Zimitat Cottage

The land containing this residence was originally part of a purchase of crown land made by Christian Beckmann on 29 January 1866. Beckmann, a resident of Brisbane Town, paid ₤16.12.5 for 12 acres and 32 perches of undeveloped land described as Portion 219 in the Parish of Kedron. Christian Beckmann transferred the land to his relative, William Beckmann, on 7 April 1874. Other members of the Beckmann family would also come to Zillmere, where they would establish farms. 

In 1878, Portion 219 was split into two parts, with William Beckmann losing 35 perches to a resumption by the Queensland colonial government. As a result, Beckmann was issued with a new title deed to his remaining 11 acres, 3 roods and 21 perches of land on 20 May 1878. The purpose for this resumption remains unclear. In 1884, the approval by the Queensland colonial government for the construction of a North Coast rail line led to changes to the Zillman Waterholes area. Surveying for this  line began in 1885 and the North Coast railway was completed and opened on 1 March 1888. Zillman’s Waterholes was one of the rail stops with a siding, loading bank and gatekeepers office being built where the line crossed Robinson Road. 

As a result, Beckmann saw the opportunity to divide his large block into smaller subdivisions, which could then be sold either as residential or small farm allotments. First he mortgaged the land for ₤2,050, obtaining a loan through the Commercial Bank of Australia Limited on 15 July 1889. Then Beckmann sold off his subdivisions in a land sale that ran from 1890 through to 1902. The first sale was made on 14 March 1890 to German migrant Johann Ludwig Zimitat who bought subdivisions 153-157. Zimitat also bought subdivisions 22-24 on 8 November 1890 and subdivisions 151,156 and 174 on 24 April of the following year. This gave Zimitat control of a total of 1 acre, 3 roods and 16.4 perches. Johann’s relatives Ludwig and his brother August Zimitat also established farms in Zillmere and Johann’s land purchases in 1890-91 were simply added to the family’s farm holdings.

It was on subdivisions 153 to 157 that Zimitat was to build his home. On 15 August 1890, Zimitat obtained a mortgage of ₤100 on this land from Ludwig Zimitat. It is assumed that this money was used to build a cottage near the intersection of Zillmere and Mullers Roads, for Johann and his wife Auguste. Their residence was completed by 1891 as this is the first occasion that Johan L. Zimitat’s name appears on the state electoral roll. Johann, as well as Ludwig, are listed on the electoral rolls as residents of Geebung, which denotes that the area around Muller Road was considered to be part of Geebung rather than Zillmere during the 1890s.  

Johann and Auguste built their residence at a time when Zillmere was developing into a district of small farmers. Zillmere’s railway facilities improved with the erection of a station building and the appointment of a stationmaster in 1890. Nudgee College was opened in 1891 on a hill that overlooked much of Zillmere. With the opening of J.C. Hutton’s smallgoods factory off Zillmere Road (where it now intersects with Pineapple Street) in 1892, Zillmere experienced further growth as factory workers were attracted to the area. The factory also provided seasonal employment for local farmers such as the Zimitats. 

When Johann Zimitat died on 2 December 1900, his house and land facing Zillmere Road passed to his widow, Auguste. She was issued with a new title to the property on 2 July 1909. After her death on 20 October 1911, the trustee of her estate, Auguste Ermestine Paulina Helmholz, inherited the farm. When Auguste Helmholz died on 24 June 1914, the house and land passed to her husband Adolf Wilhelm Helmholz.

Sydney Reginald Norris purchased the property from Helmholtz on 12 July 1918. Norris mortgaged the farm for ₤100 through the Trustees of the Limestone Lodge of the United Ancient Order of Druids Grand Lodge of Queensland Friendly Society on 29 July 1918. Three spinsters, Clara Monyel, Flora Monyel and Edith Monyel, put up the finance for Norris’s second mortgage. He borrowed ₤270 from the sisters on 26 July 1923. Norris died on 22 March 1925 and his property passed into the control of the Public Curator’s Office of Queensland. 

On 27 March 1944, Emma Bayliss, the wife of James Thomas Bayliss became the new owner of the old Zimitat farm. The 1946 aerial photograph of Zillmere shows that Gillies Street had been formed before World War Two. Only three homes can be seen in the street while the old Zimitat farmhouse is still surrounded by a number of farm sheds.

With the post-war housing boom, Zillmere experienced an influx of new residents. To meet the demand for residential land, Emma and Tom Bayliss subdivided their 2 rood, 6.8 perch farm. Their land was resurveyed and divided into subdivisions 1 and 2 and resubdivision 157. The 29 perches of land comprising resubdivision 157 and subdivision 1 were sold to Stanley Hector Bayliss on 31 December 1954.

By this time, James Bayliss had died and his widow, Emma was issued with a new title deed to her remaining 1 rood and 17.7 perches of land on the same day that Stanley Bayliss bought the rest of the farm. Thus the new subdivision 1 effectively became 5 Gillies Street. After Emma Bayliss died, her house and land passed to Daphne Vida Avery. She sold the property to Paul David Norris, Christine Louise Norris, Bradley John Milford, Ann Patricia Brosnan and Adrian Leslie Smith and Julie Louise Smith on 4 July 1989. They in turn transferred the one hundred-year-old property to Tracey Ruth Slade on 26 April 1991. The current owners, David and Deanne Hawkswood took control of 5 Gillies Street on 10 March 2000. The residence at 5 Gillies Street is one of only two surviving nineteenth century houses at Zillmere. Its rarity together with its links to a family of early settlers makes it a place of heritage significance to the local area.

1. Brisbane City Council, Properties on the Web, website, post-1946 building cards

2. Brisbane City Council, 1946 aerial photographs.

3. Brisbane City Council’s Central Library, local history sheets

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

5. John Oxley Library, Brisbane Suburbs – Estate Maps

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

7. Queensland Post Office Directories, 1868-1949

8. Queensland State Archives, State Electoral Rolls for 1891