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| brisbane_properties_and_other_land_dealings [2025/04/26 15:59] – judith | brisbane_properties_and_other_land_dealings [2026/02/01 15:18] (current) – judith |
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| TLM-P first known home in Brisbane was //Eskgrove//, Laidlaw Parade, East Brisbane, which he rented in c.1858 after retreating from //Hawkwood//. His and Matilda's son Redmond was born there.((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.106.)) As Matilda was ill by then, better access to medical and domestic help was presumably a welcome relief - certainly it appears that Matilda had no desire to return to rural life. \\ | TLM-P first known home in Brisbane was //Eskgrove//, Laidlaw Parade, East Brisbane, which he rented in c.1858 after retreating from //Hawkwood//. His and Matilda's son Redmond was born there.((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.106.)) As Matilda was ill by then, better access to medical and domestic help was presumably a welcome relief - certainly it appears that Matilda had no desire to return to rural life. \\ |
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| === Shafston === | === Shafston House === |
| By January 1862, the family lived at //Shafston//((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p42; TLM-P diary entry January 1862; Kerry Heckenberg,'A taste for art in colonial Queensland: The Queensland Art Gallery Foundational Bequest of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior', //Queensland Review//, 25:1, June 2018, pp.119-136 states it was on in George Street)) in the highly desirable downtown Brisbane suburb of [[wp>Kangaroo_Point,_Queensland|Kangaroo Point]].((For photos of //Shafston//, see //The Queenslander//, 25 September 1930, p.41.)) The house was previously called //Ravenscot// but renamed by its then owner Henry Russell in 1852. The house was later re-built so little or nothing of the original remains.((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.108.)) \\ | TLM-P and his family lived in //Shafston House// from at least September 1861 to 1866, mostly covering the period of his first period in office as Postmaster-General.((Allan Morrison, 'Some Queensland Postmasters-General", Brisbane, Post Office Historical Society, 1953, p.5, copy J. Godden; Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia.Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p42; TLM-P diary entry January 1862; Kerry Heckenberg,'A taste for art in colonial Queensland: The Queensland Art Gallery Foundational Bequest of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior', //Queensland Review//, 25:1, June 2018, pp.119-136 states it was on George Street)) The 1861 date comes from two advertisements in September that year: 'Mrs Barker' (presumably Matilda's sister) advertised for two servants, requesting they apply to her at //Shafston//, Kangaroo Point. The very next ad was for an experienced nurse, with applicants to apply to Mrs Murray Prior at //Shafston//. The nurse was presumably to look after baby Hugh.((//The Courier//, 11 September 1861, p.3.)) \\ |
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| TLM-P lived in //Shafston// after he was appointed Postmaster-General in 1862, until the end of his first period in that office in 1866.((Allan Morrison, 'Some Queensland Postmasters-General", Brisbane, Post Office Historical Society, 1953, p.5, copy J. Godden)) The heritage listing for the property states it was owned by grazier and sugar-grower Louis Hope from October 1859, and then rented to Gilbert Eliot, Speaker of the Queensland Parliament and, from 1874-78, Matilda's brother-in-law William Barker of Telemon Station. There is no mention of a period of tenancy by TLM-P.(([[https://environment.ehp.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=600241|Shafston House]])) Two advertisements for September 1861 suggest that Matilda was staying there with her sister. 'Mrs Barker' advertised for two servants, requesting they apply to her at //Shafston//, Kangaroo Point. The very next ad was for an experienced nurse, presumably to look after baby Hugh. Applicants were asked to apply to Mrs Murray Prior at //Shafston//.((//The Courier//, 11 September 1861, p.3.)) Around the early 1900s, //Shafston// was owned by Mary (Madge) McConnel, the wife of J.H. McConnel, the family that Thomas de M M-P's daughter Phyllis married into.((F. Lord,//The Queenslander//, 25 September 1930, p.7; [[https://cressbrookstation.com.au/the-mcconnel-family-cressbrook-today]]/))\\ | {{:shafston_conrad_martens147574607_4026658964020994_1684939499504175106_n.jpg?400|}} A sketch of Shafston (then Ravenscott) by Conrad Martens in 1851, Facebook post by the State Library Of Queensland, 10 February 2021.((thanks to Madonna Grehan for this reference)). \\ |
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| | //Shafston House// was built in 1851 close to the Brisbane River in [[wp>Kangaroo_Point,_Queensland|Kangaroo Point]].The house was previously called //Ravenscott// but renamed by its then owner Henry Russell in 1852. Its heritage listing states it was owned by grazier and sugar-grower Louis Hope from October 1859, and then rented to Gilbert Eliot, Speaker of the Queensland Parliament and, from 1874-78, (Matilda's brother-in-law) William Barker of //Telemon// Station. There is no mention of a period of tenancy by TLM-P.(([[https://environment.ehp.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=600241|Shafston House]])) The original Shafston House was demolished in c.1881 and a more imposing one built.((//The Queenslander//, 25 September 1930, p.7; Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.108.)) The new house continued to attract occupiers in the Murray-Prior family circle. In the early 1900s, it was owned by Mary (Madge) McConnel, the widow of J.H. McConnel, the family that Thomas de M M-P's daughter Phyllis married into.((F. Lord,//The Queenslander//, 25 September 1930, p.7; [[https://cressbrookstation.com.au/the-mcconnel-family-cressbrook-today]]/))\\ |
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| === 1 Hodgson's Terrace === | === 1 Hodgson's Terrace === |
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| === Montpelier === | === Montpelier === |
| By August 1867 until 1880, the family's Brisbane residence was //Montpelier// on corner of Main and Ferry Street, Kangaroo Point.((//The Brisbane Courier//, 8 August 1867, p.1 Matilda advertised for a house and parlour maid for //Maroon//; Allan Morrison, 'Some Queensland Postmasters-General", Brisbane, Post Office Historical Society, 1953, p.5, copy J. Godden)). | By August 1867 until 1880, the family's Brisbane residence was //Montpelier// on corner of Main and Ferry Street, Kangaroo Point.((//The Brisbane Courier//, 8 August 1867, p.1 Matilda advertised for a house and parlour maid for //Maroon//; Allan Morrison, 'Some Queensland Postmasters-General", Brisbane, Post Office Historical Society, 1953, p.5, copy J. Godden)) Possibly it needed repairs before the family moved in as TLM-P paid £6.8.6 in April 1866 for 'Carpenters repairs Kangaroo Point' and also Mr James Lang for '40 pieces papering', presumably putting up wallpaper. In November 1867, TLM-P insured the house for £700 and the kitchen for £100.((MLMSS31217/Box 9))\\ |
| Possibly it needed repairs before the family moved in as TLM-P paid £6.8.6 in April 1866 for 'Carpenters repairs Kangaroo Point' and also Mr James Lang for '40 pieces papering', presumably putting up wall paper. In November 1867, TLM-P insured the house for £700 and the kitchen (normally separate due to the fire risk) for £100.((MLMSS31217/Box 9))\\ | |
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| //Montpelier// was a stone house with its main rooms fronting directly on a wide verandah. It saw significant family events: Matilda died there in 1868; Rosa married there in 1872; and Nora's first child Meta was born there.((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, pp.111-13.)) The house was convenient as it was closer to the ferry; as there was no bridge at the time, TLM-P used the ferry to get to work in Brisbane. The family lived there when parliament was sitting;((Patricia Clarke, //Rosa! Rosa!// p.23.)) at [[Maroon and Rathdowney|Maroon]] at other times. In October 1867 one of the cheques was for Henry Mohr 'wages. Montpelier' £1.14.0. From the cheques involving Miss Arabin in February 1868, she appears to be the housekeeper at Montpelier. Catherine Hunt was employed as a cook then too, probably also at Montpelier.((MLMSS31217/Box 9))\\ | //Montpelier// was a stone house with cedar fittings with its main rooms fronting directly on a wide verandah. The kitchen, due to the risk of fire, was in a separate wing. It saw significant family events: Matilda died there in 1868; Rosa married there in 1872; and Nora's first child Meta was born there.((Clipping from //The Queenslander//, 18 September 1930 in Rosa Praed Papers, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, MSOM64-01, Box 23/5/1)) The house was convenient as it was closer to the ferry; as there was no bridge at the time, TLM-P used the ferry to get to work in central Brisbane. The family lived there when parliament was sitting;((Patricia Clarke, //Rosa! Rosa!// p.23.)) at [[Maroon and Rathdowney|Maroon]] at other times. In October 1867 one of the cheques was for Henry Mohr 'wages. Montpelier' £1.14.0. From the cheques involving Miss Arabin in February 1868, she appears to be the housekeeper at Montpelier. Catherine Hunt was employed as a cook then too, probably also at Montpelier.((MLMSS31217/Box 9))\\ |
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| {{:montpelier_ferry_st.jpeg?300|}} An undated photo of //Montpelier//.((Photo provenance Tom A. & M. Therese M-P. For more photos of //Montpelier//, see //The Queenslander//, 18 September 1930, p.41.))\\ | {{:montpelier_ferry_st.jpeg?300|}} An undated photo of //Montpelier//.((Photo provenance Tom A. & M. Therese M-P. For more photos of //Montpelier//, see //The Queenslander//, 18 September 1930, p.41.))\\ |