Addresses
Type of place
Work residence
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Queenslander
Addresses
Type of place
Work residence
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Queenslander
The land on which 3600 Moggill Rd sits was originally part of the Makepeace farm. The Makepeace family were early pioneers of the Moggill district, having established a farm in the 1860s. In 1921 this thirty-nine acre block was purchased by Archibald Stephen Mackay and a house constructed. The Riverside Colliery was established by Mackay at this time and coal mining began on the property. In 1925 the property was leased by the Riverside Colliery where several seams of coal were mined and a wharf constructed beside the river. The property is important in reflecting the coal mining industry in Moggill in this period.
Lot plan
L2_RP54883
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Criterion for listing
Interactive mapping
Lot plan
L2_RP54883
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Criterion for listing
Interactive mapping
History
The Moggill district was noted for possible agricultural possibilities as early as 1823 by Lieutenant John Oxley on his explorations down the Brisbane River. He reported “the country…[is] well adapted for cultivation or grazing the timber abundant”. As European settlement began in Queensland, the Moggill area was soon home to several early European squatters. The area was first surveyed in 1849. The first resident squatter in the district was William Sheehan who illegally established a cattle station on Crown land on the banks of Pullen Pullen Creek. Sheehan occupied this land prior to 1849 as Plan 1118.21 from that year notes the existence of the cattle station. Darby McGrath was another early European pioneer of the district. McGrath was granted a lease for 46 acres in 1849 on which he and his brother John established a farm.
Much of the land in the Moggill district was cleared through logging, thus opening the way for farming. Dairy farms were established in the Moggill district throughout the late nineteenth century. Crops such as arrowroot, potatoes and corn were planted to provide extra income for dairy farmers. Livestock and poultry farms were also established in the district. Pineapple farms were an important feature of the Moggill landscape. As the population gradually increased in the district, the need for certain services arose. By 1866 the district had a post office, a school and a cemetery.
Thomas Tindale Makepeace had owned several portions of land at Moggill in the 1860s. Originally from Newcastle, England, Thomas Tindale Makepeace came to Australia with his wife Hannah in 1857. Thomas Tindale found work in the Moggill and Redbank coal mines. A mining accident caused Thomas to loose his leg. This meant that he cold no longer work as a miner and so he turned his hand to farming his land in Moggill. His son, Thomas, was born in 1848. Both established the original Makepeace farm.
As early as 1828, coal seams had been identified in the riverbanks of the Brisbane and Bremer Rivers by Allan Cunningham. By 1848 John Williams began mining the banks of the Brisbane River at Moggill for coal. The Moggill mine became successful enough to warrant the employment of other miners, the coal was shipped to Brisbane via the river. Williams sold the mine to Messrs Hope and Bigge in 1854 but it did not prove to be profitable and was closed in the early 1860s. Coal mining was not resumed in the area until the 1920s when Riverside Collieries Proprietary Ltd recommenced mining at Moggill.
In 1921 Archibald and Laura MacKay purchased Portion 103 (39 acres) when Olivia Makepeace died. Mackay located a commercial seam of coal within his land and procured the assistance of six miners including John Hardie of the Redbank colliery and his uncle Bennett Hardie of the Blackheath colliery. They established the ‘Riverside Collieries Pty. Ltd’. The property was first leased to the Riverside Colliery in 1925. Initially a tunnel was drilled in a creek that ran to the river, this wielded large amounts of quality coal. Transportation of the coal consisted of a tramline that ran from the shaft to the wharf beside the river. Due to flooding this mine was closed in 1931 and another opened on the same land portion. This mine recovered only inferior quality coal so another mine was opened in 1932 on Portion 94. This proved more successful and the tramway was extended to this mine. By 1940 this mine had been exhausted and so the mine on Portion 103 was reopened and was mined until 1956. Mining in Moggill continued until the 1970s.
It is likely that Mackay and his wife Laura built and lived in the house until the 1950s as Mackay is listed as residing in Moggill until then. Moggill Road still retains its setting in a rural landscape and the home is surrounded by mature trees that contribute to the aesthetic value of the property.
Statement of significance
Relevant assessment criteria
This is a place of local heritage significance and meets one or more of the local heritage criteria under the Heritage planning scheme policy of the Brisbane City Plan 2014. It is significant because:
References
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Cameron, Ian, A Green and Pleasant Land: An Account of the Pullenvale-Moggill District of South-East Queensland, Ian Cameron, Pullenvale, 1999
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Wager, Libby. Mud-maps of Moggill, Pullenvale Field Study Centre, 1988
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Queensland Places, Moggill and Bellbowrie, University of Queensland, http://queenslandplaces.com.au/home
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Sugars, Bruce and Mabel Kelly, A Time to Remember: Descendants of Moggill Pioneers, Souvenir Booklet, 1988
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Lawson, Ronald 1973, Brisbane in the 1890s: A Study of an Australian Urban Society, University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia
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Brisbane City Council, A History of Extractive and Mining Industries of the Brisbane Area
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Historic Titles, Department of Environment and Resource Management
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Queensland Post Office Directories
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Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Survey Maps
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Queensland Electoral Rolls
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The Brisbane Courier, Saturday 14 April 1928, p13
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The Brisbane Courier, Monday 5 November 1906, p3
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The Queenslander, Saturday 7 October 1911, p15
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The Brisbane Courier, Saturday 24 March 1928, p13
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)