Erica (former)

In 1925 the property was sold to Isiah and Edith Lahey a well-known family of timber merchants. During World War II (1943) the house and grounds were uses as the 10th Camp Hospital in association with 101st Australian Convalescent Depot, which was based in the nearby Loreto Convent.  In 1946 the Xavier Society purchased Erica from Mrs Isaiah Lahey for the establishment of a home for Cripple children, to mark the Sacerdotal Jubilee of Archbishop Duhig. . The property comprised the house and 4 ½ acres of land. It was opened on 15 May 1949. The home was run by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. The hospital expanded to fill much of the grounds of the house. The hospital use ceased in 1994.

In 2007 the property was purchased by the Village Retirement Group. The hospital buildings were demolished, and the house was restored and adapted for community facilities to serve the adjoining retirement housing.

John Jacob Cohen (1859-1939) graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts in 1879, with a first class honours in mathematics, and was articled to a consulting engineer. He subsequently studied architecture at night school. He practices as an architect and engineer firstly in Mackay 1882, before moving back to Brisbane in 1885 where he had a brief partnership with F F Holmes. In May 1886 he practices on his own and picked up a range of mostly commercial commissions, including a number of warehouses. He designed Erica in 1890, one of his last commissions in Brisbane. In 1892 he moved to Sydney, where he studied law, and subsequently became a member of the NSW legislative assembly, and then a District Court Judge.

1. The Queenslander 14 April 1932, p 34

2. The Brisbane Courier 2 December 1921 p 11

3. The Telegraph 5 November 1946 p 2

4. Cairns Post 29 April 1953 p 6

5. Harrison Construction Pty Ltd – Erica Restoration 2015

6. Queensland Architects of the 19th Century, Watson & MacKay, 1994