Since the early 1960s, the Torbreck apartment building on Highgate Hill has been a Brisbane landmark. The original Torbreck on the site was demolished in 1958 but another was built nearby by the same family in 1908.
Brisbane
Children on the Loose
How much society norms regarding the rearing of children have changed is brought home by these stories from not that long ago.
The Yodelling Milk Money Thief and Other Scoundrels
Over the years descriptions of a number of unusual Highgate Hill thefts have appeared in newspapers including a yodelling milk money thief and an audacious gas meter thief.
Tennis
The first night tennis tournament in Brisbane took place in Highgate Hill in 1924
Who Shot “Spider” Raper? 1926
The shooting of a notorious criminal at Highgate Hill made big headlines in 1926. Was the man who pulled the trigger guilty of murder?
Highgate Hill Reservoir 1889
Problems with water reticulation in Highgate Hill were solved by the building of a reservoir in 1889. It was gravity fed from Gold Creek dam which had the world’s first concrete stepped spillway.
Glenview – A Highgate Hill House circa 1883
If you’re lucky, a search through Trove digitised newspapers can reveal much about a house’s history, especially in the period when houses were known by their names. Here's what I found out about our house.
Highgate Hill and Its History 