Braemar

In 1912 Thomas Prentice and his wife Louisa Kate purchased three roods and fourteen and a half perches of land fronting Lutwyche Road. It was on this Lutwyche Road frontage that Thomas established his concrete block business in 1914, The Ideal Concrete Block Company, and beside the business was his residence.  The business manufactured and sold the concrete building blocks on the premises. 

Thomas Prentice established his concrete block manufacturing company on Lutwyche Road in 1914. As mentioned earlier, the Lutwyche area had several brick making businesses operating in this period. Thomas Prentice envisaged the potential for a concrete building block business in Brisbane. The first machine for the manufacture of concrete building blocks was invented in the United States of America by Harmon. S. Palmer in 1900. From around 1905 up until 1930 the concrete block became a popular building material in the United States. The technology used for this was quickly adopted in Australia as the concrete blocks provided an alternative to more traditional building materials such as timber, brick and stone and proved to be considerably cheaper. They were extremely durable and strong as well as being aesthetically pleasing.  The Ideal Concrete Block Company was a very early concrete block manufactory in Brisbane, subsequently the few existing houses constructed from the concrete blocks are important as representatives of this form of building construction in Brisbane. 

Thomas Prentice was an important member of the local community. As Alderman in the Windsor Town Council from 1919 to 1924 he contributed to the improvement of the local area. After the amalgamation of councils in 1925 and the creation of the Greater Brisbane City Council, Prentice served as an Alderman from 1925-1928, as well as being involved on several Council committees such as the Transit, Electric Light and Power Committee and the Parks, Recreation, Town Planning and Housing Committee.  In an article in The Brisbane Courier dated Thursday 8 January 1925, Thomas Prentice was described as having:

Had a fairly long and varied experience of local authority work, and was always a keen advocate for the development of the Greater Brisbane area by the co-ordinations of the various authorities. He has been keenly interested in the welfare of Windsor, and had done much for its advancement…his experience should prove a great help at the deliberations of the council in the development of the Brisbane of the future.1

In 1933 the Register of New Buildings listed Thomas Prentice as applying for the construction of a new building in Bruce Street (now known as Swinburne Street). It was to be built with concrete blocks and slabs and constructed at a cost of £650. The contractor was recorded as being the Ideal Concrete Block Company, Prentice’s business. In 1936 Prentice was first listed at the Bruce Street address, suggesting that the house was built between 1933 and 1936. Prentice and his family resided at ‘Braemar’ until the mid-1950s. Thomas Prentice died in 1956. 

The house at number 14, ‘Colwyn’, built earlier in 1920 was also constructed from the Ideal Concrete Block Company’s blocks. As a pair, the houses make a very important contribution to the streetscape in Swinburne Street, as well as reflecting the history of this area.

1. The Brisbane Courier, ‘Greater Brisbane: Windsor Candidate’, Thursday 8 January 1925

2. Simpson, Pamela. H., “Cheap, Quick and Easy: The Early History of Rockfaced Concrete Block Building”, Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, Vol. 3 (1989), p. 108-118

3. Historic Titles, Department of Natural Resources and Water

4. Queensland Post Office Directories

5. Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Survey Maps

6. Queensland Electoral Rolls

7. Judy Gale Rechner, Brisbane House Styles 1880 to 1940: a guide to the affordable house, Brisbane: Brisbane History Group Studies No. 2, 1998

8. McCallum, Beres, Walking a Changing Windsor: Explore 150 years of the Lutwyche Road Corridor, Windsor and Districts Historical Society, 2009

9. Teague, D. R, Windsor Town Council Chambers 1897-1997: A Brief History of the Chambers Building: Windsor Town Council (1887-1903): Windsor Town Council (1904-1925), Windsor and Districts Historical Society, 1997

10. The Brisbane Courier, ‘Advertisement’, Saturday 15 January 1916