Willara

By the 1870s, following further subdivision of land in the Spring Hill area, the lower slopes of the hills were becoming increasingly crowded. By the 1890s, Spring Hill had become Brisbane’s most crowded suburb. At this time, Spring Hill’s commercial centre was along Leichhardt Street between Upper Edward and Boundary Streets. As well as many residences, there were also approximately 39 businesses including six grocers, five fruiterers, several boot-makers, two drapers, three tobacconists, a baker, four butchers and a bank. There were also three hotels, the Sir John Young Hotel, the Avoca Hotel and the Alliance Hotel. Trams ran along Leichhardt Street and several churches and schools had been established. 

In 1887 the Baptist Church purchased 1 rood and 38 perches of land in Spring Hill. The majority of this land was used to construct the majestic City Tabernacle on the corner of Wickham Terrace and Upper Edward Street in 1889-90. It was to replace an earlier Baptist church in Wharf Street that could no longer accommodate the growing congregation. The new City Tabernacle was designed by respected Brisbane architect, Richard Gailey. Included in the plans for the church was the construction of a manse behind the tabernacle on Upper Edward Street.  At a meeting of the members and friends of the Baptist Church in July 1889, it was reported that:

It was unanimously resolved to proceed at once with the erection of the church buildings at the intersection of Wickham Terrace and Upper Edward Street, at an outlay of £12,000, which is to include organ, sitting accommodation, &c., and the erection of a manse from the material of the building now on the site at an outlay of £1000 (The Brisbane Courier, 27 July 1889 p6).

It is evident, then, that prior to the manse being constructed, an older building existed on the site. In the 1889 Post Office Directories the extant house was recorded as being unoccupied and one year later the property was recorded as having a “House in course of erection”. It is clear that the manse on Upper Edward Street was constructed at the same time as the tabernacle and also designed by Richard Gailey.

The first pastor to serve in the City Tabernacle on Wickham Terrace was Reverend William Whale who had arrived in Brisbane in 1885 with his family. In 1891 Whale was first recorded on Upper Edward Street. From photographs taken at the time, the manse was a two storey timber building with several brick chimneys. It was named ‘Willara’ and remained the home of Reverend Whale and his family until his passing in 1903. According to the Baptist Church’s official history, Grow the Vision, the proceeding pastors did not find ‘Willara’ suitable and so the house was leased to tenants from 1905.   

At the turn of the century in Spring Hill, many of the larger houses had been converted into boarding houses as the wealthier residents moved away from the inner-city and out to more wholesome suburbs. With a shortage of affordable housing in Brisbane in this era, many poorer residents found accommodation in boarding houses. Within these houses guests were allocated a room but would share kitchens, bathrooms and toilet facilities. These boarding houses further contributed to the overcrowded living conditions that defined Spring Hill at this time. Upper Edward Street was predominately residential with 27 houses and two boarding houses recorded on both sides of the street. Its close proximity to the city lent itself to the establishment of short term accommodation and by 1905 there were four boarding houses in the street.

The small 18 perch portion of the larger holding was leased to Miss Ellen Winfield who was first listed in the Post Office Directories in 1905 at 426 Upper Edward Street in ‘Willora’. The Directories do not state whether it had become a boarding house at this time.   One year later, however, Mrs Fanny Lydia Moxley was listed at the address and on the 11 May 1905, an advertisement was featured in the Queensland Figaro for ‘Willara’, confirming the house had been converted into a boarding house that year. It is unclear why the spelling of the house’s name differs in the Post Office Directories from the newspaper advertisements at this time. The advertisement stated:

“Willara”, Next Tabernacle, Upper Edward St. 

Now open. Hot and Cold Baths. Liberal Table. 

Every attention paid to Visitors and Permanent Boarders. 

Mrs. F.L.Moxley, Proprietress (Queensland Figaro, 11 May 1905, p18).  

Mrs Moxley ran the boarding house for the next three years. Following this, a succession of proprietresses managed the boarding house; Mrs Mary Hogbert, Mrs Ellen Broderick, Miss Katherine Casey and Mrs Elizabeth Fury. ‘Willara’ continued to be the property of the Baptist Church throughout this time. 

In 1920, the Church subdivided the land into two lots. The larger, 1 rood and 19 perch block contained the tabernacle and remained in the ownership of the Church. The smaller, 18 perch block, on which ‘Willara’ was situated, was sold to Helen Irvine.

Irvine continued to run ‘Willara’ as a boarding house throughout the 1920s. In 1927 plans for additions to ‘Willara’ were drawn up by successful Brisbane architectural firm, Hall and Prentice. In October 1927, tenders were closed for “Additions to “Willara” Boarding House, Upper Edward Street” (The A&B Journal of Queensland, October 10, 1927), and the accepted contractor was OG Machin. At the same time Council received an application for “Enlarging Boarding House… Upper Edward Street… Mrs H Irvine, Willara House… Hall and Prentice”.  

The changes included the addition of an extra storey, construction of the decorative front brick façade with ‘Willara House’ included in the pediment, and the addition of a ground floor shop. In 1928 the ‘Willara Café’ was first listed in this shop and remained there until well into the 1940s. The newly renovated building remained a boarding house until the Baptist Church re-purchased the property in 1963. 

As the Baptist congregation continued to expand in the early half of the twentieth century, a greater need for facilities became apparent. By re-acquiring ‘Willara’, a kindergarten was introduced on the ground floor. The upstairs boarding house continued to be used for accommodation as the City Tabernacle Young Ladies’ Hostel. 

Although known today as ‘Willara House’, 426 Upper Edward Street remains to be in the ownership of the Baptist Tabernacle. As a boarding house for young women, it continues to provide safe, comfortable accommodation for young Baptist women visiting Brisbane. This constant use as a boarding house contributes to ‘Willara’s’ historic significance.

1. The Brisbane Courier, 27 July 1889 p6

2. Queensland Figaro, 11 May 1905, p18

3. The A&B Journal of Queensland, October 10, 1927

4. Queensland Electoral Rolls

5. Post Office Directories.

6. Certificates of Titles, Department of Natural Resources and Mines

7. Ball, Les, Grow the Vision, The Sesqui-Centennial History of the City Tabernacle Baptist Church 1855-2005, City Tabernacle Baptist Church Brisbane, 2005

8. Helen Bennett, “Being Modern: Living in Flats in Interwar Brisbane”, Queensland Review, Vol 13, No 2, 2006