106 Flinders Parade, Sandgate

The 1880s was a boom period for the Queensland and Brisbane economy. Immigration and land development expanded rapidly and there was widespread subdivision of existing landholdings. A rail line linking Sandgate to Brisbane was opened in 1882 further boosting the attractiveness of this seaside location.  Lovett subdivided his holding and sold the land, mostly in parcels of 32-40 perches and half acres, from 1881. The 40 perch subdivision on which these houses stand was bought by Thomas Macdonald Patterson in April 1882. Evidently a land speculator, Patterson resold the land in September 1882 to Daniel McNab. McNab took out a mortgage with Patterson for £302 sterling at the time of purchase, presumably to fund it. 

Daniel McNab was a tailor and outfitter who had a successful business in Queen Street and lived in Warry Street, Spring Hill. Having paid off the first mortgage by 1885, McNab took out another mortgage for £2000 and further advances with the Queensland National Bank in August 1893. As £1000 was about the price for a decent residence at that time, this mortgage possibly funded the construction of these two houses.

It is possible that McNab used the residences as seaside holiday accommodation, as was common for a number of Sandgate homes at this time. 

The property was sold to Hannah Eaton Brown, the wife of Henry James Brown in December 1898. At that time Sandgate was described as a ‘seaside town and watering place, 12 miles north of Brisbane having a railway, pier and bathing facilities. It had a resident population of 1756 (according to the 1891 census) but had a visiting population of another 500.  Henry James Brown lived in Flinders Parade at the turn of the century and the first decades of the twentieth century.  After that the houses appear to have been occupied by William Patrick and Mrs Louise Delahunty. Throughout the 1920s and ‘30s the houses appear to have been leased to a number of long-standing tenants. During the late 1930s the second house from the corner of Fourth Avenue was known as ‘Bayville’ and occupied by a Mrs M Callow and later Frederick Barge. During this period this section of Flinders Parade was a much frequented haunt of holiday-makers. Bathing boxes were located along the foreshore and nearby the Beach Theatre and a number of ‘Refreshment Rooms’ provided alternative recreation activities. 

Hannah Eaton Brown retained ownership of the property until her death in May 1944. The property was then passed to Elsie Amelia Eaton Brown, spinster. In 1951 Elsie Brown sold the property to Alfred Holland and his wife Annie Pretoria Holland. The Hollands owned the property until 1973 when they sold it.