Penneys Building (former)

From the mid 1870s the population of Brisbane increased markedly and a rise in residential settlement began to occur. Brisbane’s population had grown to 47, 000 by 1881. It was during the 1880s that the greatest changes to the residential settlement patterns occurred. This was due to several factors including an expanding economy, expansion of infrastructure including extended tram and train services, improved communication systems, and an increase in immigration to Brisbane. By 1891 Brisbane’s population had increased to over 100,000. 

The Stones Corner area was named after the first white settler in the area, James Stone, an English immigrant who arrived in Brisbane on board the Mary Pleasants in 1857. By 1872 he and his family had purchased a one acre block on the corner of Old Cleveland Road and Logan Road and by 1884 had built a large home on the site. Stones Corner began its life as a commercial centre in 1890 with the opening of the Junction Hotel, now called the Stones Corner Hotel. As the area around the corner increasingly became settled commercial premises were established for the servicing of the residents. In the 1890s Stones Corner was a small centre for trade compared to the shopping district at South Brisbane on Stanley Street, but with improved road and public transport access the junction of Logan and Old Cleveland Road thrived over the years. 

By the 1890s, the Stones Corner and Coorparoo area included a socio-economic mix that ranged from farmers to politicians. These included Frederick Brentnall M.L.C., James Stodart M.L.A. and Walter Henry Barnes M.L.A., business men such as Nathaniel Lade, James Hipwood and Reuben Nicklin and important public servants such as Edward Deshon C.M.G., Reginald Mulholland King, James Evan Burstall and T.W. Connah. Coorparoo, while not distant from the city, was a semi-rural area until the 1910s. Then the population began to increase rapidly due to the extension of the tramline to Stones Corner in 1915. 

The Stones Corner area experienced a further building escalation in the 1920s with several substantial brick buildings being constructed for commercial uses, thus demonstrating the increase in population and prosperity occurring in the area. As the Great Depression took hold of the Australian economy in the late 1920s and into the 1930s the commercial development in Stones Corner halted. By the end of the 1930s the economy had started to strengthen as well as the retail activity in the area. 

In 1938 the Australian shipping company Burns Philp and Co. purchased the site at 357 Logan Road for the purpose of building a Penneys chain store. The shipping company was first established in 1883 under the directorship of Sir James Burns and Sir Robert Philp and was an important export and import company throughout Australia. In 1923 James Burns died and his son James took over the business. It was in the 1930s that James developed a chain of almost forty retail stores throughout Australia called ‘Penneys’.

On 31 May 1938 the Courier Mail published an article entitled “Penney’s Building, Stone’s Corner” that included a sketch of the proposed building. The article stated “The building which will be of brick will have a cement-rendered exterior. The floor area will be approximately 6000 square feet. Special attention has been given in the design of the building to natural lighting.” The ceiling incorporated a series of five large skylights that ran down the middle of the building from the front to the rear. The Art Deco front façade was designed to be highly fashionable and appealing to shoppers. The article continued by stating “Penney’s were induced to build at Stone’s Corner by consideration of the great progress in the suburbs which impinge on this centre. Official estimates indicate that within a two-mile radius of Stone’s Corner there is a population of 24, 000.” Not only were demographics considered by Burns Philp and Co. but also increase in retail development in Stones Corner at the end of the 1930s, “The progress of the surrounding districts is reflected in the improvement of the business premises within Stone’s Corner shopping area. New buildings have been erected and others have been extensively renovated”. 

The Penneys building is an important reminder of the commercial success experienced in Stones Corner at the end of the 1930s. The striking Art Deco façade contributes to the historic streetscape of Stones Corner and assists in narrating the story of the commercial development of the area.

1. "Penney’s Building, Stone’s Corner”, The Courier Mail, 31 May 1938

2. Historic Titles, Department of Natural Resources and Water

3. Queensland Post Office Directories

4. Metropolitan Water and Sewage Survey Maps, 1949

5. Coorparoo, Stones Corner Centenary, 1856 – 1956, Printed by The Courier Mail, 1956

6. "Burns, James (1881-1969)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography

7. “Burns, Sir James (1846 – 1923)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography

8. “Philp, Sir Robert (1851-1922)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography

9. Richard Apperly (et al), A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian architecture Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1989