In the late 1870s, fears of a Russian invasion led to increased spending on defence. On a hot February afternoon in 1879, volunteers were running all over Highgate Hill firing at each other and letting off their cannons in a military exercise. A crowd gathered to watch the spectacle.
After the unusual beginnings of this house as a home built for a man estranged from his family and his new companion, it was sold to the Lutheran church. From here the Church’s missions in New Guinea were run, with some unexpected episodes.
A distinctive old house on Dornoch Terrace was built by a man, estranged from his family, for his new companion but it was taken from her after his death by the Supreme Court.
In 1941, fears of aerial attacks led to the instigation of black-out exercises in Brisbane. The first casualty was in Highgate Hill and inflicted by a dog! In 1942, householders were being urged to construct back yard air raid shelters.
Nowadays the internet and mobile phones are our preferred technologies for telecommunication. However the introduction of the automatic telephone to Brisbane in the last century was a great leap forward at the time.
The Blakeney family owned two substantial houses in Highgate Hill located on huge blocks of land. Unfortunately neither have survived but memories of the family linger on as street names.
How much society norms regarding the rearing of children have changed is brought home by these stories from not that long ago.
Queensland's abortion laws sometimes led to tragic outcomes as was the case with Mary Emmett, whose body was found rudely dumped on a Brisbane street.
A house in Franklin Street, Highgate Hill, has connections to France, the gold rush in Victoria, an early Brisbane tobacconist, a Brisbane brewery and philanthropic women. Find out about a remnant of the long forgotten brewery.
For about 90 years, Highgate hill had its own railway station at Gloucester Street but it was out of the way and never heavily patronised.