152 Waterworks Road, Ashgrove

Although Waterworks Road had been established as a thoroughfare early in the area's history with farmland at the Gap settled in the 1850s and the opening of Enoggera Reservoir in 1866, by 1890 there were only around a dozen houses on each side of Waterworks Road at Ashgrove. These homes were predominantly owned by middle class residents. Residential development was more advanced along Waterworks Road at Red Hill, closer to the city. It was not until the extension of the Red Hill tramline to Ashgrove in 1924 that Ashgrove became a well-populated residential suburb.

The site of the house was once part of Portion 644, an area of more than 3 acres between Waterworks Road and Ithaca Creek, granted to Christopher Henry Llewellyn in 1867. In 1878, Portion 644 was purchased by commission agent Ebenezer Hooker of Hooker and Son.  In April 1879, the land was transferred to his business partner, accountant John Edwin Elliott. An early plan for Ithaca Creek Estate shows the entire portion divided into 25 allotments, each of which adjoins the creek.  The first allotments from this estate were not sold until 1881.

In 1887 two subdivisions (a total of 1 rood 21 perches) were purchased by Henry Freer, a Customs official who lived in Musgrave Road, Red Hill until around 1909. After Freer's death in late 1915, his land at Waterworks Road was transferred to George Bowyer Stack, a postal official residing in Brisbane, and Nellie Freer (spinster) of Nambour as trustees. They almost immediately sold the land to Frederick Viner, also a resident in Waterworks Road, Ashgrove. In 1917, George Stack and Nellie Freer repurchased the land before selling it to James Moodie in 1918.

James Moodie was a builder who had resided in Musgrave Road, Red Hill since around 1903. Soon after purchasing the land on the corner of Waterworks and Fulcher Roads, Moodie mortgaged the property for an unknown amount. Moodie is first listed in post office directories as living on this site in 1921-22. This evidence suggests that the house was constructed, possibly by Moodie, circa 1919-20.

Moodie mortgaged the land again for 643 in 1923 before selling to William Preece in 1925. Preece lived at this address before selling the property to George Lumb. After Lumb's death in 1951, his widow, Martha, continued to live in the house. Martha Lumb died in 1956. The house remained in the Lumb family until 1964. It has since remained in private hands.

1. JOL Estate Map collection

2. Post Office Directories.

3. Queensland Government Gazette 1916

4. Titles Office Records