In part 1 of my history of Dornoch Terrace, I looked at its ancient origins as an Aboriginal pathway and early European settlement through the 19th century. This post covers the development of the street into a prestigious "dress circle" in the 1920s and 30s, followed by a period of decline, and finally the emergence … Continue reading Dornoch Terrace – A Pathway Through Time Part 2
Highgate Hill History
Dornoch Terrace – A Pathway Through Time Part 1
Few of those travelling up and down Dornoch Terrace realise that they are following a path that has been in use for tens of thousands of years. Since the arrival of Europeans , the pathway through the bush has been transformed to a rough dirt track, then to a genteel residential dress circle and finally to a heavily trafficked and at times dangerous thoroughfare. This is its story.
All That Glitters – Brisbane Gold Rushes
On three occasions, inner Southside Brisbane experienced the thrill of a gold discovery but no one got rich.
The Lang Family of Rosecliffe Street
Mr David Lang has lived in Rosecliffe Street, Highgate Hill, since his birth over 90 years ago and the Lang family have owned their property for some 135 years. David has many recollections of daily life in times gone by.
The Three Torbrecks
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.
Sheep, a House and Three Churches
The large house "Marly", later called "St. Malo", was a landmark on Hampstead Road in Highgate Hill for 80 years. It was built by the Appel family on the site of their sheep paddock. A succession of people who lived interesting lives lived there before it was demolished in 1951.
“Dorra Tor” – Plywood, Politics and Punters
There's a quiet corner of Highgate Hill bordering South Brisbane where many surviving old houses boast spectacular views. One of these is the home "Dorra Tor" which has a fascinating history. Thomas Blacket Stephens Thomas Blacket Stephens arrived in Brisbane with his wife Anne nee Connah in around 1856. He established a fellmongery and tanning … Continue reading “Dorra Tor” – Plywood, Politics and Punters
Vulture Street – From Dotted Line to Bitumen
Vulture Street started life as a dotted staight line drawn across a map of Brisbane in the 1840s. It took another 40 years to become a useful through road.
Daphne Mayo – Brisbane Sculptor
Daphne Mayo is most famous for her work on Brisbane's City Hall. She was highly successful in both an artistic and commercial sense thriving as a women sculptor in the Depression years. She lived in Highgate Hill on and off for 40 years.
Mon Abri – Brighton Road
The distinctive house "Mon Abri" in Brighton road, Highgate Hill cost thousands of pounds to build in 1890 and still today is a landmark in the suburb.
Highgate Hill and Its History 