Weston Residence

This factory remained the largest single employer in the district until its closure in 1965. During the 1890s Depression and again during the Great Depression (1929-39), Huttons provided the only source of employment for many of the struggling farmers in the district. The factory also became a district store where the local residents were able to buy meat and milk. Because so many local residents worked at the factory, Huttons became an integral part of the Zillmere community, even organising such social events such as picnics, fancy dress parties and cricket matches. Huttons had a number of worker's cottages built for its general staff along Zillmere Road and near the Zillmere Station, while homes for managerial staff were constructed in Weston Street on a hill overlooking the factory. Only two of these remain.

Huttons was a major Queensland small goods company with an 85-year connection to the Zillmere District. Yet little remains of Hutton’s links to Zillmere. At the former Hutton’s Ham and Bacon Factory site, only a fig tree planted circa 1891 remains. Along Zillmere Road, all but two of the ten worker’s cottages built for Hutton’s general staff have been demolished.

1. Brisbane City Council 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. Queensland Post Office Directories, 1868-1949