Warranoke (former)

By the turn of the century Indooroopilly had a well established European community and was rising steadily as an elite suburb with all the facilities and conveniences of a modern urban centre. The 1893 floods which destroyed the railway bridge, while having a devastating effect on the development of the suburbs on the south side, did little to impede the progress of this elevated area. A new rail bridge, the Albert, was opened in 1895. Station Road was becoming established as a retail and community centre. By the early 1920s the post office, a fruiterer, draper, butcher, boot-maker and stables were located there as well as a number of general stores. 

In 1888/89 Gilson Fox Leslie Foxton built a substantial brick house on the pinnacle of a hill at Indooroopilly and named it ‘Warranoke’. This was one of several substantial homes built in Indooroopilly in this period, a reflection of the wealth and affluence of its residents who were choosing to move out of the inner-city suburbs. Large houses such as Keating House built for Loius Stamm, Tighnabruaich built for H.C. Stanley, and Ross Roy built by and for Claude Chambers, were established in Indooroopilly at this time.

Gilson Foxton, a member of the early and prominent Indooroopilly Foxton family, played an important role not only in the local area but in Brisbane as well. As a member of the Taringa Divisional Board, Foxton assisted in the early shaping of the suburb. He held several important positions in Queensland from the late nineteenth and into the early twentieth centuries. For example, in 1902 he was appointed to the role of Sherriff of Queensland, in 1907 became manager of the Agricultural Bank of Queensland and in 1917 was appointed Police Magistrate and Deputy Marshall on Thursday Island. 

‘Warranoke’ was designed by the successful Brisbane based architectural firm Oakden, Addison and Kemp. From 1887 to 1895 the firm undertook the design and building of some of Australasia’s major building works and clients included large companies and banking corporations. Their existing Brisbane work includes The Mansions on George Street, Albert Street Wesleyan Church, and Cumbooquepa in South Brisbane (Somerville House).  

In 1926 the property was sold to Archbishop James Duhig (Archbishop of Brisbane 1917-1965). The period in which the property was purchased by the Catholic Church saw an unprecedented amount of property acquisition and building by the Catholic Church in Brisbane. Under the leadership of Archbishop Duhig many new and important building schemes were undertaken. “Duhig the builder”, a term of endearment used by his contemporaries, was renowned for his desire to obtain prime sites (often on the apex of hills) throughout Brisbane on behalf of the Catholic Church for the establishment of new churches, schools and hospitals. 

Prior to the arrival of the Brigidine Sisters to Indooroopilly a Catholic Church was established by Duhig on the western portion of the property. Known as the Church of the Holy Family it was officially opened on 3 July 1926. ‘Warranoke’ served as the church presbytery. 

It was hoped that the Indooroopilly site would not only accommodate a church but also educational facilities. In 1927 Duhig invited the Brigidine Sisters from the Randwick convent in Sydney to work in the newly formed Indooroopilly Parish. The Brigidine Order of Sisters was founded in Ireland by Bishop Daniel Delany in 1807. Initially the Order was established to provide free education for the poor. By also providing education to those who could afford to pay at day schools and boarding schools, the Brigidine Sisters were soon able to establish convents and schools outside of Ireland. In 1883 the first Australian Brigidine foundation was made in Coonamble, New South Wales. This was followed by four more in Victoria. The Brigidine Sisters continued to establish convents and schools in Australia. Accepting the Archbishop’s invitation, the first community of Brigidine Sisters in Indooroopilly was a group of five Sisters, Mothers Brigid Foley, Anthony Macgrath, Ignatius Dunphy, Finbarr Treacy and Columba Phelan.  The Brisbane Courier reported Archbishop Duhig’s New Year Address on the 2 January 1928 in which he stated that the “Brigidine Sisters had come from Randwick to take up work in the new parish of Indooroopilly. They had a splendid reputation as teachers”.  

To accommodate the Sisters, the residence “Warranoke” that was being used as the presbytery was converted to the convent.  The new presbytery was built in 1928 across the road from the convent and was designed by Hall and Prentice. 

With the arrival of the Sisters a primary school was founded as was Duhig’s initial plan for the Indooroopilly parish. The Church of the Holy Family Primary School opened on the 30 January 1928 with an enrolment of 101 students. In the first three years of the school’s existence classes were held in a partitioned area at the back of the church. The side verandahs also acted as makeshift classrooms as enrolments increased. 

One year later the Sisters applied for registration of a secondary school to take students past the primary school age. Initially the enrolments for the secondary school were few. It was not until 1944 that enrolment numbers had increased enough to necessitate the construction of a separate dormitory for boarders and separate classroom. Originally designated a co-educational school, it had by the 1940s become a girl’s school. 

In 1936 a grotto was constructed in the grounds of Brigidine College by the parishioners. Constructed from Brisbane Tuff the grotto was built in remembrance of Mother Bridget Foley, one of the founding Sisters of the Brigidine Order at Indooroopilly. A plaque states, “This grotto was built in 1936 by the parishioners of the Holy Family Church in memory of Mother Bridget Foley. R. I. P.”

‘Warranoke’ is an important reminder of the early work of the Brigidine Sisters in Indooroopilly. The convent building has had several alterations made to it over the years. Although the Sisters no longer reside in the convent their ongoing legacy is the continued education of the students in both the primary and high schools.

The house retains its garden setting towards the street, with a circular driveway in the forecourt. Groups of mature trees to the north and south of the house contribute to its historic setting. Also located in the forecourt is the memorial grotto, an open arched structure constructed of Brisbane Tuff with niches and greenery.

1. Celebrating 75 Years, 1929-2004 Brigidine College Indooroopilly, Anniversary Booklet

2. Donald Watson and Judith McKay, Queensland Architects of the Nineteenth Century, South Brisbane: Queensland Museum, 1994

3. Historic Titles, Department of Environment and Resource Management

4. Queensland Post Office Directories

5. Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Survey Maps

6. MacGinley, Rosa, “Irish Women Religious and their Convent High Schools in Nineteenth Century Australia”, Australian Journal of Irish Studies, V.5, p.135-149

7. “Residence, 8 Westminster Street (1890s) 602057” Department of Environment and Resource Management Queensland Heritage Citation

8. Queensland Heritage Citations

9. The Brisbane Courier, 19 May 1917, p15

10. The Brisbane Courier, 26 July 1902, p223

11. The Brisbane Courier, 2 November 1895, p861

12. The Brisbane Courier, 10 March 1891, p 6

13. The Brisbane Courier, 26 March 1926, p8

14. The Brisbane Courier, 26 July 1902, p223

15. 14 January 1927, ‘Letter to Archbishop Duhig from Randwick Brigidine Convent”, Brisbane Archdiocese Archive