Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Victorian 1860-1890
Style
Queenslander
Addresses
Type of place
House
Period
Victorian 1860-1890
Style
Queenslander
Digby Frank Denham, produce merchant and later local councillor, MLA and Premier of Queensland, purchased the property in 1887. He appears to have erected this house, which was named Ingleside, by 1888. Denham served as a member of Stephens Divisional Board for nine years and in 1902 was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Oxley. He served as a minister to 1911 when he became Premier of Queensland, a position he held until 1915.
Lot plan
L2_RP99381
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Timber
Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (E) Aesthetic; (H) Historical associationInteractive mapping
Lot plan
L2_RP99381
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Timber
Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (E) Aesthetic; (H) Historical associationInteractive mapping
History
This property was acquired in 1887 by Digby Frank Denham, produce merchant, businessman, local councillor, MLA and Premier of Queensland (1911-1915). Denham was born in England and came to Australia in 1881. He and his brother Edward joined a Sydney-based company John Melliday & Co, and Digby Denham opened a Brisbane branch of the company in 1886. In 1890 the Denhams brought out the company and changed the name to Denham brothers. Eventually the Brisbane and Sydney branches of the company separated.
In 1893 Denham entered local government as a member of Stephens Divisional Board where he served for nine years, four as a Chairman. In 1902 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Oxley. He served often as a minister until he became Premier of Queensland in 1911. In May 1915 he and his government were voted out of office. He returned to his business, and he died in 1944.
It appears “Ingleside” was constructed around 1888, and a 1906 photograph of the property viewed from the north, shows the house standing alone on the corner of Annerley Road and Denham Streets. There is a well established tree at the front of the house and trees at the back. Interestingly, the house is positioned well in the background of the photograph so that a view of the western side of Annerley Road is allowed. There appears to be few houses along the road and the corner at Annerley Road and Denham Street is full on dense vegetation and appears to drop away quickly. Annerley is dirt or gravel and the western edge is crudely fenced in the foreground of the photograph.
This photograph indicates that the area was sparsely settled at the turn of the century, with larger established and well spaced homes on the top of the Annerley Road ridge and patches of thick vegetation located in the gullies running from the top of the spur down towards Fairfield.
In term of housing styles, those area that did not have river views tended to be characterised by modest dwellings on smaller blocks (e.g workers cottages on the Thomson Estate), while there were grander homes on elevated sites (e.g “Ingleside” on Annerley Road), along with colonial-style homes in the 1880’s could be characterised as the homes of the wealthier settlers surrounded by small farms.
According to McClurg it was Digby Denham who suggested that Boggo Road be renamed Annerley Road and in 1905 it was changed. Annerley was then reputed to have been his birthplace in England, though this is unlikely. The district around the junction of the former Boggo Road and Ipswich Road was named subsequently named Annerley.
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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Stephens Local Area Plan
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Brisbane City Council Water Supply and Sewerage Detail Plans
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Department of Natural Resources, Queensland Certificates of title and other records.
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JOL Estate Map Collection and photographic collection
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McKellar's Map of Brisbane and Suburbs. Brisbane: Surveyor-General’s Office, 1895
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Brisbane Courier, 1864-1933
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)