Set of Brick Shops

From the 1860s the population of the Valley grew, having over 1000 residents by this time. The commercial nature of the Valley was also beginning to emerge. Most commercial activity in this period was centred between Ann, Brunswick and Wickham Streets. The improvement of access from the city centre to the Valley due to the levelling of Duncan’s Hill between the two areas in the 1870s assisted the growth of this part of Brisbane

In the last two decades of the nineteenth century the population of the Valley increased even more, and with this the commercial nature of the Valley centre grew with relatively large scale construction in the area. As this occurred those living within the centre began to move to more suburban areas such as New Farm and Bowen Hills. By the turn of the century the valley heart was commercially dominated and the buildings were of a more substantial nature.

The success of the Valley commercial area at the turn of the century saw large traders such as TC Beirne, McWhirters and Overells department stores encourage shoppers to the Valley. Efficient public transport systems such as electric trams and trains to and through the Valley contributed to the commercial success of the area. In the late twentieth century the Ann Street premises housed several small shops and a residence. 

The 1920s was a decade of further growth in Fortitude Valley, with its success as a commercial and industrial hub. In this decade the cutting on Duncan’s Hill for Ann Street was widened, opening the Valley even further to the rest of Brisbane, allowing a greater volume of traffic into the area.

From 1916 the property was owned by Maggi Franz, the wife of Albert Theophilus Franz, a newsagent in Wickham Street. At this time the premises accommodated two retail businesses. In 1927 Maggi Franz took out a mortgage to finance the construction of a new building. The plans for new brick shops were approved in June 1927. Tenders were called by Brisbane architect M. T. Stanley and the successful builder was B.C White. 

Montague Talbot Stanley was a Brisbane born architect and structural engineer. The eldest son of influential Queensland architect F. D. G Stanley, he studied and completed his articles in England and was then accepted into his fathers firm as partner in 1891. His father-in-law, Sir Thomas McIlwraith was the Premier of Queensland and Director of the Queensland National Bank, this ensured a favourable position for Stanley in Brisbane business and society. In 1900 Stanley became a Fellow of the Queensland Institute of Architects and continued running the firm after his father’s death as well as continuing his father’s appointment as architect to the Queensland National Bank. Montague Talbot Stanley practised architecture in Brisbane until his retirement in 1927, making 188 Brunswick Street one of his last designs. M. T. Stanley has contributed to Brisbane’s architectural history by designing buildings such as St. Ann’s Industrial School, the Montague Hotel in West End, the Elder Smith Woolstore and the Australian Estates No. 1 Woolstore, Teneriffe.   

The newly constructed two-storey brick building contributed to the prosperous commercial nature of this part of Brunswick Street during this period. In 1928 it was leased to two businesses, a pawn-broker and a leg specialist. The decorative front façade displaying “Erected 1927” was a design feature often used by Stanley. A row of four timber sash windows on the first floor overlooking Brunswick Street contributed to the buildings symmetry. Although there has been some internal alterations made the exterior of the building remains intact to this day, adding to the historic landscape value of this part of Brunswick Street, and is a rare surviving example of Stanley’s commercial work.

1. Certificates of Title, Department of Natural Resources and Water

2. Queensland Post Office Directories

3. Watson, Donald and Judith McKay. A Directory of Queensland Architects to 1940. (St. Lucia: U of Q Press, 1984)

4. Detail Fire Survey: City of Brisbane, 1951, Mahlstedt’s: Consulting Fire Engineers and Surveyors, Melbourne

5. Metropolitan Water and Sewage Survey Maps, 1914

6. North Brisbane Electoral Rolls, 1898 and 1900

7. Watson, Donald and Judith McKay, Queensland Architects of the Nineteenth Century: A Biographical Dictionary, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, 1994