22 Kyabra Street, Newstead

English investor Henry Hughes purchased twenty acres of land in the Newstead area in 1851. In 1865, known as the East Stratton Estate, the land was subdivided for residential purposes. Subdivisions 36 and 38 were purchased by Aeneas Walker in November 1866. He also acquired subdivision 35. Walker was Secretary of the Gas Works which were then at Petrie’s Bight.

Subdivisions 36 and 38 were sold to Joseph Leete Bourne in 1887. It is unclear whether residences had been constructed on the properties prior to the sale. Bourne took out a £100 mortgage on this property in what was originally known as Albert Street, Fortitude Valley. The street name was changed around 1906. Bourne, for many years the Secretary of the Brisbane Hospital, had resided at Orleigh, his villa in Stratton. He had purchased this and other land on the estate in 1884, apparently as part of a speculative venture. By 1887 he had moved from Stratton to a residence in O’Connell Terrace, Bowen Hills. The house was simply a rental proposition, as Bourne never resided there. Those who rented the premises were generally skilled workers and probably worked in the immediate vicinity. There were three similar cottages adjacent to this one, but modern commercial redevelopment has seen their removal from what was once a predominantly residential neighbourhood.

Bourne and a partner had a business in Queen Street, the City Carriage Works. In 1887 he borrowed £1200 and in 1889 another £1800 against this property, possibly to expand his business during the boom years. The fluctuating economy claimed Bourne as one of its early victims, and in 1890 because of his inability to repay his debts, the Royal Bank of Queensland took possession of the house and land. The bank continued to rent the premises until 1916 when it was sold privately.

By the 1940s, Kyabra Street already had some industrial activity but was predominantly still residential. This house was one of many similar houses in Kyabra Street. However it is now situated in what is an almost exclusively industrial section of Newstead. Few other nineteenth century or interwar houses have survived in the surrounding streets. This is the only brick 19th century house with a veranda in the immediate area.

The front timber and chain wire fence is likely to be from the interwar period. There are remnants of an older fence at the rear of the house, and an in situ concrete, timber and corrugated iron lean-to presumably enclosing a laundry or bathroom.

1. Brisbane City Council, 1946 aerial photographs.

2. Titles Office Records

3. Post Office Directories.