840 Brunswick Street, New Farm

In 1882 David Lyons purchased two portions of land on the corner of Brunswick and Villiers Streets. Lyons was first listed at the address in 1887. Prior to this the land had been vacant. This suggests that the house was constructed between 1882 and 1887. Whilst the majority of houses built in this period in Brisbane were constructed of timber due to its lower cost, the preferred construction material for the more elite residents was masonry. Seen as a more prestigious material due to its cost and finish, masonry buildings could also resemble those in Britain. As Australia was part of the British Empire at this time, most Brisbane residents thought of England as their ‘mother country’, regardless of whether they had been born there or not. Therefore, masonry houses offered a level of prestige to their residents above that of the more common timber house.   

Lyons was recorded in 1887 as a commercial traveller. By 1895 he was listed as the publican at the Palace Hotel in South Brisbane. It is unclear how long Lyons lived at ‘Strathmore’ as he placed an advertisement in the Brisbane Courier in March 1887 to let the house. The advertisement stated:

Strathmore, corner of Villiers and Brunswick Street, New Farm; near tram terminus; a handsome brick villa; 9ft verandahs, detached kitchen, gas and water, bathroom, stables, coachhouse, washhouse and every convenience.1

‘Strathmore’ was marketed at middle-upper class tenants who wished to live close to the city. Lyons was given a large mortgage in 1887 for £2000 from the brewing company Perkins & Co. Ltd. In the following year the land titles were handed over to the company, suggesting Lyons was unable to pay back the large loan. In 1888 the house was recorded as vacant.

In 1890 the property was sold to James Clark. According to the Electoral Rolls from this year, Clark resided in another house in the vicinity. The Post Office Directories confirm this as they record a succession of tenants at the house from 1889 to 1915. ‘Strathmore’ was home to Reverend Edward Griffith and his wife from 1889 to 1891, with his wife remaining in the house for another year after his death in 1891. From 1892 until 1915 the house had nine different tenants. One of these was James McWhirter, who resided in the house for only a year, 1897. It is not clear whether this was the father or the son of the successful Fortitude Valley department store as they were both called James. Through these tenancy years the name of the house changed briefly to ‘Arawa’ and then to ‘Colarmie’. From 1906 to 1913 an Inspector of Schools, Mr J Shirley, tenanted the house. 

 

During the First World War the house became a private hospital. Named ‘Inchcolm’, the records suggest that the hospital was not for caring for returned troops as many of the other hospitals in Brisbane were at this time, but for private patients, especially expectant mothers. The hospital only operated between 1915 and 1918. This suggests that with a shortage of hospitals due to the war an opportunity was taken to establish a private hospital for civilian patients. Once the war was over the hospital may no longer have been viable. 

From 1919 to 1922 the house was once again leased to various tenants. In 1923 Patrick Wilkinson, a Fortitude Valley wine merchant, purchased the property. He is listed at the address from 1923 to 1936. In 1936 Wilkinson converted the house into a boarding house and he moved to Maxwell Street, New Farm. In 1952, at the height of the post-war housing shortage, the house was converted into 8 flats. 

‘Strathmore’, as it was originally named, is an important reminder of the way New Farm developed. Originally a home for middle-upper class tenants who required relatively close proximity to the city, to the house’s conversion into a boarding house in the Great Depression era, then into flats in the post-war era, it represents several phases in New Farm’s history. The house has recently been restored to its original appearance, but continues its historic role of providing multiple accommodation as part of BRIC Housing Company’s property portfolio.

1. The Brisbane Courier, 9 March 1887, p8

2. Brisbane City Council, 1946 aerial photographs.

3. Brisbane City Council, Surveyor’s Notebook, 6 April 1912, updated 29 June 1916

4. Brisbane City Council, Sewerage Maps, Detail Plan No 188, 9 March 1925

5. Brisbane City Council, New Farm and Teneriffe Hill Heritage and Character Study, Oct 1995, pg 87-88

6. Queensland Post Office Directories

7. Queensland Electoral Rolls

8. Certificates of Title, Department of Environment and Resource Management

9. Bennett, H, ‘New Farm from quality street to mixed assortment’, Brisbane Houses, Gardens, Suburbs and Congregations, Papers No 22 Brisbane History Group, 2010 pg 151-175

10. Riddel, R,  Historic Photos, source: Mrs J. Power

11. Benjamin, G. & G. Grant, Reflections on New Farm, New Farm & Districts Historical Society Inc, New Farm, 2008

12. Apperly, R., R. Irving, P. Reynolds, A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture, 1989, pg 60-63

13. Brisbane Courier, 9 March 1887, pg 8. [see also 10, 12, 22, 25 and 29 March]

14. The Queenslander, Saturday 31 March 1917, p9

15. The Capricornian, Saturday 10 August 1889, p26