James Cole establish a small tinsmith business in 1885. His firm, later the Queensland Can Company, steadily grew over the years at its Vulture Street, West End, location to become a major local employer. The remaining buildings are a reminder of this industrial heritage.
West End Brisbane History
Dornoch Terrace – A Pathway Through Time Part 2
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
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.
Tom Garrick and his West End Theatres
Thomas (Dad) Garrick, after a nautical career, became a pioneer of cinema in Queensland. His family company established the Lyric Theatre in West End in 1912 and in 1923 they built the Rialto in Hill End. Only the Rialto survives, repurposed as commercial premises.
The West End School of Arts
The School of Arts in Boundary Street, West End, played an important role in the community for 80 years. Today it is all but forgotten. The Kurilpa Library, built as an extension to the School of Arts in 1928, carries on an over 130 year old tradition.
Toonarbin
Stately Toonarbin built in the 1860s is one of the district's oldest houses and predates the creation of Dornoch Terrace on which it now stands.
Roosters in the High Court of Australia,
In a classic case of how disputes between neighbours can escalate, in 1930 a problem with crowing roosters ended up in the High Court of Australia.
The Dornoch Terrace Bridge
The original bridge on Dornoch Terrace passing over Boundary Street was built in the 1880s. The current bridge was the first stage of a river crossing that was never built.
Highgate Hill and Its History 