25 Sexton Street, Highgate Hill

This site was part of two large parcels of land. Portion 153 acquired by Deed of Grant by John Stephens, an accountant on 31 March 1862, while Richard Sexton acquired Portion 152 by Deed of Grant on 22 November 1860. Subdivision of both portions appears to have commenced in 1864. Subdivision 35 of Portion 152 was purchased by T. Brown on 20 May 1864 and later transferred to Nott on 18 December 1882. Nott acquired subdivisions 12 and 13 of Portion 153 in April 1884. Nott heavily mortgaged the whole of the land, comprising subdivision 35 of Portion 152 plus subdivisions 12 and 13 of Portion 153, in 1891.

Subsequent to the death of the mortgagee in 1903, the Curator of Interstate Estates sold the property on which the house now stands (subdivision 35 of Portion 152) to Sophia Gardiner in February 1924. She had been resident there since 1911. In 1914, she acquired the other two blocks that fronted Westbourne Street (subdivisions 12 and 13 of Portion 153)1.

After Sophia Gardiner’s death in 1953, the property passed to her five children. In 1967, the whole of the land was re-surveyed and converted into Lots 1 and 2 on RP115282. In 1968, Lot 1 on which the house stands was sold to members of Brisbane’s vibrant Greek community, Emmanuel Conias and Fontini Conias.2

The quality of the timber detailing on the house is currently offset by the wellmaintained

garden and picket fence.

Streetscape

Opposite 25 Sexton Street are a series of four identical timber cottages, all painted the same colour and built around the same time. All have a gable roof topped with a finial at the left hand side facing the street extending from the main hipped roof. Ornate timber brackets and battening support the sun hood that shades the window centred in the projecting room. Similar sun hoods shade the windows on either side of each cottage. The front verandah on all of them extends to the right of the projecting room and has its own roof. All seem to have been enclosed around the same time with the use of glass louvres. The entry door is now at the front of the verandah and stairs lead directly up to it from the ground. Each cottage is raised off the ground to a varying degree and is skirted by timber battening. This provides them with an even stop in height as they rise up Sexton Street, although their relation to the ground plane may change. The common colouration and identical treatment of these four timber cottages combine to make a unique part of the streetscape. Other contributors to this are the well-preserved number 25 opposite and a good example of a timber middle class residence of the 1920s in number 16 further down Sexton Street. This has gable ends facing the street, timber weatherboards and cover strips, along with being raised well above the ground.

This streetscape constitutes a rare example of a fine group of rental properties dating from the first decade of the twentieth century. In this era, the South Brisbane Municipal Council was promoting the commercial and industrial development of the South Brisbane peninsula and urbanisation was proceeding apace. ‘Respectability’ was believed to be synonymous with residence on the slopes of Highgate Hill and South Brisbane. Cottages such as these provided long term residences for those aspiring to such estates.

1. Titles Office Records

2. Titles Office Records and Post Office Directories

3. Titles Office Records