The A-Z of Old Brisbane in colour: Quarries to Rosalie.

Quarries

We had them, of course. And alarmingly close to houses, by the looks of things. I was aware of the rock-breaking activities in the early days at Kangaroo Point, but hadn’t quite imagined this, and just a short walk from the centre of town. But it does explain why there’s a Quarry Street in Spring Hill.

1905: These houses perch on the edge of the Leichhardt Street Quarry.

1905. The Leichhardt Street Quarry from another angle. Lock up your toddlers, mothers.

Queen Street

In the late 1830s, the first Supervisor of Works, Andrew Petrie, marked out a track from the Convict settlement buildings to his home near the river, thinking that a road might one day be formed there. And so we have Queen Street.

The shopfront of a Tin and Iron Plate worker in Queen Street, 1865.

Queen Street in 1868. There is now some vague attempt at drainage, with little footbridges up to the shopfronts. The deep ruts and potholes must have made a carriage ride up Queen Street a bracing affair.

The old Brisbane Town Hall in 1868, with the old GPO next door.

In 1872, the family of WH Knowles, Grocer, pose outside the store in Queen Street. The Knowlses look like fun – rare for the era.

The proprietors of Willson’s Oyster Saloon and D Tait’s tailoring shop in Queen Street, pictured in 1872. The Oyster Saloon chap looks like a character (no waistcoat!).

Finney, Isles & Co on the corner of Queen and Edward Streets in 1879.

1883 sees Queen Street with footpaths and electricity poles. The old Convict Barracks have been demolished, to make way for commercial buildings.

And in 1911, we have paving, trams and motor cars where once there were depressed-looking cart-horses. There’s still a horse-drawn vehicle, it has to obey new-fangled traffic directions.

Queen’s Wharf

This wharf site has been in use since late 1825. Goods brought in by ship were unloaded into the Commissariat Stores. As the years went by, the little landing became a busy hub. The wharf and the Commissariat are still there, but expect to see a rather enormous hotel and casino around them.

In 1901, Crowds greeted the returning soldiers of the Boer War at Queen’s Wharf.

Queen’s Gardens

Queen’s Gardens is a park area, spanning from George to William Streets. The park came into being after 1905, on an area with deep connections to European history in Brisbane.

The site was first used as a lumber yard in 1825, with a cottage on the corner closest to William Street. Workshops and offices followed until 1848, when the Church of England acquired the site. A parsonage, then St John’s Anglican Church and pro-Cathedral was built. After all manner of local administrative fuss, the site eventually became the Executive Gardens, then Queen’s Gardens (although locals often refer to it as Queen’s Park). After even more local fuss, statues of Queen Victoria and a politician named TJ Ryan were installed, together with a 1917 Krupp field gun. There was probably a sound reason for this. The gun, I mean.

The (then) Executive Building with Queen’s Gardens in front in 1920.

Racing

Horse racing is a beloved part of Brisbane’s recreational culture, and has been from the beginning of free settlement.

The Races. 1846.

THE Annual Meeting of the Moreton Bay Racing Club took place at the Race Course, New Farm, on Tuesday and two following days in the past week. The attendance on the course was not only numerous but boasting more than an average of respectability. The sun shone brightly, and, judging from the happy faces of the holiday folks, it was evident that all came there to enjoy themselves, and to take part in the amusements. The greater part of the assembled throng consisted of pedestrians, who like ourselves, chose to make use of that far-famed animal known as Shanks’ mare for the occasion. There was a goodly number of the fair sex dressed out in holiday attire, which with the bright costumes of the gentleman-jockeys, gave a most animated appearance to the scene. It only wanted a band of music to add to the harmony of the proceedings, and make the mirth and excitement complete.

The Moreton Bay Courier, Saturday 20 June 1846.

AI rendering of the Moreton Bay Racing Club meeting in 1846.

Redcliffe

Not technically in Brisbane, but Redcliffe is the reason Brisbane exists, so I can’t resist including it. (Redcliffe was chosen as the original site of the penal colony in 1824, but conditions were difficult, and it was decided to go up that nearby river, and see what could be set up there.)

And here we are at the Moreton Bay Hotel in 1905. That’s a lot of people – staff, guests, and anyone who happened to be passing by perhaps?

Mothers supervising toddlers in 1906. Beachwear has ahem, ‘evolved,’ in the last 120 years!

Red Hill

Close to town, and delightfully hilly and breezy, Red Hill grew quickly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Mrs Gentle’s store in 1907. What a charming name for a local mixed business.

And here’s the Crown Bakery in 1907. I’m impressed by the hat game Grandma is bringing.

The first St Brigid’s church at Red Hill in 1910.

What a difference a couple of years can make – here’s the new St Brigid’s church at the time of its dedication in 1914.

In 1912, the staff of Gagliardi & Levingston pose outside the Musgrave Cash Stores on Musgrave Road, just as the road is being sealed, probably for the first time.

The Bailey residence at Red Hill in 1912.

The Hancox residence at Red Hill in 1914.

Rocklea

Now residential and industrial, Rocklea was once the Rocky Water Holes, and entirely rural.

Roma Street

Roma Street was named for the Contessa Diamantina di Roma, Lady Bowen, who was the wife of Queensland’s first Governor. The presence of a genuine aristocrat, with a glamorous European title to boot, was almost too much for old Brisbane. Everything that could be named for Bowen and his wife was, and Lady Bowen had such a variety of names to choose from. There was the town of Roma, Countess Street, the Diamantina River, the Diamantina Hospital and Roma Street. Roma Street is best known for its railway station, and rail travel came to Queensland during the Bowen era.

The front of Roma Street Station in 1882.

The railway yards at Roma Street in 1897.

An illumination of a train on the office of the Commissioner of Railways at Roma Street in 1914.

Rosalie

Rosalie no longer exists. It’s considered part of Paddington now, and it seems unlikely at this stage that it will be returned to suburb status, Petrie Terrace-style.

This is the residence called Rainworth in Rosalie in 1890. Rainworth is the name of a part of the suburb of Bardon – indeed there is a Rainworth State School. As far as my addled brain can work out, this is a house in a suburb that no longer exists, that gave its name to a suburb that never quite existed. I think.

Rosalie (or Paddington) is prone to flooding in cyclones and heavy rain events. The lower-lying streets and the area around Gregory Park will completely disappear, as they did in this 1893 photo.

In 1902, Rosalie was a growing concern. New houses were being built, although the roads were still unsealed.

Here is a Rosalie house in 1911. It was called Aston Villa – possibly because the owners thought it might sound posh. Or possibly because they were keen followers of the club (I had to check – it was firmly in operation as far back as 1874).

The first Sacred Heart Church at Rosalie in 1914.

Moreton Bay Courier (Brisbane, Qld.: 1846 – 1861), Saturday 20 June 1846, page 2.

AI generated painting of the 1846 Race Day by CoPilot.

Queensland Places website.

Wikipedia

All images (apart from 1846 race painting) are taken from the digital collection of the State Library of Queensland and are out of copyright. AI colourisation by CoPilot.