Pauls Ice Cream & Milk Office

In the 1870s, rich farming land lined both sides of Montague Road, with only five houses fronting the street. By the mid 1880s, several prestigious riverfront residences facing the Milton Reach of the Brisbane River had been built and on the opposite side of Montague Road were several more modest houses. Some industrial buildings had already been constructed mainly near West End. Among these were Dickson’s Boot factory, the West End Saw Mills and the South Brisbane Gas & Light Company. Swimming baths were established at the end of Stanley Street on Montague Road by the early 1890s, and a little further towards Grey Street, James Carmichael had established a sawmill and built a wharf to transport his lumber.

Montague Road remained relatively unchanged, with its predominance of residential buildings on either side, and only a scattering of industrial buildings, well into the 1900s. By the end of 1910 however, industrial development had begun to encroach upon the existing residential nature of the road. Concrete manufacturers, steel and iron founders, glass manufacturers and warehouses were established, particularly on the riverside, to take advantage of the opportunity to transport products along the river and to engage in dredging activities. This pattern of industrial development in Montague Road continued and by the 1940s factories, yards and warehouses lined both sides of Montague Road as far as Hockings Street. Montague Road then became completely dominated by manufacturing, service and warehouse industries.

Queensland United Foods (QUF) acquired the Pauls Company and is the owner of this property. In 1998, QUF became a subsidiary of the Italian multinational corporation Parmalat. This building has been used as a staff cafeteria for QUF employees.

The parapet of the tower steps slightly to a row of bricks on their ends. A flagpole held by brackets off the front of the building is located centrally at the top of the tower. The horizontal elements of the building show an equal amount of careful detail. Although the fenestration is generally limited between the horizontal bands of sill and sun hood, this is not the case near the stairwell facing Hope Street where two vertical bands of glass block are punctuated by windows at the landing level. Further along the façade in a neat central location is a stepped recessed entry and in linoleum the floor above it three narrow window openings. To the left of this are three broad rectangular window bays culminating in small circular porthole windows and an exposed rainwater head and down pipe at its extreme edge. The flat parapet of the horizontal elements is capped by a row of bricks on edge. The openings flanking the corner tower are situated so that they turn a 90-degree corner.

The Montague Road façade is slightly less detailed, its upper level windows hidden by a vertical row of louvers and a bland, grey, cantilevered street awning shading the footpath about a ground floor shop with aluminium framed windows. Behind the flat parapets a gable roof can be seen above the body of the building.

1. Quick Licks (Peters) Vol 29, April 1989

2. Architectural and Building Journal of Queensland, July 1, 1944, p.24

3. Post Office Directories.