Murlough Villa

The first Catholic Mass at Sandgate was performed by Father Patrick Dunne in 1865 in a house in what is now Eagle Terrace. Prior to this, the few Catholic families living at Sandgate would take their children to Brisbane to be baptised. Visiting Catholic priests continued to celebrate mass at Sandgate until 1880 when Father James Connolly was appointed as the local priest. The first Sandgate Catholic Church, the Church of the Sacred Heart, was opened in Brighton Road by the Bishop of Hobart on 25 September 1881. It was built, like so many Brisbane Catholic churches, on a prime elevated site with fine views. With the arrival of the railway to Sandgate in 1882, the population would increase and it was anticipated that a larger church would be required in the not too distant future.

Father Connolly, an Irish priest who was educated in France, arrived in Queensland in the 1860s. He travelled on horseback to the Catholic families of the Logan and Gold Coast areas before being appointed as the first Catholic priest of Cleveland Bay (Townsville) in 1871. According to a history written by the Sacred Heart Parish, Father Connolly allegedly requested a transfer to southern Queensland for health reasons after catching a ‘miner’s fever’ on the Townsville goldfields.  After arriving in Sandgate, he initially lived in a hut on the site of the present convent in Brighton Road. 

In 1881, with capital allegedly from investments in Townsville’s gold mines, Father Connolly purchased a corner block of land in Brighton Terrace overlooking the sea. The parish history, published in 1980, reproduced the following description from a contemporary newspaper article: 

Fr. Connolly has now at his own expense completed a really beautiful residence at a short distance from the church. It is situated about half a mile from the centre of the town on a terrace commanding a splendid view of Moreton Bay…. Fr. Connolly cherishes fond recollections of his native Murlough in County Donegal, and he has accordingly called his new residence “Murlough Villa” and it so happens that in both cases the name is thoroughly appropriate and descriptive: Murlough meaning a small bay, or a bay within a bay.

In 1890, Sacred Heart Church celebrated the jubilee anniversary of Father Connolly’s priesthood and began planning for a new church to accommodate the growing congregation as well as a new presbytery and the conversion of the old church into a convent school.  Father Connolly promised to donate the proceeds of the sale of his home in Brighton Terrace towards achieving these goals. The new presbytery was opened in 1890. In addition to the ₤700 from the sale of ‘Murlough Villa’, Father Connolly apparently contributed another ₤600 towards the cost of the marble altar, stained glass windows and remaining debt on the church. The new Church of the Sacred Heart opened in 1892.

Father Connolly oversaw many significant developments in the Catholic parish of Sandgate. In addition to the key role he played in providing the new church, Father Connolly also encouraged the arrival of the Mercy Nuns in 1893 to open a parish school, providing them with a new convent at his own expense by the following year. He died in 1907 and was succeeded by his assistant, Rev. James Power. 

 

Ownership of Father Connolly’s property in Brighton Terrace was transferred to nominated trustees in 1892 before being sold in 1903. It was purchased by Frances Calow, wife of Alfred Calow, a public servant. The Calows joined other middle-class families who had settled or had holiday homes in Brighton Terrace since the 1880s. Brighton Terrace was home to several well-to-do residents with backgrounds in commerce and industry, including the Phelans, the Agnews and the Carmichaels. Sandgate became a popular seaside resort boasting sailing regattas, promenades on the foreshores and bathing boxes for the crowds attracted by holiday activities on the beach.

Two years later, the Calows sold ‘Murlough Villa’. It would change hands several times over the succeeding decades. Despite the addition of a small wing on the northern side of the house prior to 1946 and the enclosure of the verandahs, the house is still recognisable as the 1880s home of Father Connolly. It is significant for this association as well as for its aesthetic value and the evidence it provides of the historical development of Sandgate as a salubrious seaside location.

The original rectangular plan with wrap-around verandahs has been altered to an “L” shaped footprint by a small (pre-1946) addition on the northern side of the house. The central front door leads down half a dozen steps to the front path.

The verandahs have been enclosed, possibly during the Interwar period, and now have glass louvres and casement and sliding windows. The diamond detailing on the enclosed verandah walls has a 1950s aesthetic. Despite these changes, common to Brisbane houses, ‘Murlough Villa’ is still easily recognisable as a traditional 1880s residence.

A mature frangipani tree close to the house on the southern boundary adds to the aesthetic appearance of the house.

1. Brisbane City Council Water Supply and Sewerage Detail Plan 1954

2. Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland Certificates of Title

3. Martin, Father Denis. The Sacred Heart Parish Sandgate 1880-1980. Sandgate: Sacred Heart Parish, 1980

4. O’Leary, J.A. A Catholic Miscellany. South Brisbane Presbytery, St Josephs, 1914

5. Queensland Post Office Directories

6. Judy Gale Rechner, Brisbane House Styles 1880 to 1940: a guide to the affordable house, Brisbane: Brisbane History Group Studies No. 2, 1998