Alpha Cottage

This particular allotment (then 1 rood) was purchased by Francis Blanchard in 1875.1 It was one of a number of allotments (covering over 44 acres) that were offered for sale by the “Honourable” Louis Hope in December 1874.23 Hope, was a MLC from 1862-82 and was “a major figure in establishing the colony’s sugar industry.”4

Blanchard took possession of the land in late 1875. However, the listing of the cottage did not appear in the Post Office Directories (PODs) until the 1883-84 edition.5 Neither Blanchard or his wife appear to have ever lived in the cottage. Francis Blanchard is first listed in the PODs in 1889, where his occupation is supplied as Pilot. His address is listed as Cardwell. Blanchard’s name then disappears from the Directory to reappear in 1901 where he is listed as “Magazine Keeper of Pinkenba.”6 In 1910 the cottage passed onto his widow, Emma Blanchard who is listed as living in Cornwall Street Woolloongabba.7 The property was transferred to Katherine Nicholson and Florence Burrell in the following year.8

By the 1880s Kangaroo Point had a number of established industries and commercial premises.9 The cottage appears to have been constructed as a rental house. Undoubtedly the cottage’s setting, style, its proximity to the commercial hub of Kangaroo Point, the river (used as both transport and as a source of employment via the maritime industry) and the city, would offer a high occupancy rate. The first known occupant, Cecil Fison, validates this assumption.10

Under the title of “Marine Board” Fison held the positions of Examiner in “Seamanship and Navigation” and “Inspector of Oyster Fisheries” for which he received £100 per annum.11 In comparison a “junior clerk” in the same period had an annual salary of £75.12 This would place Fison within the lower range of middle class and provides a good indication of the rental clientele the cottage would attract, in a period which must be regarded as the early stages of the housing boom of the 1880s in Brisbane.13

Fison may be credited with the naming of the cottage, as in the 1885-86 POD the name Alpha Cottage appears beside his name.14 The PODs of this date list three houses (including Alpha Cottage) along the West Side of Lambert Street, between O’Connell and King (now Castlebar) Streets. The listed occupants all three are shown as being employed, in various positions, by the Customs Department.1 This also indicates that the Southern End of Lambert Street was reasonably well established by this stage.

By 1889 Fison held more senior positions in the Harbours and Rivers Dept.13 He had moved out of Alpha Cottage to a larger house further along Lambert Street. His occupancy of Alpha Cottage was replaced by M. Small, a Marine Engineer.

Later occupants also reflected the cottage’s position to the city and work conducted in the area. These include Herbert Crossely (1893) Skin and Hide Merchant, Charlotte Street, and F. Cullen (1897-99) who had his grocery store in Main Street, between Darragh and Ferry Streets.14 In 1940 the land was divided into two portions, with Florence Burrell retaining the 20 perches that had Alpha Cottage located on it.3 

The cottage is located on the high portion of the Kangaroo Point peninsula. This proximity to Kangaroo Point and the city has meant that many of the occupations of its occupants were directly linked to the development of the character of Kangaroo Point and the surrounding areas.

The building, which is set on low concrete stumps sits on a spacious site and terminates a vista in that section of Lambert Street. The front of the site is bounded by a low chainwire fence.

1. Janet Hogan, Historic Homes of Queensland. (National Trust. 1987) “Shafston House.”

2. Ibid

3. Photocopy of newspaper article in the National Trust files on Kangaroo Point. It is likely to be an article from the Telegraph from July 1929 or July 1939. Queensland Post Office Directories. 1868 - 1890

4. Certificates of Title.

5. Australian Dictionary of Biography. (Melbourne; Melbourne University Press. 1972). Vol. 4. 1851 – 1890. D – J. pp.418/419

6. The Brisbane Post Office Directory and Country Guide for 1883-84. P.67

7. Queensland Post Office Directories, 1883-1910

8. Queensland Post Office Directory, 1911-12. P.371

9. Certificates of Title.

10. The Brisbane Post Office Directory and Country Guide for 1883-84

11. Ibid, p. 67

12. Queensland Blue Book for the Year 1883. (Complied from Official Returns in the Register General’s Office. 1884). P.58 & 60

13. Ibid

14. Ronald Lawson, Brisbane in the 1890s; a Study of an Australian Urban Society. (St. Lucia; University of Queensland Press, 1973). Pp.53-54

15. The Brisbane Post Office Directory and Country Guide for 1883-84. P.67

16. The Brisbane Post Office Directory and Country Guide for 1885-86. P.87

17. Ibid

18. Queensland Blue Book for the Year 1887. P.94

19. Queensland Post Office Directories for the years 1883 – 1900

20. Certificates of Title.