and he ran his business from these premises until 1926.

In 1927 the building was converted to a bank after the English, Scottish and Australian Bank gained title in that year. This is likely to have been the period in which the alterations to the building’s external features took place. Like the 1880s, the 1920s were a time of economic confidence, particularly in the Valley which now rivalled the CBD as a major shopping precinct.  

The English Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank was incorporated in the United Kindgom in 1852. On 21 August 1893 the English Scottish and Australian Bank Limited was established in Australia, based in Melbourne. It went on to have 104 branches spread throughout Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland.

In the 1920s, the bank expanded, acquiring the London Bank of Australia, the Commercial Bank of Tasmania and the Royal Bank of Australia. This boom ended with the 1930s depression. Wartime controls limited the bank’s revival and the 1950s witnessed a period of turbulent growth. On 10 December 1968 the English Scottish and Australian Bank merged with ANZ.

The building at 100 Wickham Street was sold to Lanart Pty Ltd in 1973 and changed hands again in 1983. From the 1990s to the present, the building has been occupied by “Monty”, a second hand dealer and pawnbroker.

 

An upper panel between a string course and a large moulded cornice contains the name of the building in raised lettering. A masonry flat topped pediment is divided into three panels by projecting flat pilasters with the outer panels sold and the central panel containing moulded balusters.

Alterations have occurred to the ground floor doors and windows, and by the addition of a large bracketed awning.

A brick extension has been added to the rear of the building.

The southern elevation is a plain face brick wall with no windows. An external fire escape has been added at the rear.

1. Brisbane City Council Aerial Photographs

2. Brisbane City Council Detail Plans

3. DERM. Titles Office Records

4. Mahlstedt & Son. City of Brisbane Detail Fire Survey. 1951

5. Merritt, DI.  ANZ Bank: A History of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited and its Constituents. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1985.

6. Queensland Post Office Directories