House_Coorparoo_Queensland-2.jpg

My House in Coorparoo

Privacy Level: Public (Green)
Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: coorparoo, queensland, australiamap
Surnames/tags: schwadlak-muller woollard wynne
This page has been accessed 868 times.

The story of Bruce McCallum's home since 1981, previous residents and history, and on a separate profile, that of the locality.

February 1981 saw my purchase of a property in Shakespeare Street, Coorparoo, in the city of Brisbane, state of Queensland, Australia. The sellers in equal shares were Henry Clifford Woollard of North Geelong, Victoria, Australia and Dulcie Elizabeth (Woollard) Muller of London. They inherited the property on the death of Elizabeth (Wynne) Woollard, a joint owner with her previously deceased husband Henry James Woollard. [1] [2]

Original residents family tree

Contents

Henry James Woollard

Henry is on wikitree as Henry Wollard for additional information.

The 1911 England Census lists Henry James as being born in Paddington (England), 18 years of age, living in the Civil Parish of Acton in the County of Middlesex, Street address 30 Shakespeare Road, Acton, Middlesex, single, and a Tailor's Apprentice, living with his parents, elder sister Ethel Maria and younger sister Alice Emily[3]. No coincidence that he purchases a home in Shakespeare Street Coorparoo and names it Acton?

Henry James is likely in Brisbane in 1917, working for Gore in Stanley Street East Brisbane where he is the contact for applications for stewards on a home boat[4].

Electoral rolls place Henry in Brisbane in 1922, at Knowles' on Logan Road Buranda, and Corner Main and Eighth Avenue Coorparoo, occupation Merchant Seaman/Seaman [5].

Henry marries Elizabeth Ellen Wynne of Albert Park on July 3, 1924 in the State of Victoria[6].

On the 1929 electoral role and until his death his occupation is Marine Steward[7]. Henry is listed in Post Office Directories in Shakespeare Street in 1926, 1927 and 1930[8].

In June, July and August 1944, likely without the overhead of mortgage repayments, Henry James advertises for

  • a good class bedroom suite (may have been in the house when I purchased) and music rolls in good condition, [9]
  • a good gas geyser in perfect condition, [10]
  • a good class lawnmower for which he will pay a good price, [11]
  • a 60 foot garden hose with fittings, [12]
  • and a good style Glass Chandelier [13]

In 1949 Henry seeks to urgently sell a 35mm sound projector complete with amplifier and speaker and 10,000 feet of film, in running condition. [14]

Henry James died on 13 March 1958[15].

Elizabeth (Wynne) Woollard - Wife

Elizabeth is on wikitree as Wynne for additional information.

Elizabeth, likely arrived from London on 8 Sep 1913 on the ship Orvieto. [16]

Elizabeth, occupation Machinist, of Albert Park, marries Henry James Woollard on July 3, 1924, in Victoria, Australia[17].

Elizabeth appears on the electoral roll for 1925 (as Elisabeth) with the occupation of home duties, living on the corner Main and Eighth Avenue Coorparoo[18]. On the 1929 electoral role and until her death her occupation remains as home duties[19]. Elizabeth appears on these rolls without a middle name. She appears in other records as Elizabeth Ellen Wynne. [20]

Elizabeth died on 21 September 1974.

Henry Clifford Woollard - Son

Henry is on Wikitree as Henry Woollard for additional information.

Henry born on 5 January 1926 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He died on 17 May 2000 in Geelong, Victoria[20] and was interred in Brisbane Queensland[21].

On death of his mother Elizabeth the title to the Shakespeare Street property was transferred in equal shares to Henry Clifford and his sister Dulcie Elizabeth, registered 28 August 1975. Henry Clifford lived in North Geelong, Victoria, Australia at that time. [1]

Dulcie Elizabeth (Woollard) (Schwadlak-Muller) Muller - Daughter

Dulcie is on wikitree as Dulcie Woollard

Dulcie Elizabeth was born on 13 September 1929. [22] [23]

In 1941 Dulcie receives feedback in the newspaper: “Abandon all hope of ever getting your work published, Dulcie Woollard, of Coorparoo, if you intend to continue writing in pencil.” [24]

On the death of her mother Elizabeth the title to the property was transferred in equal shares to Dulcie and her brother Henry Clifford, registered 28 August 1975. Dulcie lived in London at that time. [1]

Dulcie died on 28 January 1997 in Lamberth, Greater London at the age of 67. Her address was 37 Redcliffe Close, Old Brompton Road, London and with her occupation listed as a retired Careers Advisor. [25]. Her name at that time was Dulcie Elizabeth Schwadlak-Muller and likely she married Francis (Francois) Marie Schwadlak-Muller before she left Australia.

Francois Marie Schwadlak-Muller

Francis, born 9 March 1929 in Cairo, Egypt disembarked in Brisbane from the ship Mooltan on 21 October 1949, looking for permanent residency and to study as a student, occupation an agricultural student. He listed his intended residence as c/- Rev. O.B.Steele, St. Mary's Presbytery, Beaudesert, Queensland. He registers under the Aliens Act with a Certificate issued 9 December 1949. On 5 May 1953 he holds a certificate of identity and is granted a re-entry permit valid for three years, with notes that he intends to proceed overseas to visit relations, complete family business and introduce his wife to relations [26].

In July 1954 Francis Schwadlak-Muller advertised his intention to apply for Naturalisation in Australia, saying he was Stateless, resident in Australia 4 ½ years and residing at Shakespeare Street Coorparoo. [27]. Francis received his Certificate of Naturalisation dated 28 Sep 1955 while residing at 76 Shakespeare Street Coorparoo. [28]

Francis’ big hobby was heraldry. He was granted a Coat of Arms embodying a kangaroo’s head, claiming this was only the second hereditary Coat of Arms to be granted in Australia, the other to Lord Bruce, National University Chancellor, Canberra. He is reported as the son of Baron Otto Schwadlak-Muller of Egypt, holding a Bachelor of Commerce, and a member of the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland[29].

Francis and Dulcie likely marry in 1954 or 1955. Electoral rolls show Dulcie Woollard registered in Coorparoo in 1954, and registered in 1959 at 25 Agnes St., Innisfail, Queensland. Occupation, a Clerk, under the surname Schwadlak-Muller[30], along with Francis. [31]

Dulcie and Francis travel to London on the Strathnaver via Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle, Colombo, Bombay, Aden and Port Said, arriving 25 Nov 1959[22].

Dulcie may be living in Kensington and Chelsea, England in 1962. [32]

Francis may have remarried in Jul/Aug/Sep 1975 to Marilyn C Hutchinson in Kensington, Greater London. [33]

Francis may have been living in Park Road, London from 2003-2010. [34]

Given his interest in heraldry, Francis may be the author of the book “Short History of the Teutonic Order”. [10]

Property History

Title to the Shakespeare Street property was registered to Henry James and Elizabeth Woollard on 26 November 1925 and a bill of mortgage, produced on 21 July 1925, was registered on 27 November 1925, with the release registered on 18 April 1941. A further bill of mortgage was registered on 5 August 1941, with the release registered on 26 May 1944. The property was part of Portion 113, originally a Deed of Grant No. 58/147 to Samuel Stevens[1].

Samuel Stevens purchased portions 113, 114 and 117 at the second crown land sale for Coorparoo, on December 29, 1857, and received the deeds in 1859. Portions 113 and 114 have as boundaries the east side of Pembroke Road, the north-west side of Rees Avenue, to a line direct through to the point of the bend in Cavendish Road nearly opposite the Methodist Church, the south-west side of Cavendish Road and the south-east side of Cleveland Road to Pembroke Road. The total area is 92 acres and the total was £92. Portion 117 adjoining 114 with boundaries of the north-east side of Cavendish Road, the northwest side of Woodhill Avenue to the watercourse and the south-east side of Cleveland Road to Cavendish Road. The area is 47 acres. The cost was £47/10/0. After the death of Samuel Stevens on July 27, 1878, the whole of the land in portions 113, 114 and 117 was transferred to his widow Jane Stevens and son Frank James Stevens. Of portions 113 and 114, William Walter Pears bought on August 16, 1881, 5 acres 29 perches described as part of subdivision 1A. This was at the top of Wellington Street. The remaining area, excepting sub division 2A, was purchased on May 2, 1883, by Joseph Baynes. [35]. There was a further title issued in 1925 over resubs 204 to 207 of subs 1 and 1A of Portion 113 Parish of Bulimba. Area: 1 rood 24 perches which drew on both Baynes and Pear titles[36]. And, retitled to the Woollards that same year, 1925.

The property was for sale in 1889 as an allotment in Rose Bank Estate[37]. But as circumstances unfolded in Brisbane at that time it was not until after WWI and availability of reliable public transport to Coorparoo that land sales flourished. See locality.

Plan of Queen's Park and Rose Bank Estates. Brisbane

Samuel Stevens

A well-known Coorparoo pioneer, Samuel was born in Camberwell, Surrey England on June 18, 1828 to parents James Stevens and Sarah Sutton. Samuel arrived in Sydney 11th September 1832 on the "Arundel" with his parents and three surviving siblings, Sarah (15), Elizabeth (11) and Ann (9). James set up in business as a cooper and moved to Brisbane in 1849 with wife Sarah and Samuel. Samuel married Jane Colton on 11th July 1850 at a registered chapel on Pitt Street, Sydney. Jane died on 14 June 1884 in "Fernleigh", Cnr Hawthorne Fleurs Streets, Woolloongabba[38]. Jane Colton came from England as a young girl[39].

Samuel Stevens was back in Brisbane 1854 and said to be a dairyman[40].

He bought a large quantity of land in South Brisbane, where he erected a cottage on the river bank. The earliest date in his diary mentioning South Brisbane was 1857. However, there is an implication that he had then been there for some years. On March 8, 1859, he received the deeds of the Coorparoo lands which he had purchased in 1857. His diary states that he and his family moved to "the farm" (at Coorparoo) on Saturday, May 26, 1866. He had a home, "Homewood", which stood for some years in what is now Shakespeare Street. The exact site was on the eastern corner of that street and what is now Milton Lane. Samuel Stevens died at the age of 48 on July 27, 1878. His children were: Jessica Jane who did not marry; Frank James who lived most of his adult life in Mackay; Daniel Sutton; Henry Moreton who was a member of parliament for many years; Sarah Elizabeth who married John Kay; Laura May who married Alfred Farnsworth; Leonard Ernest who subsequently lived at Murphy's Creek and Alfred Colton who was in the Lands Department. Laura May (Mrs. Farnsworth) was the last to survive. She died on March 25, 1953. [41].

Three of his children attended Coorparoo State School in its opening year. [42]

ACTON - The House

Building registers for Coorparoo date from the commencement of the "Greater" Brisbane Council in October 1925[43]. The mortgage and title details from 1925, the absence of a building application in Brisbane, the absence of any housing on the property from the 1911 contour survey[44], and a 1926 building application for the neighbouring house[45] whose resident from 1950-2020 advised me that the Woollards had informed these two houses, and one other were built around the same time, support the building construction in 1925. Interestingly, this coincides with the first sales of the Surrey Hill Estate at the top of Shakespeare Street, formerly the residence of James Hipwood esq, a brassfounder carrying on business in Eagle Street, Brisbane, and Mayor of Brisbane 1886-1887[46].

The original house floorplan is a mirror image of a design appearing in a Workers Dwellings and Workers Homes publication in the 1920's[47], without a rear gable and front bay window,

The house name "Acton" draws upon the English location Acton where Henry James Woollard once lived.

There were building applications in 1941[48]: possibly to extend the rear of the house with an enclosed verandah and fireplace, and providing internal access to the in-house (sewered) toilet and refurbished bathroom; and 1951[49]: to enclose the front verandah. Significant works since 1981[50]:

  • uncovered rear deck (1984)
  • under house single car park off driveway (1987)
  • relocation of front stairs/door, gabled front porch (1990)
  • kitchen, rear extension from kitchen incl roofing the deck (1993)
  • lift, build underneath, bathroom and front room reconfiguration, kitchen (2004)
  • landscaping (2005)
  • upstairs flooring, kitchen (2011)

Shakespeare Street

In describing a driving tour of Coorparoo in 1991, the Brisbane History Group, [51] indicate points of interest in Shakespeare Street.

Chadwick's house, 48 [actually 46] Shakespeare Street, Coorparoo (1912)

You have stopped outside a pyramid-roof cottage built by John Chadwick and Robert White in 1912. The latter lived on Whites Hill. Chadwick's allotment stretched back to Wellington Street and included not just the dwelling but sheds, stables and cow bails. Mrs Chadwick nee Tillack used to grow grapes and make her own wine.
The Royal Historical Society of Queensland has an interesting letter written by Percy Chadwick describing Coorparoo in his youth. He describes walking through a forest to get to the Methodist Church on the corner of Cavendish Road and York Street. The local lads had a punt moored in a waterhole near the comer of Macaulay and Noela Streets and two of the places which they visited for fruit were Mariott's up in Watson Street and Hipwood's at the top of Shakespeare Street. His description makes one aware that, the 1910s, Coorparoo was still an outer suburb. with many dairy farms, small cottages and large estates.
On the southern corner [ie 48] is a Queensland-style federation house with its red, complex roof, finials, sunshades, scalloped barge boards and ventilator outlet. The house has been closed in and converted into flats. On the other side of the road lived the Halligans. Colonial-born James Christopher Halligan called his home KALINGA. Today the house is incorporated in the Coorparoo Nursing Centre. [replaced by townhomes]

LINDWOOD [sic LINWOOD], 75 Shakespeare Street, Coorparoo (1897)

LINDWOOD [LINWOOD], built for William Nicklin and his wife Ada Hipwood. He was the son of Reuben Nicklin of LANGLANDS and HATHERTON. Today it is THE HAVEN, a half way house for alcoholics run by the Society of St Vincent De Paul. [recently sold by the Qld Dept Health to a private buyer]
LINDWOOD [LINWOOD], was midway between Nicklin and Shakespeare Streets and was a single storey, low slung, verandah-style elite home with an ornate arched verandah entrance, cast iron lace balustrade and winged brackets. The roof line reveals the symmetrical bay windows and stepped verandah. The step through windows are double-sash and would have been multi-paned. Walls are single skin VJs and ceilings are 12 feet high with roses for hanging gas lights. The house style is typical of the 1870s. William Nicklin's eldest son inherited the property in 1956, then subdivided and sold off the estate. One of the conditions of sale was the moving of LINDWOOD [LINWOOD] to the front of the allotment. Since then, it has been raised to provide better utilisation of the sub-floor and the side verandahs have been closed in to afford privacy.

Shakespeare Street once led up to the grand entrance gates and fence surrounding the Hipwood property, SURRY HILLS. James Hipwood was the Lord Mayor of Brisbane in 1886-87, and an active member of the Coorparoo Shire. He was involved with the Hipwood Brothers foundry in Eagle Street, near the old Botanical Gardens.

DRIVE ALONG SHAKESPEARE STREET. PAST REES AVENUE THEN TURN LEFT INTO WELWYN CRESCENT STOP UNDER A TREE, IN WHAT WAS HIPWOOD'S SURRY HILLS.

Houses, Welwyn Crescent. Coorparoo (1930s)

You are now on part of the drive that led to Hipwood's big, old, wooden homestead. According to Chadwick, it had a lookout in the roof where ships could be seen going up and down the Brisbane River. The house was demolished and the land subdivided about 1928. Many of the homes on this elite hill top are large, of unusual styles and architecturally designed. The 1930s was a period when many overseas styles of architecture flourished.

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Original Certificate of Title
  2. Contract of sale, personal document
  3. 1911 England Census, accessed on Ancestry Library Edition 16 Feb 2023
  4. Stewards wanted, The Telegraph, Sat 22 Sep 1917 p3 [1]
  5. Australian Electoral Rolls, accessed on ancestry.com 15 Nov 2022
  6. Marriage Victoria Register of Births Deaths and Marriages. Family name: WOOLLARD, Given name(s):Hy Jas. Spouse's name: WYNNE, Elizth. Reg. year: 1924. Reg. number: 10343/192.
  7. Queensland, 1929, Moreton, Coorparoo (Shakespeare St). Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 on ancestry.com, accessed 17 Nov 2020
  8. Queensland Post Office Directory 1926, 1927, 1930 (H.Wise & Co.) accessed at Brisbane City Archives
  9. WANTED, The Telegraph, Mon 5 Jun 1944 p5 [2]
  10. WANTED, The Telegraph, Mon 5 Jun 1944 p6 [3]
  11. WANTED, The Telegraph, Tue 6 Jun 1944 p4 [4]
  12. WANTED, The Telegraph, Sat 1 Jul 1944 p6 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/189860435
  13. WANTED, The Telegraph, Thu 17 Aug 1944 p6 [5]
  14. URGENT, Brisbane Telegraph, Wed 23 Feb 1949 p17 [6]
  15. d. BDM 1958/B/24701
  16. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923 on ancestry.com accessed 17 November 2020
  17. Marriage Victoria Register of Births Deaths and Marriages. Family name: WOOLLARD, Given name(s):Hy Jas. Spouse's name: WYNNE, Elizth. Reg. year: 1924. Reg. number: 10343/192
  18. Queensland, 1925, Oxley, Bulimba (Cnr Main and Eighth Ave). Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 on ancestry.com, accessed 17 Nov 2020
  19. Queensland, 1929, Moreton, Coorparoo (Shakespeare St). Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 on ancestry.com, accessed 17 Nov 2020
  20. 20.0 20.1
  21. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/249629672/henry-clifford-woollard: accessed 19 February 2023), memorial page for Henry Clifford Woollard (5 Jan 1926–17 May 2000), Find a Grave Memorial ID 249629672, citing Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, Holland Park West, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia; Maintained by H OBrien (contributor 51425784)
  22. 22.0 22.1 Dulcie E Schwadlak Muller on the Strathnaver, Official Number 8214/01, in UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 on ancestry.com accessed 17 November 2020
  23. Reg. code 2411F, Registration # F49, Entry # 253, England & Wales Deaths, GRO Indexes, 1969 – 2007 on MyHeritage.com
  24. ADVICE TO PALS, Truth, Sun 6 Apr 1941 p1 [7]
  25. The London Gazette, 27th May 1997 p6240, accessed 25 Nov 2020
  26. Item 5083614, NAA: BP25/1, SCHWADLAK - MULLER F M STATELESS
  27. Advertising, Brisbane Telegraph, Fri 9 Jul 1954 p52 [8]
  28. Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No.1, Canberra, Thursday, 5th January 1956 p14
  29. Gets Coat of Arms, His crest includes a Kangaroo, The Courier-Mail, Sat 17 Jul 1954 p3, [9]
  30. Elector #6047, Sub-division of Innisfail. Queensland, Australia, Electoral Rolls 1959 accessed via MyHeritage.com
  31. ancestry.com Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980
  32. ancestry.com. London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965, LCC/PER/B/2815, accessed 17 Nov 2020
  33. General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume 13, page 2037, accessed 17 Nov 2020
  34. ancestry.com. UK, Electoral Registers, 2003-2010, accessed 17 Nov 2020
  35. Slaughter, Leslie E., From Wilderness to Modern Suburb In 100 Years, Brisbane, 1956
  36. titles reference number 11612235. Queensland Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying
  37. https://digital.slq.qld.gov.au/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?change_lng=en&dps_pid=IE429000
  38. Dianne Single Family Tree, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.au/family-tree/person/tree/10993140/person/25117629678/facts?ssrc=&queryId=9db075f331ff85ccccff51e262276930&ml_rpos=1, accessed through Brisbane City Council Library
  39. Slaughter, Leslie E., From Wilderness to Modern Suburb In 100 Years, Brisbane, 1956
  40. The Historical Society of Queensland Journal volume 3 issue 2: pp. 67-79 Stewart, Cumbrae Brisbane, Qld. The Historical Society of Queensland, 1940
  41. Slaughter, Leslie E., From Wilderness to Modern Suburb In 100 Years, Brisbane, 1956
  42. Endicott, Michael A., OSA, Coorparoo Stones Corner Retrospect, Augustinian Historical Commission, Manly Vale, 1979, P 33
  43. https://library-brisbane.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/BrisbaneImages/?rm=BUILDING+REGIS0%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7Ctrue
  44. https://library-brisbane.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/32538/0
  45. Building Register 1925 Oct to 1926 May, P245, https://library-brisbane.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/BrisbaneImages/?rm=BUILDING+REGIS0%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7Ctrue
  46. The Historical Society of Queensland Journal volume 3 issue 2: pp. 67-79 Stewart, Cumbrae Brisbane, Qld. The Historical Society of Queensland, 1940
  47. W.D. 12106 - 1926, Workers Dwellings and Workers Homes - Information for Intending Applicants, P49, State Advances Corporation, Queensland Government
  48. https://library-brisbane.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/BrisbaneImages/?rm=BUILDING+REGIS1%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7Ctrue
  49. Building application record card, Brisbane City Archives
  50. Personal records of Bruce McCallum
  51. The Old Coorparoo Shire: A Heritage Drive Tour, Brisbane History Group, 1991




Collaboration


Comments: 2

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
Hi Bruce,

Have you looked up the address in the Corley Explorer on the Queensland State Library website? The collection contains photos of houses throughout Brisbane through the 1960s and 70s.

Kind regards, Lauren Meiklejohn

posted by Lauren Meiklejohn
Thanks Lauren. There are other houses nearby in the collection but not this one. Our neighbour displayed a Corley image of her house in her sitting room.
posted by Bruce McCallum