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Carrington Chambers:

Carrington Chambers was constructed for William Woodley, an artesian well-borer who settled in Queensland in the 1880s. The building was designed in 1909 by eminent architectural firm Hall and Dods, who had also designed King Edward Chambers on the adjoining lot in 1905. Woodley’s Building was designed in harmony King Edward Chambers. The building was constructed during the Valley’s growth as an appealing commercial destination and Carrington Chambers was leased to a variety of tenants throughout its history. The Chambers were also part of the 1980s Chinatown redevelopment.

Carrington Chambers, originally known as Woodley’s Building, was designed by Hall and Dods in 1909 for William Woodley. William Woodley, an artesian well borer and contractor, had purchased 25.72 perches on the corner of Wickham and Gipps Streets in 1908. The site was opposite the well-known Foy and Gibson and adjacent to King Edward’s Buildings, which had been constructed for the Honorable Peter Murphy in 1905, also designed by Hall and Dods.

William Woodley arrived in Queensland from Canada in the 1880s on the invitation of Queensland artesian bore pioneers. Drilling for artesian bores had been trialled in Victoria in the 1850s, with bores predicted in Queensland shortly afterwards. But it was not until the 1880s that pioneers attempted to create bores in the western plains of Queensland. The first well was completed in 1887 and on the basis of that success American experts, including William Woodley, were invited to Queensland. Woodley had trained for the occupation of artesian well-boring from his youth and on moving to Queensland commenced operations in his chosen field. By 1910 he had established a company, Woodley Limited, and completed bores in Dalby, Windorah, Roma, Mitchell, and a number of stations in the western plains of Queensland.

Despite the rural nature of his work, Woodley was based in Brisbane. He managed his company from business premises in Wickham Street and he and wife Caroline Cummins lived in Sandgate, moving to Clayfield in 1908. Their new house, ‘Wyoming’, later named ‘Mapleleaf’, referenced Woodley’s American origins. The Woodleys resided in ‘Mapleleaf’ until Mrs Woodley died in 1928, when she was credited for the great amount of charitable work she had undertaken in her life.

Woodley’s decision to invest in Wickham Street reflected the potential for commercial success in the centre of the Valley in the early twentieth century. Wickham Street had begun as a secondary road in the Valley, opened in stages in the 1860s as an alternative route to Ann Street, the main commercial district. The Valley developed as small town and Wickham Street, accordingly, grew slowly. In the 1870 and 1880s, with the settlement now well-established, solid brick and stone buildings began to replace the timber shops, churches and residences. Wickham Street was a particular focus of this growth, as new multi-tenanted shops and dwellings were erected along the street. The growth of businesses in the Valley accelerated in the 1890s, despite an economic depression and destruction caused by the 1893 floods. The area was mostly spared from flood damage and retailers who had set up shop in the Valley pressed their advantage. By 1900 drapery firms were expanding into department stores, and within five years the Valley was an attractive shopping destination. Newer and larger retail and office buildings emerged on and around the Valley Corner.

Investors’ attention turned to Valley sites on which older buildings still stood. Not least of these was the large block at the corner of Wickham and Gipps Streets. In the nineteenth century it had been too far from the main commercial district, and its tenants were mostly tradesmen, including plumbers and painters, whose businesses adjoined the funeral parlour of Cannon and Cripps. By 1908, however, with a location close to the now-popular Valley Corner, across the road from Foy and Gibson and next to the successfully tenanted King Edward Building, the site was ripe for development. Woodley acquired the title to the land in November 1908, consisting of 25.72 perches of a much larger block fronting Wickham and Gipps Streets.

Woodley wasted no time informing prospective tenants of his intentions for the Wickham Street site. Notice of shops and offices to be built on the vacant land on the corner of Wickham and Gipps St was given in September 1908, and tenders for construction went out in December. The commissioning of architects Hall and Dods to design the premises also highlighted the prestige of the new building.

Francis Hall and Robin Dods were two of the most distinguished architects in Brisbane in the early 1900s. Their popularity coincided with a construction boom in Brisbane, and in 1909 alone the firm had been commissioned to design the latest additions to T.C. Beirne’s premises in Ipswich and the Valley, as well as the Church of England Cathedral, new premises for Rothwell’s in Edward street, the New Zealand Insurance Company building in Ann street, the Lyceum Theatre in George street, a station for the Brisbane Electric Supply Company in William street, an office building near Custom House, the expansion of Rhoades and Company in Wickham street and Woodley’s building.

Beyond 1909, Hall and Dods made a significant contribution to the architectural record of Brisbane, including the Mater Misericordiae Private Hospital and the first part of its public hospital; parts of the General Hospital; the AMP and Bank of NSW buildings; the Australian Mercantile Land and Finance Woolstores at Teneriffe; St Brigid’s at Red Hill; the Maryborough Town Hall (1906); and St John’s Cathedral.

Woodley’s new building was designed to complement its neighbour, another multi-tenanted commercial building. It was originally known as King Edward’s Building, and had been designed by Hall and Dods in 1905. Despite having two different clients, the architects managed to design complementary buildings, ensuring a consistent streetscape along Wickham Street between Duncan and Gipps Streets.

Excavations on Woodley’s site began in January 1909, conducted by William Bowers, of Bowen and Bowers. The work involved the use of dynamite, and on 21 January the explosives caused a massive blast, sending rocks and debris flying across Wickham Street. Pedestrians were injured and a seventeen year old department store worker was killed. An inquiry in February and trial through April and May resulted in a charge of unlawful killing against Bowers, although the case was quietly dropped later in the year.

Walls and Juster had been contracted to construct the shop and office building in early January, with a tender of £5,239/14/0, and carried on the construction through the trial, finishing in August 1909. The newly finished ‘Woodley’s Buildings’ provided retail and commercial space for various lessees, including (notably for the time) a photography studio. Other tenants included a dentist, dressmaker, restaurant, tobacconist, chemist and ladies’ hairdresser. Like the King Edward Chambers, the multicultural nature of the Valley was reflected in some of its tenants, including Japanese merchant T. Kashiwagi, president of the Brisbane Japanese Association, who leased one of the chambers from the 1920s-1940s.

Woodley’s Chambers was the beginning of William Woodley’s investment in the Valley, who went on to have plans approved for buildings on Brunswick Street, twice in 1910 and once in 1911. All of Woodley’s buildings were designed by Hall and Dods and constructed by M. Doggett.

In 1910 Peter Blundell and Falkiner Hewson purchased Woodley’s Chambers and continued to lease it to small business tenants. Hewson’s death in 1926 led to the dissolution of their partnership, and in June 1927 Woodley’s Buildings were auctioned in five subdivisions, each with a separate title. The smallest chamber was subdivision 5, consisting of 4.72 perches. Subdivision 5 abutted the corner of Gipps Street and was the first to sell in March 1928. It was soon renamed ‘Judge’s Chambers’ for new owners William and Lillian Judge, who had run a hairdressing and tobacconist venture in the adjacent King Edward’s Building. Architect C.B. De Costa designed alterations for the Judges in 1928, which were constructed by Low and Co. The Federal Deposit Bank had bought subdivisions 2-4, a much larger allotment of 14.61 perches, in December 1928. The bank’s premises unsurprisingly became known as the Federal Bank Chambers. The final 6.42 perches of subdivision 1, closest to King Edward’s Building, was sold to Treasury Buildings in 1936.

Each subdivision was passed through a series of owners and leases. Judge’s Chambers was owned by the Brisbane Crematorium for nearly thirty years, while the National Mutual Life Association held the Federal Bank Chambers for just over sixty years. A new shopfront was added to subdivision 1 in 1956 by new proprietor Norman Simmich, while alterations to the office and the awning were undertaken for the Brisbane Crematorium in 1952 and 1953. The building also underwent renovations as part of the Chinatown redevelopment in the 1980s.

The name ‘Carrington Chambers’, which is on the parapet of the building, may come from the ‘Carrington Reception Lounge’ caterers, who leased part of the building from around 1949.

The building continues to be leased to commercial tenants, including restaurateurs, and the property passed to its current owner in 2006.

King Edward Chambers:

King Edward Chambers was designed in 1905 by eminent architectural firm Hall and Dods, for owner Peter Murphy, M.L.A. The building was constructed during the development of the Valley as a desirable commercial location in the early twentieth century, and reflected the growing trend of the erection of valuable investment properties in prime Valley areas to be leased to small businesses.

Originally known as King Edward’s Chambers, this building was designed by renowned architects Hall and Dods in 1905. ‘The person who has decided upon this enterprising step,’ announced the Brisbane Courier in July 1905, ‘is the Hon. Peter Murphy, M.L.C., who by it is staking some thousands on his faith in the progress of the city.’

Irish-born Peter Murphy had arrived in Australia in 1871. He established the Transcontinental Hotel [600122] on Roma Street in 1884, which he ran for the ensuing 28 years. He was the director of Perkins & Company from 1893, and held shares in the Queensland Brewery, Castlemaine Brewery and Quinlan Grey & Company. In 1904 Murphy was appointed to the Legislative Council and in that role was primarily known as the spokesman of the liquor trade, believing that drinking and gambling were part of human nature. In accordance with the latter trait he was the owner of a racehorse, a committee member of the Queensland Turf and Tattersall’s Clubs, a trustee of the Toombul Racecourse and an advocate of State lotteries. Murphy was also an honorary life member of the Philanthropic Institute, and well-liked by the staff of his former hotel. Murphy had also had a long, though indirect, association with the Valley. His wife Ellen, nee Bulcock, was the daughter of one of the Fortitude passengers Ben Bulcock who became a prominent figure in Fortitude Valley and who ran a butcher shop on the corner of Ann and Brunswick Street.

Murphy’s purchase of the sites on Wickham and Duncan Streets came after the slow development of Wickham Street from a small track to a street of some importance. Wickham Street had begun as a secondary road in the Valley, opened in stages in the 1860s as an alternative route to Ann Street, the main commercial district. Duncan Street, running between Wickham and Ann, contained a small number of residential properties. The Valley developed as small town and Wickham Street, accordingly, grew slowly. In the 1870 and 1880s, with the settlement now a certainty, solid brick and stone buildings began to replace the timber shops, churches and residences. Wickham Street benefited greatly from this, particularly spurred on by an economic boom of the 1880s.

The block on the corner of Wickham and Duncan Streets was something of an anomaly, however. It sat empty through most of the 1870s and 1880s, with applications for its development (including a provisional license for a hotel to be built on the corner) rejected. The block passed through nine owners between 1870 and 1901. It was not until 1890 that the corner was finally tenanted, as the Valley headquarters of undertakers Cannon and Cripps, directly across Duncan Street from Kenny and Dietz, also undertakers.

The Valley’s growth continued through the last decade of the nineteenth century and by 1905 it was a flourishing retail area, with department stores gradually taking over large areas of land. Trams and trains on recently extended lines brought customers to the area, particularly to the major businesses which fanned out from the newly-prominent Valley Corner. Visitors came for the bargains and the atmosphere: the Valley, particularly on Friday nights, was filled with well-dressed men and women admiring the brightly-lit large plate-glass windows displaying the trader’s wares or, at Christmas, families enjoying the window displays. The early 1900s saw a large amount of construction work in Brisbane, not least of all in Wickham Street. Retailers Foy and Gibson opened their new shop in Wickham Street opposite the Cannon and Cripps site in June 1903, and trams and buses had conveyed full loads of passengers to the Valley to investigate the new building. ‘Everybody seemed to be there,’ reported The Brisbane Courier, ‘and more than once as friend met friend the mutual greeting was, “Isn’t this like opening day at the Exhibition”. With Foy and Gibson directly across the road to attract shoppers, the site was ideal for a commercial enterprise other than an undertaker’s business. Murphy purchased 19.7 perches fronting Wickham and Duncan Streets in October 1901, adding the adjacent 19.4 perches fronting Duncan Street in July 1903. Cripps and Cannon’s two-storey brick and wooden building, cottage, and coachhouse and stables, as well as two semi-detached cottages and a portion of a wooden building in Duncan Street, were advertised for removal in May 1905.

Unusually, leases of the building had been offered to tenants before it had been designed, in order that prospective lessees could have the premises planned to meet their requirements. Architectural firm Hall and Dods advertised the opportunity for input into the design, called for tenders and designed the building. Francis Hall and Robin Dods were among the most eminent architects in Brisbane in the early twentieth century. Having established their firm in 1896, they were in great demand during the 1900s, which was a particularly busy time in the building industry and culminated in a boom in 1909. Hall and Dods made a significant contribution to the architectural record of Brisbane, including the Mater Misericordiae Private Hospital and the first part of its public hospital; parts of the General Hospital; the AMP and Bank of NSW buildings; the Wool Store at Bulimba; St Brigid’s at Red Hill; the Maryborough Town Hall; and St John’s Cathedral. In Fortitude Valley, Hall and Dods also designed most of T.C. Beirne’s complex, the 1898 shop front and awning for Overell and Sons’ drapery, Ruddle’s 1901 additions and additions to All Hallows convent and a confectionary factory for Bouchard, Plumridge and Rankin in 1900.

Out of 24 building tenders, F.H. Groth was selected to construct the building in seven and a half months, at a cost of £6,295. Murphy’s building was designed as a mixed use building with shops at ground level and offices above. The building used the corner block to its advantage, designed with a frontage to Wickham Street as well as Duncan Street to make the chambers easily accessible and highly visible. It consisted of six distinct shops or chambers which could be inhabited independently of one another. Hall and Dods also designed its neighbour, originally known as Woodley’s Buildings, in 1909. Despite having two different clients, the architects managed to design complimentary buildings, ensuring a consistent streetscape along Wickham Street between Duncan and Gipps Streets.

Murphy’s building was immediately known as King Edward’s Building, a sign of the era of its construction. Edward VII ruled from 1901-1910, one of the most popular monarchs since the seventeenth century and who, like Murphy, had an interest in gambling and horse racing.

Among the early businesses to occupy the building were: King Edward’s Dining Rooms, a chemist, a dentist, the Federal Furnishing Co, and several dressmakers and hairdressers, including Walter Paxton, Junior, who could offer, in addition to a ‘first class’ haircut, ‘leading brands and tobacco and fishing tackle and rod repairs’. The building also hosted the BAFS Dispensary before it moved to a building across the road. Throughout its first decade, the Chambers were used for a range of activities and tenants, including a dance for the Misses Healion, dressmakers working in the building, the Brisbane Canary Improvement Society’s inaugural championship show, Mrs Young’s employment agency and Miss Ogilvie’s talent agency.

Changes to the building occurred in 1919 when a fire in Judge’s tobacco shop damaged the interior and windows of his tenanted shop, although the fire was prevented from spreading to other shops. Judge later purchased part of Woodley’s Building on the corner of Wickham and Gipps and conducted his business there. The premises formerly leased to BAFS Dispensary were remodelled by architect Edward Myers for the new tenants, the ‘well-known and old-established’ optometrist firm of A.P. Greenfield and Company. Greenfield remained in the building through the 1920s-1940s. In 1922 the building became the Brisbane branch of the Chinese Nationalist Party of Australasia (or the Kuomintang), an example of the Chinese presence which had been in the Valley from the 1880s. Improvements were also undertaken on the building, with approval granted for a new frontage to the building by the Valley Woodwork Company in 1923.

Peter Murphy died in Hamilton in February 1925, leaving his £210,256 estate to his sons Peter James Benjamin Murphy and Kevin William Murphy. A dispute over Murphy’s estate meant that the King Edward building and its land were held in trust, though it remained tenanted, until 1950, when they were sold to Sanders Chemicals. Sanders leased the ground floor properties throughout its period of ownership, to tenants whose names (Pappalardo, Pulvirenti, Demura, Kutja and the company Samrai and Co) reflected the increasingly multicultural population of the Valley.

Sanders Chemicals sold the land in 1979 to Gum Hoy Yuen and Lai Ming Yuen. The building has undergone several internal alterations for its lessees and uses which included a supermarket centre, laundrette, spray painting booth, hairdressing salon, electrical goods store, amusement arcade, second hand shop and restaurant/bar. The building was a central part of the Chinatown redevelopment of the 1980s and the Chinese Fraternity Association of Queensland currently leases premises in the building. The properties were transferred to the Gum Hoy Yuen and Lai Ming Yuen family trust in 2007.

Source: Brisbane City Council Heritage Register.

Posted by Buddy Patrick on 2018-02-12 14:00:00

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