1995 Aerial View of Taringa BCC Brisbane Images BCC-C120-9532.4 Taringa History Group Meeting Notices and Notes 2009 and 2010 Taringa History Group Taringa History Group Meeting Notices and Notes (2009 and 2010) Introduction Taringa’s potential as a residential suburb was recognised early in the life of the new Colony of Queensland. In the early 1860s 50 acres south of Moggill Road had been surveyed, sub-divided into house size lots and offered for sale. Marketed as the ‘West Milton’ Estate this name was also used in the western suburbs’ first postal contract secured by Alfred Roberts who ran a horse drawn omnibus to Brisbane. The opening of the railway in the 1870s spurred the building of homes and a number of businesses opened along the crest of Moggill Road. Something of a way stop this included a blacksmith, pub and grocery stores. In due course these would be joined by a school, places of worship, doctors surgery and private hospital, pharmacy, bakery, butchers, picture theatre, a masonic lodge and later service stations. The shopping and services strip became the centre of ‘village’ life, the hub of the local community. Importantly Taringa became the administration centre for local government when these authorities were formed by legislation in the late 1870s. The office for the Indooroopilly Divisional Board was built in the Moggill/Morrow Road split and subsequently extended to meet the needs of the Taringa Divisional Board, then the Taringa Shire Council as the local authority boundaries were progressively adjusted to reflect closer settlement in the inner suburbs. Widespread car ownership, residential development of what were once considered the outer suburbs, the building of the bypass, and the construction of Indooroopilly Shopping Town all had a significant impact on Taringa ‘high street’ traders and the ‘village’ life style. Non-residents now usually consider Taringa a bottleneck on their way to somewhere else, however, the shopping strip has and will adapt over time. It has increasingly becoming a centre for professional and medical specialities rather than for everyday purchases, and a hospital will again open in the suburb in 2018/19. The Taringa History Group was set up in 2002, an initiative of Councillor Judy Magub and a group of local residents. Their initial goal was to collect and record the essence of village life before it was lost. Since that time the group has held regular meetings to discuss topics of interest and published Memories of Taringa Village in 2006. These summary Notes, prepared by Mrs Dotti Kemp, capture just the main points from these meetings where discussion ranges from heritage matters and living memory to the presentation of research based on primary material related to Taringa notables and events. This is the first of what will be a progressive release of meeting notes up to the present time. There has been some minor reformatting of the original files. An Index is provided. Issue One – May 2018 For further details please contact: Group Co-ordinator: Bruce Sinclair [email protected] Web: brisbanehistorywest.wordpress.com Meeting Notices and Minutes 2009 and 2010 Page 2 of 30 Taringa History Group Notice of Meeting Saturday 7th March 2009 at Toowong Community Meeting Place Josling Street, Toowong, at 3.00 p.m. The Jephson St, Toowong, connection with Taringa’s history – Salvation Army / John W. Todd Notes from March Meeting Marilyn England spoke of her latest research about Lang Farm, Toowong. We also discussed Taringa Estates, including West Milton the earliest (by 1863) from Moggill Road to Swann Rd and east to Beatrice St. John William Todd auctioneer and real estate agent; his involvement in nearly all Taringa Estates at some time including; his own houses in Jephson St Toowong, and Sandgate; his work as Sunday School Superintendent at St Thomas’s Church, Toowong; his enthusiastic verse in the Brisbane Courier of 10 July 1884 advertising the merits of the Ellerslie Crescent area of South Toowong: At South Toowong You can’t go wrong If you take J.W.’s tip; Buy a corner lot, Erect your cot, And then you may let it rip. The land will rise. No matter who buys At South Toowong it’s right; Take Todd’s advice, You may fix your price; Each lot is a “swagger” site. Meeting Notices and Minutes 2009 and 2010 Page 3 of 30 Taringa History Group Todd died in 1905, the family moved out of “Grosvenor” in Jephson St, and the house was let until 1914 when the Salvation Army acquired it for a Rescue Home to replace their Home in Ellerslie Crescent, Taringa which burned down in January that year. The Salvation Army remains at that Jephson St address though the buildings have now changed. Photo of that Toowong area from Salvation Army archives, courtesy of Peter Perros of Ellerslie Crescent.1 Notice of Meeting Saturday 4th April 2009 at Toowong Community Meeting Place Josling Street, Toowong, at 3.00 p.m. Humphrey Shop in Taringa Village, taken over by daughter and son-in-law June and Ronald Egerton Notes from April Meeting Unfortunately Delvae Edwards was rained in at Beechmont and unable to speak to us about her Humphrey family until a later date. We enjoyed some of Delvae’s interesting photos sent by email, including one of the School fête about 1917 showing the same elaborate background structure of a castle/gaol as in our photo of Taringa Theatricals which may also have been a fête event in a different year. 2 We viewed our latest photo acquisition of Taringa Railway Station (1900-18?) and discussed dates for various railway photos. Gas light in this photo. Many thanks to Marilyn England for passing on this lovely photo to us. Further mention of John William Todd auctioneer, and his early days in Queensland. He served as Hon. Sec. of The Choral Union 1866. Ran a saddlery business in South Brisbane, donating a saddle in several years as a prize for annual Races, and sold out to Butler Bros 1867. Moved to Maryborough, and took his Brisbane bride back there by ship 1868. Settled in Brisbane sometime after first child arrived (born 1869). 1 The Salvation Army sold Todd’s old house at 15 Jephson Street in 2018 2 The ‘castle’ was associated with a 1916 fund-raising event for the Wounded Soldier’s Fund Meeting Notices and Minutes 2009 and 2010 Page 4 of 30 Taringa History Group Further discussion of the pronunciation of St Osyth Street, Toowong. English town of the name pronounced St Toosee. Toowong school calls it St O-Syth. Copies handed out of 1895 Electoral Roll for Oxley District, including Taringa. Notice of Meeting Saturday 2nd May 2009 at Toowong Community Meeting Place Josling Street, Toowong, at 3.00 p.m. (Above left) Early days [Delvae Edwards] (Above right) Roofing off after tornado, no other changes to this elevation by 1986 [John Low 1973 courtesy Jill Clark] (Above left) Protruding window added by 2000 [John Ronolds] Above right) Front entrance 2006 [Dotti Kemp] Meeting Notices and Minutes 2009 and 2010 Page 5 of 30 Taringa History Group Notes from May Meeting Taringa Lodges and some of the notable identities in each were discussed at the meeting. Two early ones were the Protestant Alliance Friendly Society of Australasia, the Pride of Taringa Lodge No. 46, and the Freemasons Lodge - the Taringa Lodge, No. 801, Scottish Constitution (later No. 76, after union with other Masonic lodges of differing constitutions?). The Taringa Masonic Hall was built in 1902, and is still standing at the corner of Frederick St and Moggill Rd, although the Lodge now meets at Sinnamon Park where local Lodges share facilities. The Rechabites were also in Taringa but were not dealt with at this time. Isaac Hodgson was a member of both the PAFSOA and the Freemasons. The Lee-Bryce family provided many keen members of the Masonic Lodge. The younger brother George Buchanan Lee-Bryce served as the first Master of the Taringa Lodge, and also as Taringa’s Station Master and Post Master for many years, living in Princess Street. The older brother Robert Lee Bryce [no hyphen] served with the Grand Lodge in Brisbane; was the City Inspector for Brisbane’s Municipal Council, and lived on the river near Bryce St, St Lucia, moving his house “Inchgarvie” to higher ground in Durham St after the great flood of 1893. Further information on the Lee-Bryce family eagerly sought. Bob Silver did good research on the types of cars seen in the photograph of Taringa taxis outside Taringa Railway Station, and on photographs of Taringa Station. Car left a Hupmobile 1923-1924; car centre a Hudson 1922-1926; car right a Buick 1922-1923 (Thanks to The Vintage and Veteran Car Club for their help in identification.) Updates on John W. Todd, auctioneer; local building developments; general items. Notice of Meeting Saturday 6th June 2009 at Toowong Community Meeting Place Josling Street, Toowong, at 3.00 p.m. Meeting Notices and Minutes 2009 and 2010 Page 6 of 30 Taringa History Group E George Humphrey and the Humphrey then Egerton then Hughes shop, Taringa Village Notes from June Meeting At the June meeting we were very pleased to welcome Delvae Edwards who had travelled a long distance to come to the meeting. Delvae (Egerton) Edwards was brought up in Taringa, the daughter of June Humphrey and Ronald Egerton, and the grand-daughter of Mr and Mrs E. G. Humphrey who ran businesses in Moggill Road from 1913 onwards. Mr George Humphrey was a leading light in Taringa; a Master in the Taringa Lodge of Freemasonry; a supervisor of State Elections in the Masonic Hall; a Storekeeper and House and Land agent; and a devotee of Find the Ball competitions in the Courier-Mail, once winning a prize big enough to fund a trip back to New Zealand to visit his family of fifteen siblings.