The Ripples

Sandgate developed as a popular seaside destination for Brisbane residents from the 1860s particularly for those able to afford private transport. The opening of the railway from Brisbane to Sandgate in 1882 made the resort town more accessible to holiday makers. It subsequently grew rapidly in size and popularity, becoming the premier seaside resort in the Brisbane area and was proclaimed the Town of Sandgate in 1902.  The Upper and Lower Esplanades were particularly desirable addresses and many elegant holiday homes were constructed for those who could afford a second residence at the seaside. The sea breezes and opportunity to bathe in the ocean were considered particularly beneficial for those needing to convalesce.

This part of the Lower Esplanade (later renamed Flinders Parade) was sold for residential development by Joshua Jeays in the 1880s. The house straddles two of the original housing lots. The northern of these two lots was acquired by James Thomson, a bookbinder in 1884. The two lots remained in separate ownership until 1906 when Thomson acquired the other allotment. It is likely that James Thomson, already a resident of Flinders Parade from as early as 1889, built the house as a rental holiday property. The house, which acquired the name of “The Ripples” is one of a row of several similarly sized homes. The property was sold to Joseph Mathieson in 1916.

The house’s design, with its decorative projecting gables, is reminiscent of the style featured in some more substantial Brisbane homes such as ‘Brighton Terrace’ (a pair of late 1880s semi-detached houses at West End), and an interwar house at 227 Cavendish Road, Coorparoo. More modest than many of its neighbours on Flinders Parade, The Ripples, demonstrates the popularity of Sandgate as a seaside destination for less affluent holiday makers.

While owned by Mathieson, the house was a holiday rental property. In December 1931, the Catholic Daughters of Australia, rented “The Ripples” for six weeks for the purposes of providing seaside holidays for 100 children of the ‘most needy’ families. 

After the Mathieson’s death in 1933, “The Ripples” passed to his widow, Isabella, who subdivided the land, selling 24 perches. A quaint timber building, ‘The Ripples’ has remained standing as a modest seaside cottage for over a century.

1. Brisbane City Council. Property Records

2. Brisbane City Council Building Cards

3. Brisbane City Council, 1946 & 2009 aerial photographs

4. Brisbane City Council, Sewerage Detail Plan No., May 1963

5. Department of Natural Resources, Queensland Certificates of title and other records.

6. John Oxley Library, Picture Queensland, Negative No.103424

7. Kerr, J 1988, Brunswick Street, Bowen Hills and Beyond: the Railways of the Northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australian Railway Historical Society, Brisbane

8. Queensland Post Office Directories, 1868-1949

9. Brisbane Courier. 4 December 1931.

10. Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP). QHR entry for 138 Flinders Parade, Sandgate. tps://www.derm.qld.gov.au/chimsi/placeDetail.html?siteId=16278. Viewed 21 Feb 2013.

11. Australian Electoral Rolls. 1905