58 Grove Street, Albion

Grove, Terrace, Wakefield and Bale Streets initially formed part of the ‘Albion Station Estate’ even though Grove Street was initially listed in the Breakfast Creek district. This timber and tin worker’s cottage was constructed circa 1888 for George Knox as a rental investment, and was likely tenanted by upholsterer Anton Kruger from 1889. In 1890, auctioneer and land developer Archibald McNish Fraser purchased the house and continued to use it as a rental property.

Archibald McNish Fraser was a prominent builder and real estate agent, operating his Onward Auction Mart from offices located in the Brisbane Town Hall, in Queen Street. He arrived in Brisbane from Argylshire, Scotland in 1880 and worked as a builder before he expanded into real estate and established the Onward Auction Mart and the Onward Real Property Mart in 1887. In 1888, the Aldine History of Queensland enthused over McNish Fraser’s role as a Brisbane success story by stating ‘…It is with pride the city looks upon the prosperity of many such young men’.1 McNish Fraser was already familiar with Albion as he had built his new family residence ‘Dunaverty’ in Birkbeck Street in 1887 and he had lived in Albion since 1882. 

After renting the cottage for almost 15 years, Anton Kruger purchased 58 Grove Street in 1902. Kruger possibly had an arrangement with McNish Fraser that he would be a long-term tenant with the aim of eventually buying the property from his landlord. But Queensland was gripped by an economic depression during the 1890s and this may explain why it took Anton Kruger 14 years to purchase his home outright. The house has since been owned by numerous people. 

While many similar cottages were constructed in Albion during the nineteenth century, many have been demolished or removed to make way for new development.

1. Environmental Protection Agency, Carvarmore 21 Birbeck Street, Albion citation, (Brisbane: Qld Government, 24 January 2005), P.1

2. 1985 ‘Albion – Of Gracious Homes and Bartley’s Folly’, The Telegraph, 11 February

3. 1929 ‘Albion – Of Scottish Descent’, The Sunday Mail, 10 March

4. 1873 ‘Classifieds Section’, The Brisbane Courier, 18 January

5. Brisbane City Council Properties on the Web

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

7. Certificates of Title, Department of Natural Resources and Water

8. Environmental Protection Agency, Carvarmore 21 Birbeck Street, Albion citation, (Brisbane: Qld Government, 24 January 2005)

9. Kerr, John 1988, Brunswick Street, Bowen Hills and Beyond: The Railways of the Northern Suburbs of Brisbane, Australian Railway Historical Society

10. Queensland Post Office Directories, 1868-1949

11. Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Survey Map

12. Watson, Donald and Judith McKay. A Directory of Queensland Architects to 1940. (St. Lucia: U of Q Press, 1984)