Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Saturday 30 May 1931, page 19


Milton and Rosalie.

SIXTY years ago, a virgin forest

teeming with bird life; bridle tracks cut through the en-croaching bushland to the dusty road that led to sprawling Brisbane Town; wild ducks on narrow meres fringed with bulrushes; prowling dingoes nosing o' nights around the poultry runs—hens cackling in the commotion of wild alarm; aboriginals squabbling in their camp while they waited for the once-a-year blanket of a paternal Government: to-day, a populous suburb within easy distance of Queen-street; rose gardens bursting into bloom where watercourses once gurgled, and school children playing where once the red-billed water hen disported among the waterlilies! Such is the metamorphosis which the hand of all-conquering man has wrought in the Milton and Rosalie district.

Bird-nesting Days.

THE thoughts of some of the old resi-

dents of this historic suburb are

tinged with sadness—the inevitable sadness that changes of Time must bring—as they recall their boyhood days when they went bird-nesting in a wilderness that is now a network of streets with seemingly illimitable rows of galvanised-iron roofed houses and the ubiquitous fruit shop at the cor-ner. They remember as if it was but yesterday the leatherheads, magpies, and parrots that held high carnival in the branches of the great-girthed gum trees, through which the dap-pled sunlight filtered; when they splashed joyously with naked limbs amid the sylvan silence of Herbert's Creek. But Herbert's Creek has van-ished into the limbo of well-nigh for-gotten things. It has gone with the wattle trees that once upon a time strewed their showers of gold in the hills and dales of a luxuriant wonder-land. Gone, too, are the red-billed water hens and the snipe that made the tea-trees and bulrushes of Red Jacket Swamp their rendezvous. Many a morning Mr. J. A. Cumes, of Bar-oona Hill, one of the earliest residents in the district, would bring plump booty home, the reward of patient lurking among the reed-fringed banks of the watercourse. "If I had no luck at the Swamp," said Mr. Cumes, "I would go over to Torwood, and come home with some curlews." But Red Jacket Swamp has been filled in these many years, and now boasts the name of Gregory Park. The Milton State School occupies one end of it. A curious legend has persisted that Red Jacket Swamp was named after a sol-dier's red jacket which its luckless wearer lost in the locality, but the true explanation, according to old residents, is that the swamp received its name from a small flower-like weed that flourished in its muddy waters, dur-ing certain months of the year the leaves-no larger than a threepenny piece-would change in hue to brick

red.

When Blacks Camped on

Baroona Hill.

THERE are some residents who can

remember the days when, as boys, they peeped fearfully through the covert of the trees at the aboriginals in their camps on Baroona Hill and

Milton Heights. Every year the tribes would move in for their Queen's birth-

day present—a blanket each from the Government. In those days what is now Baroona-road was a mere bridle

track through the besieging fastnesses of the bush. Mllton-road was a bush track which ended in a Roma-street very far from being the noble thoroughfare that it is to-day. The

only bus running in Brisbane in those far-off days was one conducted by John Chalk, which once every hour took on passengers at the old Town

Hall in Queen-street and conveyed them to the Hamilton. Shopping ex-

cursions in the "city" were formidable undertakings. Most families drove into

Brisbane with horse and cart once a

fortnight for their store of provisions.

Near the present Milton railway sta-tion a man named Patch conducted a

dairy farm and sold the milk to

neighbouring settlers, but several of the widely scattered families milked their own cows. As the radius of the city spread in an ever-widening circle, and the broad acres of forest land gave place to tin roofs, Charles Dennis, with commendable enterprise, began a waggonette service from Rosalie to

Brisbane. And in the course of time other 'buses ran from the district to the town every hour. Early 'bus pro-prietors were Roberts, who drove a big double-decker 'bus with three horses, Michael Chalk, and Mrs. Mor-ton.

Some Early Settlers.

LIKE other suburban areas, Milton

and Rosalie were originally estates of wealthy settlers. Both Rosalie and Milton estates were owned by J. F. McDougall, being named, alter his sta-tions at Jondaryan. Bayswater Estate was the property of Mr. Robert Little, then Crown Solicitor in Brisbane. It

later passed Into the hands of Hon. W. D. Box, who, in turn, sold the estate

to the late Mr. G. B. Molle. Mr. Box kept a hospitable table at Baroona House, which still stands on the crest of Baroona Hill. Later occupants were

Hon. P. Perkins, and Sir Robert Philp. Fernberg, now the official residence of the Governor of Queensland, was oc-cupied by Mr. J. C. Heussler, then Ger-man Consul, after whom Heussler-ter-race, Milton, has been named. Heussler Paddock ran up the foot of Stuart-holme, and was a wilderness of wattle scrub. Hon. John Stevenson next occupied Fernberg, which later was purchased by the Government as a residence for the State Governor. These estates were eventually cut up into blocks, and the first three cot-tages to be erected on the Baroona Estate were those of Messrs. T. Howl-ing, J. Woodyatt, and J. A. Cumes. Other early settlers were Mr. Hitchins, who owned Woodside, on the site of which the Marist Brothers' monastery now stands, and Mr. A. O. Herbert, the first Commissioner for Railways in Queensland, who took up a three-cor-nered piece of land appropriately named on early maps as "The Knap-sack." The new School of Arts now stands on the widest portion of this land, which terminated in a point, ending on the site of the present Mil-ton Congregational Church. On the Milton side of the district Mr. J. P. McDougall's property extended from what is now Cribb-street to Park-road, and grape vines grew in tangled luxuri-ance near where the Milton railway station is now erected. Mr. P. Sheehan owned an adjoining block, and also possessed another property which ex-tended from Haig-road to Milton-road. Rathdonnel, still another property of his, extended from Irvine-street to Wienholt-street, was presented by him to his daughter upon her marriage. Messrs. H. H. Payne and Moses Adsett took up blocks in the vicinity of where Siemon's bulk store now stands on River-road. The late Mr. Robert Cribb owned Dunmore—a 100-acre estate which extended from River-road to Milton-road as far as Ridley-street on the one hand, and on the other as far as Dr. J. C. Mayne's property. Mr. Cribb built a fine Italian villa on the property. Mr. Payne also owned pro-perties on Baroona-road and on Mil-ton-road, on the site of which the Milton tennis courts now stand. An adjoining block belonged to Mr. J. G. Cribb, and extended to somewhere near

the Milton Congregational church.

Educational and Religious.

IN the very early days of the district

the children of Milton and Rosalie residents followed the bush track every day to the Petrie-terrace school, where classes for boys and girls were held under one roof, the classes being di-vided by a baize curtain. Here, Mr. J.

B. Fewings and Miss Knowles taught the young idea how to shoot. With the passing years, residents of the over-growing area successfully agitated for a school in a more convenient situ-ation. The morass of Red Jacket Swamp was drained, and on one end of the reclaimed land a school was erected. The late Mr. A. Wall was the first head teacher. From time to time it was found necessary to add to the original building as the roll was filled with the names of increasing numbers of scholars. To-day the Milton and Rosalie school is one of the largest from the point of attendance in the Greater Brisbane area, there being an enrolment of slightly over 1000, and an average attendance of 900. The school possesses a very fine children's choir, which is a consistent winner at musical festivals. Mr. R. W. M. Steele is the present head teacher. The pre-sident of the school committee is Mr. Arthur Taylor, and the secretary Mr. V. A. Down. A conspicuous landmark in the district is the magnificent monastery and boys' school of the Marist Brothers, on Fernberg-road, which was opened in January, 1920. Brother Osmond, M.A., B.Sc, Dip.Ed., is the principal. Nearby is the con-vent and school of Our Lady Help of Christians. Between 700 and 800 boys and girls are receiving education at these schools. The Sacred Heart par-ish is in charge of Right Rev. Mon-signor W. Lee, and boasts a beautiful church on a prominent site nearby. Among the churches in Milton there are two of great historic interest. Christ Church, Milton, dates back to very early clays, when the church pro-perty was administered by private trustees. It came into the possession of the diocese in 1900. In the rear of the church there is a cemetery, in which many fine old pioneers are buried. The ground was resumed by the Gov-ernment about 25 years ago. The cemetery was originally a Crown grant to the Church of England in 1862. The Milton and Rosalie parish is in charge of Rev. T. Hely-Wilson. An-other church inseparably associated

with early Milton is the Congregation-al Church on Baroona-road. The Mil-ton Church is really an off-shoot of the old Wharf-street Congregational Church, the members of which opened a branch church on Milton-road, near where the Castlemaine-Perklns brew-ery is now situated. More than 30

years ago the church was pulled down, and the present property acquired. Mrs. J. G. Cribb, sen., was one of the prime movers in the erection of the church, and a leading figure in the religious life of the district. The first Sunday school was established in her home 70 years ago, and it is note-worthy that the anniversary of the establishment of the Milton Sunday School will be celebrated this month.

Bishopsbourne.

BISHOPSBOURNE, the home of the

Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, was originally 15 acres of the Milton Estate. It extended from Milton-road to Heussler-terrace, and almost as far as Bellevue-street, being bounded on one side by Baroona-road. The pro-perty was purchased by Bishop Tuf-nell, the first Bishop of Brisbane, from Mr. Robert Little, for the Anglican Church, in 1889. Subsequent occu-

pants were Bishops Hale and Webber, Archbishop Donaldson, and the present

Archbishop, Dr. Gerald Sharp. At the rear of the fine residence, built of stone, a small wooden chapel had been built by Bishop Tufnell. The chapel was pulled down in Archbishop Donaldson's time, and replaced by the present stone edifice, which was consecrated in 1912. Heussler-terrace, which runs at the back of Bishops-bourne, was then known as Old Fern-berg road, and extended from Castle-maine-street to Ithaca Creek. Land in this locality had been taken up by James Young at a very early date, and Armstrong, who was a turnkey at the Petrie-terrace Gaol, took up an adjoin-ing block, which extended as far as Guthrie-street. Other blocks in this vicinity were purchased by Mr. McDou-gall, Rev. Mr. Moore, a Baptist minis-ter, and P. Mayne. There were no doubt many others whose names can-not be recalled.

The Tram and the Railway.

THE advent of the railway, which

skirted the growing Milton estate, gave an impetus to development. When the line was built to Ipswich the route followed was through Mr. Robert Cribb's property. Family after family moved into the area; and one by one the giant blue gums vanished; and bridle tracks became roads. With the passing years, the district became dot-ted with homes, until the days when a wilderness clothed the land became but a memory; roads at last became streets, and with streets came the era of suburban adolescence. It is only within comparatively recent years that the district has enjoyed a tram service. The foresight of the directors of the old Brisbane Tramways Company was responsible for the in-stitution of a service to Toowong Ceme-tery gates from Petrie Bight in July, 1904, to cater for the needs of a rapid-ly growing district. The laying of that line was a big undertaking. Evi-dence of how big a task it was

furnished, by the deep, cuttings through which the trams pass on their way to Toowong—cuttings which were blasted out of the hard Brisbane schist. Milton residents were able to hail the trams on the Milton-road, and the era of the 'bus gradually passed. A few months later, a branch line was extended to Rosalie, the trams connect-ing with the Toowong tram service at Baroona-road junction. To-day, Mil-ton and Rosalie residents have their own tram service, which runs to the city every quarter of an hour.

A Progressive District.

TO-DAY the area has reached the

full stature of its growth. For many years, more or less, regarded as a Cinderella suburb, Rosalie has now come into its own as one of Brisbane's most popular and progressive resi-dential districts. On the slope of Baroona Hill and other areas are to be found homes as fine as can be seen in other suburbs, and gardens that are

a delight to the eye. Evidence of the public spirit and progressiveness of the citizens of Rosalie is furnished by the splendid School of Arts and Soldiers' Memorial Hall, which was erected a few years ago at a cost of £2650. Facing the tramline on Milton-road Is the Castlemaine-Perkins brew-ery, which employs about 100 hands. The original building dates back to the 'sixties. As a result of the big merger about two years ago, when the com-panies of Castlemaine, Ltd., Quinlan, Gray, and Co., Ltd., and Perkins and Co., Ltd., were amalgamated, the busi-ness is now carried on as Castlemaine Perklns, Ltd. The original building has been added to from time to time to cope with growing business, and there is now a very up-to-date plant. The old building still stands in which rum distilling was carried on in the early days.