Rosenberg's Hairdressing Salon (former)

In 1917 George and Ruth Godfrey purchased a 12 perch block of land on Upper Melbourne Street (now Mollison Street). By 1926, the Godfreys had erected a set of two shops on 53 and 55 Mollison Street. In 1926 the two shops and a rear storage shed were depicted on the Brisbane City Council Water Supply and Sewerage Map. 

Edward Hehir was the Godfrey’s first tenant in their new shops. Hehir established a hairdressing salon at the 55 Upper Melbourne Street shop. Hehir’s hairdressing salon continued to be the only business operating from either of the Godfrey’s two shops until 1928. In that year, John Davey opened a store at 53 Upper Melbourne Street, while Edward Hehir continued his hairdressing business next door at No. 55. 

By 1930 the lease for the shop at No. 55 was transferred to Haim Fishel Rosenberg, an immigrant from Russia. Rosenberg’s landlord, George Godfrey, died on 16 April 1934. His wife, Ruth Godfrey, managed the property for another two years before transferring ownership to Haim Rosenberg and his wife Pauline in 1936. This same year the Rosenberg’s expanded their hairdressing business so that it occupied the two shops at 55 and 53 Upper Melbourne Street.

In the interwar period South Brisbane’s secondary industry expanded. A sufficient labour force was needed for this industry and this was found in an increase of migrants to Brisbane after the First World War. Many settled in the South Brisbane/West End area, attracted by the low rental prices, proximity to the city and employment opportunities. The area began to grow as a multi-cultural hub with nationalities such as Greeks, Russians and Italians establishing homes and businesses. 

The Rosenberg Hairdressing Salon (former) proved a successful business in South Brisbane that took advantage of the bustling passing trade along Boundary Street much of which was generated by the tramline passing through. Increased activity in the area was also generated by the two large industrial sites adjacent to the salon, the Peters Ice-cream factory and the Tristram’s Soft Drink Factory. 

By 1953, Upper Melbourne Street had changed its name to Mollison Street. On 7 August 1961, Haim and Pauline Rosenberg transferred their property and business to their son Joseph George Rosenberg. He later leased the two shops to Mavis Alston Kingston from 1 November 1988 through to 31 October 1991. For a while, Kingston Brothers Gunshop operated from the premises at 53-55 Mollison Street. After the purchase of the site by Dinero Investments Pty Ltd and Caxton Street Agencies Pty Ltd, the shops were refurbished and a restaurant was opened there in late 2001.

Rosenberg’s Hairdressing Salon (former) is an important reminder of the way in which the South Brisbane/ West End area’s small scale commercial nature developed in the interwar period. The set of two masonry shops have played a continuous role as a hairdressing salon from the interwar period to the 1980s and as such hold historic significance for the area.

1. Brisbane City Council, 1946 aerial photographs.

2. Brisbane City Council Building Cards

3. Brisbane City Council, Properties on the Web, Bids Applications and Site History

4. Brisbane City Council Water Supply and Sewerage Detail Plans

5. Certificates of Title, Department of Environment and Resource Management

6. Correspondence File, Department of Immigration, 1925-1954, National Archives

7. Queensland Post Office Directories

8. Brisbane Centenary Official Historical Souvenir, “City of South Brisbane”, Local Authorities of Queensland, 1924, p. 139-154

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

10. Queensland Electoral Rolls