56 Shuttleworth Street, Kuraby

The land passed through a number of owners before being purchased by florist H.A Peterson Ltd. Although the titles reveal that the company took out two mortgages over the property in 1919 and 1922 it was the next owner William Effy who had the subject dwelling erected in c1940.

Effy had purchased the property through his company Rowes Pty Ltd in December 1939. Effy was proprietor (Director) of the popular Edward Street eatery Rowes Café, eventually purchasing the building the café was housed in. This building became known as the “Rowes Building” and is State Heritage listed.

Effy applied through his company, Rowes Pty Ltd, Edward St, City, to the Brisbane City Council to build a dwelling at Beenleigh Road, Kuraby in April 1940. While no architect’s name is recorded with the application record for this house. Rowes Café underwent remodelling in c1925 under the control of the significant and important Queensland architectural form of Messrs Hall and Prentice. One of the members of the above firm many have later designed the dwelling. It is also likely that material from the café, particularly internal fittings, from the dwelling. It is also likely that material from the café, particularly internal fittings, from the 1920s works or subsequent alterations, were utilised in the Kuraby house.

Rowes Pty Ltd acquired the Kuraby property in December 1939. At this particular time the property was just over 56 acres ands 3 roods in size. Effy costed the construction of the dwelling at £1000.00 and declared that the contractor was “day labour”. Effy also applied to the Brisbane City Council for the installation of septic tanks due to the lack of a sewer being available in Kuraby.

There is little doubt that if Effy had delayed the construction of the dwelling, prohibitions on the use of the building materials and labour during and immediately after the war would have meant that construction would have been considerably delayed if not voided. Effy operated the Café from 1903 until the mid-twentieth century and apparently used the Kuraby property as his residence and to grow produce for the café. 

Kuraby at this time, despite its proximity to Brisbane city, was very much a rural community with the Post Office Directories disclosing that the predominant occupation was that of farmer.

Subdivisions occurred under a number of subsequent owners however the current owner, the Stiller family, purchased the allotment, with the subject dwelling located upon it, in August 1981. Currently the dwelling is still located within a rural setting but is gradually being enveloped by the numerous subdivisions in this area as Kuraby develops.

While this particular style was part of an international phenomenon particularly associated with the “nouveaux riche”, and according to Rechner given the term “Stockbroker Tudor”, it is unusual for an English revival styled house to be found in a semi-rural area of Brisbane 1.

The steep roof is of terracotta tile and encloses an attic story with at least one dormer gable to the building’s front elevation. Half-timber Tudor style walls are also visible.

1. EJT Barton (ed), Jubilee History of Queensland, Brisbane, H.J. Diddams & Co, 1910

2. Brisbane City Council Building Register for 1940

3. Brisbane City Council. Kuraby District Local Area Plan Character Study. July 1996

4. Certificates of Title.

5. Post Office Directories.

6. Judy Gale Rechner, Brisbane House Styles 1880 to 1940: a guide to the affordable house, Brisbane: Brisbane History Group Studies No. 2, 1998

7. Reports and Proceedings of the Brisbane City Council during the Period 1st July 1939 – 30 June 1940

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