Paslewydd (former)

In 1861, the land containing the site of 176 Petrie Terrace, was sold as freehold title for the first time. On 16 September of that year, Joseph Baynes, of Brisbane, purchased one acre, two roods and 32 perches of land, described as Brisbane Allotment 299 that fronted a road known as Petrie Terrace. Baynes paid £258.11.9 for his purchase. NOTE: The title deeds for this property that relate to the 1861-82 period are missing so ‘Plaslewydd’ may have been built earlier than 1885. 

Petrie Terrace developed into a fashionable part of Brisbane during Queensland’s economic boom period during the 1880s. For example, on 10 March 1883, the auctioneers Arthur Martin & Co, offered residential and business sites in the new Bishop’s Hill Estate. This estate led to the creation of Wellington Parade (now Street) and Mountjoy Street running off Petrie Terrace. At that time Petrie Terrace ran around the corner at the Normanby Fiveways and then up to Red Hill and included what is now marked as the separate Musgrave Road. The closure of the Brisbane Gaol in July 1883 also helped to raise the desirability of residing in Petrie Terrace.

On 24 August 1882, subdivision 2 of Lot 299 was sold to Marian Frances Fountain, the wife of Stephenson Fountain. Stephenson Fountain was a railway contractor but he had found early fame as the Hero of the Great Sheffield Flood of 1864. On 11 March 1864, the 16-year old Stephenson had been sent by his father, who was the engineering contractor at the Dale Dyke Reservoir at Bradfield near Sheffield in South Yorkshire, to warn the resident engineer that a crack had appeared in the wall of the dyke. Stephenson rode his horse as far as the Damflask Inn when his saddle broke. Stephenson alerted the publican to the danger and word soon spread throughout the Sheffield countryside. His warning saved many lives, though when the dyke wall burst at midnight, 240 people were killed.  In 2006, the South Yorkshire public Transport Executive (SYPTE) honoured Stephenson Bradfield’s name, by naming 7 of its 10 new Optare Solo buses “Stephenson Fountain”. 

Stephenson’s father, his stepmother and their 7 children migrated to the colony of Queensland, arriving there on the ship Melmesby in 1865. The firm of Peto, Brassey & Betts had employed Mr. Fountain to help construct Queensland’s fledgling rail network. The Scottish-born Stephenson also became an engineer and in 1879 he married Marian Barr. They had 5 children. While the Fountain family had purchased 176 Petrie Terrace in 1882, it was not until 1886 that they started receiving mail at that address. They continued to live at this residence until 1895. Perhaps, because Stephenson Fountain’s busy work schedule took him all over the colony of (and after Federation in 1901, the state of) Queensland, the family moved elsewhere after 1895. Stephenson Fountain died in 1912, though Marian Fountain retained ownership of the property until 1923.      

Brisbane began its tramway system in 1885 with horse-drawn trams. In 1897, Brisbane’s tram system was electrified and as a result, a new tramline was laid down the middle of Petrie Terrace and so ran past 176 Petrie Terrace. This made Petrie Terrace a desirable residential address as the street was serviced by both the Red Hill and Paddington tram services. Thus the Fountain family were easily able to rent their house to affluent tenants. The first tenant was the accountant George Baker who gave the residence a Welsh name ‘Plaslewydd’. Baker lived there from 1895 to 1900. That year, the residence was leased to Miss Jessie Willis who renamed it ‘Yarra’. It was first list with the address of 176 Petrie Terrace in the 1901 edition of the Queensland Post Office Directories. During 1902, Charles K. Unwin became the new tenant though he retained use of the name ‘Yarra’ for this property. There followed a series of short-term tenancies: Mrs. Quirk (1903-04), Andrew Cowan (1904-05), William Dickson (1905-06) and Mrs. Mary Rex (1906-07). Mrs. E. Arwell ran a boarding house at 176 Petrie Terrace from 1907-10. From 1910-12, the residence was rented by Alfred A. Clark and by Mrs. Annie Sergeant from 1912-13. By 1914, Patrick Behan was the new tenant, residing there until 1919. Wallis Barr rented it from 1919-21. 

During 1921, Ada Emily Frame became the new tenant. On 9 October 1923, Ada, the wife of Francis James Frame, purchased 176 Petrie Terrace. They continued to reside at this address until 1937. They sold the property to a widow, Ethel Rankin, on 12 July 1936. Ethel lived there until the middle of the World War Two period. Another widow Minnie MacDonald became the new owner on 14 December 1943. She used it as an investment property by taking out two mortgages. Minnie obtained the first mortgage from the Toowoomba Permanent Benefit Building and Investment Society on the day of purchase, while the second mortgage, obtained through the Commonwealth Bank was taken out on 7 October 1947. She applied to the Brisbane City Council in early 1952 to have the residence registered as a tenement building.

Yet another widow, Dorothy Marion Rose Osborn, together with Peter Clarence Green became the new owners on 19 November 1952. The title deed was amended in 1953 to record that Dorothy and Peter had married on 4 October 1952. But in 1954, on 23 August, Peter Green assumed sole ownership of 176 Petrie Terrace. That same day, he mortgaged the property through the Bank of New South Wales (now Westpac). Earlier, in February 1954, Mr. and Mrs. Green had gained Council permission to convert the residence into a boarding house that offered 19 tenancies. 

On 9 June 1955, the property was transferred to Ralph Gordon Watkins and his wife Melba Peace Watkins. On the day that the property was register in their names, the Watkins mortgaged it through the Bank of New South Wales. Then on 12 September 1957, the property gained a new owner in Banaide Konfos. He also mortgaged the property, through the Commonwealth Bank, on the day of purchase. This rapid turnover in owners during the 1950s reflected the decline in Petrie Terrace’s prominence as a Brisbane suburb. By this time, it was a run-down, inner-city area that provided cheap housing, particularly through boarding houses for low-income earners. 

This image of Petrie Terrace continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s. During this period, Konfos used the former ‘Plaslewydd’ as an investment property, remortgaging the property on another two occasions. The residence at 176 Petrie Terrace continued to be used as a registered inner-city boarding house until November 1960, when Council revoked the tenement licence issued to Banaide Konfos. When he died on 7 March 1984, the property passed to Constantine and John Konfos. They quickly disposed of it to the Nationals Australia Pty Ltd on 24 July 1984. On 6 October 1986, 176 Petrie Terrace was allotted a new real property description of Lot 1 on RP10680 by the state government. The property was acquired by the CUBE Friendly Society on 14 July 1987. On 26 August 1998, David Paul Carroll and Valmai Dawn Carroll became the new owners. The up-market rejuvenation of Petrie Terrace that had commenced in the 1980s, had seen the street developed into a restaurant and theatre precinct that also attracted tourist backpackers because of the area’s close proximity to Brisbane’s CBD. Thus by 2001, the former ‘Plaslewydd’ was providing short-term accommodation and was operating under the business name of the ‘Petrie Terrace Lodge’.  

In 1989, the Brisbane History Group included the residence at 176 Petrie Terrace in its publication The Ups and Downs of Petrie-Terrace Walk/Drive Heritage Tour. 

The former ‘Plaslewydd’ at 176 Petrie Terrace is an important part of the unique streetscape that runs along Petrie Terrace. Commencing with the 1880s Upper Roma Street Bridge and ending at the Normanby Fiveways, Petrie Terrace provides Brisbane residents with a view of the nineteenth century commercial, residential and governmental operations their city. The former Police Barracks site that includes elements of the old Brisbane Gaol (1860-1883) plus Victoria Barracks (1864) along with Hardgrave Park (c1875) provides the governmental aspects. The nineteenth century shop (c1897) on the corner with Caxton Street plus the Lord Alfred Hotel (1887-88) provide the commercial aspects. Finally, the former ‘Plaslewydd’ and Princess Row (1863), O’Keefe’s Buildings (1881), the Illawarra Buildings (1887-88) and Florence House (1877-78) provide the residential aspects.

1. Brisbane City Council, 1946, 2001 & 2005 aerial photographs

2. Brisbane City Council, Properties on the Web, post-1946 building approval cards

3. Brisbane City Council, Sewerage Map, 7 February 1927

4. Brisbane History Group, The Ups and Downs of Petrie-Terrace Walk/Drive Heritage Tour, (Brisbane: Brisbane History Group, 1989)

5. Department of Natural Resources, Queensland Certificates of title and other records.

6. John Oxley Library, Picture Queensland website, photograph collection

7. National Trust of Queensland, Petrie Terrace Conservation Area – A Walk and Drive Tour, (Brisbane: National Trust of Queensland, 1979?)

8. Queensland Post Office Directories, 1868-1949

9. Woolcock, Steve, & Fisher, Rod, Petrie Terrace Brisbane 1888-1988, (Brisbane: Boolarong Press, 1988)

10. www.http://adamsbusmodels.fotopic.net/c1429443.html

11. www.http://travelsouthyorkshire.com/NR/rdonlyres/BC96BF37-1F39-4BC3-992D-081DEC4C112/0/stehensonfountain.pdf