Bell's Shophouse

In response to a rapid growth in population during the 1880s, more workers’ dwellings and small shops were being constructed over the lower slopes and hollows of Spring Hill. Henry Powell had overseen the construction of the corner shop and dwelling and a similar structure adjoining it. A substantial undertaking, it demonstrated the new-found attraction of the area, particularly noticeable along the elite Wickham Tce., for development combining residential with commercial accommodation. In 1892 Powell registered a mortgage with the Queensland National Bank for one thousand pounds and further advances to cover building costs. Two adjoining timber buildings,  separated by a brick wall, were constructed on the site. The ground floors were for commercial rental, the upper floors for dwellings. Separate timber staircases at the rear of each building gave access to the upper floors. Separate rear verandahs led, in the conventional style, to attached and unattached sheds used as kitchen, laundry and bathroom. A large stable block was located on the rear boundary of the corner block with access to North St. 

Joseph Lovekin retained three subdivisions in his wife’s name and, in 1886, constructed a corner shop and dwelling similar to Powell’s corner shop on the opposite corner of Boundary and North Sts. He operated a grocery shop there until the early 1900s when it was let to William Smith, family grocer. The 1914 photograph of the shop building, demolished in the 1980s, is the only known one of this type of building in Spring Hill.  

In the 1887 Post Office Directories, grocer Alexander Bell was listed as the first tenant of the corner shop of Powell’s building, designated 52 and 54 Boundary St. The adjoining shop building, 56 Boundary St., was let to a butcher at the same time.   By 1904 they were designated 500 and 498 Boundary St. respectively. Edward Wilcox, storekeeper, was the new tenant after Bell in 1904. He traded there until 1910, followed by Hawkins Brothers Grocers until 1919 and later the Kozakoff Food Company and jeweller C.H. Condor.

Butcher Neil Doherty was the tenant at 498 Boundary St. from the late 1890s until around 1915-16. Bootmaker Gus Leibinger was at this address from 1919 and a range of small business tenants followed him. Around the turn of the century, living and working conditions in Spring Hill had deteriorated to the point where the area was

generally designated a ‘slum.’ Floods and the ongoing financial crisis of the 1890s, the movement of better-off residents to newer suburbs, and overcrowding resulting from the influx of impoverished workers and families were some of the contributing factors. In 1909 Powell transferred the mortgage on 500 and 498 Boundary St. to Doherty whose family retained ownership until 1949. The property appears to have been combined and listed as 500 Boundary St. from the time of its sale that year to Panagiotis Tambakis. 

From the late 1950s, a gradual renewal of interest in the value of Spring Hill as an inner-city location saw demolition of existing structures, the re-development of many areas for residential and commercial usage, and commitment on the part of some property owners to preserving Spring Hill’s built heritage. Between 1959 and 1964, improvements were carried out, including additions to shops, flats, kitchen and laundry.  Later the entire building was modified for office and warehouse facilities. As can be seen from the photograph of Haymans Electrical taken in 1969, the old verandahs and awnings on the Boundary St. elevation may have been demolished and the facades renewed and rendered during these modifications. Some of the outbuildings to the rear were also demolished.  

There have been several owners since the Tambakis family sold in 1988. After 1989, there were additions of a verandah over the Boundary St. footpath across all dwelling units and the erection of an awning. Rendering, repainting and internal upgrades were also completed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The ground floor shops have since been used for small business enterprises, including a series of restaurants. 

1. Aerial Photo 2001, Cadastral Data June 2004

2. Cadastral Map, 06/08/2004 showing Lots 13 & 14 /RP 10391

3. Site History: BCC Property Details 29.03.2004

4. BCC building cards

5. Surveyors Notebook Sketch 25.11.1913

6. Brisbane City Council Sewerage Map 16 January 1915, Detail Plan No.20

7. Titles information, including Certificates of Title, Transfers, and Bills of Mortgage. 1857 - 2004

8. Photograph; Corner Store/residence. Smith Family Grocer 1914 located at 552 Boundary St. on opp. corner of North St. to 500 Boundary St.

9. Photograph: Streetscape Boundary St. showing 500 Boundary St. 1989. BCC image

10. Photograph. Corner Shop/Residence 500 Boundary St. (Sept. 2001)

11. Brisbane Post Office Directories 1887 – 1920-21

12. “Bygone Brisbane. Early Seventies. Spring Hill Memories” Brisbane Courier 28.11.1925, p.18.

13. Advert:  Haymans Electrical, Telegrah 18.03.1985, p.20

14. Advert:  ‘The Chef’s In” Independent 2002

15. Alison Cotes, “This Is You: Boundary St. Spring Hill” Courier Mail 28.12.1994

16. Gavin Stride, “Focus on Boundary St. Precinct Set to Boom”, Independent Vol.2/14, 25.07.2002

17. Fisher, Rod, Spring Hill Heritage Tour: St Pauls to Gregory Terrace, Kelvin Grove: Brisbane History Group, 1993

18. Lawson, Ronald Brisbane in the 1890s: A Study of an Australian Urban Society. St Lucia U of Q Press, 1973