Lymanhurst

A major factor in the development of both Oxley and Darra was the completion of the Ipswich to Brisbane railway line in 1876 that provided a direct rail link between the towns.  Prior to this the Ipswich line reached Sherwood and passed through Darra and Oxley from 1874. This reduced the isolation of the area and allowed for increased subdivision. The move to the Oxley and Darra areas, however, was gradual and the rural feel was retained for some time. 

By the late nineteenth century Oxley had two main areas of development. The first was along Ipswich Road where the hotel had been established. Businesses such as a store, a butcher and a blacksmith shop were established as the population slowly increased and the need for services arose. In 1864 a non-denominational church was built near the corner of Bannerman and Ipswich Roads and the first Oxley school was built in 1873 with 32 enrolments when opened. This area became known as Oxley Central. The second area of development in Oxley was beside the railway station. However, this was slower to develop commercially than the first.

In 1889 Walter Nash Morcom purchased approximately one acre of land at Oxley. With the extension of the railway line over the Brisbane River to the city the Oxley area gained popularity for those wishing to move out of the more crowded inner-city areas to the newly developing suburbs. In the 1890s the population of the inner- Brisbane suburbs began to decrease as more than 2000 residents moved out of the centre to establish homes in outer suburbs. White collar workers, able to take advantage of the improved public transport system into and out of the commercial hub of Brisbane City, began to establish stately houses in areas along the railway line such as Chelmer, Sherwood and Corinda. A pattern of development emerged as the wealthier were able to build large homes on the apex of hills – deemed advantageous positions affording views, breezes, protection from flooding, and in wet weather avoidance of effluent run off.  Although Oxley was only a few more miles out along the line the number of stately homes established in the late nineteenth century was minimal. The majority of housing stock in Oxley was smaller timber farm-houses, scattered through the area that reflected the rural predominance of Oxley at this time.  

In 1889 Morcom took out two large mortgages, one for £500, the other for £100. It is likely that this funding was used to build the stately house on Blackheath Road. Prior to 1893 there was no Walter Morcom listed in the Post Office Directories in Oxley, nor in the Electoral Rolls. The evidence, therefore, indicates that the house was built between 1890 and 1892. The house was named ‘Lynola’. Walter Nash Morcom was an immigrant from Manchester who came to Australia in 1873, eventually settling in Brisbane and gaining a partnership at the printing firm Muir and Morcom in 1884 as a “Stationer, Printer, Lithographer, and Bookbinder”.1  By 1913 Walter Morcom had established his own successful printing firm, Morcoms Ltd.. Walter Morcom and his family resided in the premises until 1913.

The property was sold to Clement Lyman Fox, the district School Inspector. Fox is first recorded at the address in 1913. Once again the proximity to the Oxley Railway Station was beneficial to the public service role that Fox carried out. Clement Lyman Fox resided in the house until his death in 1940 at which time the property was transferred to his son Clement Leonard Fox.   

‘Lymanhurst’ is an important example of a stately nineteenth-century residence built in Oxley at a time when the area was predominately farms but was slowly being settled by Brisbane’s white collar workers, attracted by the improved transportation. The residence is a rare surviving example of a grand nineteenth-century home built atop a hill overlooking Oxley.

1. The Brisbane Courier, Tuesday 1 April, 1884, p2

2. Lawson, Ronald 1973, Brisbane in the 1890s: A Study of an Australian Urban Society, University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia

3. Fones, Ralph, Oxley! A Mind of its Own, Oxley-Chelmer History Group, 2006

4. Grantham, Lona, Heritage Tour: An Historical Tour of Oxley, Oxley-Chelmer Historical Group, 2003

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

6. Historic Titles, Department of Environment and Resource Management

7. Queensland Post Office Directories

8. Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Survey Maps

9. Queensland Electoral Rolls