St Johns Wood is a neighbourhood within the suburb of Ashgrove in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
A small residential pocket at the base of Taylor Range, it is embraced by a loop of Enoggera Creek and by the Ashgrove Golf Club, Brisbane City Council Reserve and the Enoggera Barracks. The locality was originally inhabited by the Indigenous Turrbal people before it opened up to European settlement during the second land-sales of the district in 1858, with the homestead called St John's Wood House (also known as Granite House) founded in 1864. It remains and occupies a small parcel of land within the locality, with the remainder being subdivided into housing allotments. Additionally, it is home to St Johns Wood Scout Group and The Woods Early Education Centre & Pre-school. The neighbourhood is accessed by either vehicular bridge, bikepath or footbridge. A prominent controversy for St Johns Wood surrounds the question of whether Princes Albert and George visited St Johns Wood on their visit to Brisbane in 1881.
Indigenous history The St Johns Wood and wider area (Ashgrove's native name is "Kallindarbin") was originally inhabited by the indigenous Turrbal or "Duke of York" clan. The main thoroughfare, Waterworks Road, was built on a Turrbal pathway that led to Mount Coot-tha, a place of the "Honey-Bee Dreaming". The water holes along Enoggera Creek and its tributaries, with their dense fringing scrubs, met many of the needs of a hunter-gatherer society.Paten, Dick; Ashgrove Historical Society (2010), Ashgrove and The Gap : aspects of history 1849–2003: land, access, institutions and people, Ashgrove Historical Society Inc, |P7| With its rainforests, eucalypt forests and connection to the Brisbane River, it would have provided a source of freshwater and food for the Turrbal people. The rainforests yielded yams, black beans and wild figs, all of which still grow along the creek today. Everyday life for the tribe consisted of hunting and gathering food, with time for games, and other social and spiritual activities. Inevitably with the expansion of European influence the balance of land use changed and this led to the eventual displacement of the Turrbal from their traditional base.Shaw, Barry, 1947–; Brisbane History Group (2010), Brisbane : people and places of Ashgrove (1st ed.), Brisbane History Group, P29
Original development
The first Europeans were presented with well watered alluvial flats along Enoggera Creek, partly covered with scrub and presumably seen to include land suitable for cultivation. The land beyond the creek flats and in the foothills of the Taylor Range had better soil derived from the granite and was suitable for grazing. These were the factors that set the pattern for the sale of firstly leasehold and then freehold land by the crown in the pre-separation period.Shaw, Barry, 1947–; Brisbane History Group (2010), Brisbane : people and places of Ashgrove (1st ed.), Brisbane History Group, Page 28
The earliest known formal occupancy and use of the area by Europeans dates from 1849 when the first crown leases along Enoggera Creek were offered at public auction.Kitson & McKay 2006, 17 The annual rent was 10 shillings per square mile. The area grossing 7020 acres which contained St Johns Wood was taken up by Darby McGrath in 1851 and was known as 'The Gap Station' on which he ran sheep.'Another Murder by the Blacks', MBC 3 July 1852, 3, Col.1; 'Death of Mr Darby McGrath', QT 10 May 1892; Paten 1968–69, TS. It is presumed that the lease of 'The Gap Station' was later extinguished by the crown as the granting of freehold land tenure spread along Enoggera Creek from 1856.
St Johns Wood estate
The original St Johns Wood estate comprised an area of the portions 165 and 381, Parish of Enoggera, part of which was originally purchased by John Frederick McDougall for a price of £70 4s 0d on 14 September 1858.NSW deed of grant volume 3A.181 This estate had been established as a cattle station by the Hon Mr. McDougall who employed fencer Simon Kelly to fence its perimeter. This work was completed by the middle of 1859.Paten, Dick; Ashgrove Historical Society (2010), Ashgrove and The Gap : aspects of history 1849–2003: land, access, institutions and people, Ashgrove Historical Society Inc, P21 He sold portions 164 and 165 to Arthur Martin, auctioneer, during the economic crash of the mid-1860s. On 5 August 1864 Daniel Rowntree Somerset, Registrar of Pensions, purchased the land with final registrations of the titles on 10 July 1865 and later on 29 August 1867 purchased portion 381Certificate of Title Vol 119 Fol 182 making up the total of the estate. Somerset began to build "a magnificent home on his landed estate" in a U-shape plan, utilising the granite from the local hillside for the external walls and a shingle roof . and it is he who named the Estate St John's Wood after his Son Henry St John Somerset. He resided there for 4 years till after the death of his wife in February 1867 where the Funeral Notice states that they are to move from his residence St John's Wood, Water Works Road and the marriage of his eldest daughter Anna Sophia held at the Estate in May 1868.
The Harding Settlement Somerset leased, in May 1868, Portions 164, 165 and 381 to the next occupier being George Rogers Harding, initially a young barrister who became a prominent Judge. Harding proceeded to purchase the property on 27 January 1874.Sayer, Paul Transfer 32604, certificate of title volume 215 folio 77 (title reference 10215077) p172 He extended the Homestead, which became known as "The Granite House," by adding a ballroom by infilling the space between the two wings, constructed a separate adjacent building consisting mostly of bedrooms for his growing family which became known as the "Cedar House" due to the type of timber used in the construction, extended the Service Wing by two bedrooms for maids and men and added stables and yards.Clipping from Ashgrove Library.Sayer, Paul p173. Taken from an auction catalogue printed for the sale of Harding's effects after his death. He established an Orange Orchard on land across the Creek and purchased adjacent properties to increase his landholdings. The original property comprised a drawing room, dining room, large hall, smaller hall, library, "best" bedroom, dressing room, bachelor's room, seven other bedrooms, pantry, lumber room, two servants' rooms, kitchen, laundry and stables. Some of these rooms would have been in the adjacent building.
Entertainment at St Johns Wood House
The Harding family entertained extensively in their home and were well known for the banquets and entertainment that they provided. At a function on 23 June 1881, they were entertained by an Austrian band with dancing and in August 1881, the Hardings held a masquerade dance in their Ball Room. There is a copy of a banquet menu from 26 November 1884, where the guests had six courses, liqueurs, claret, and coffee.Area A Roundabout, July 1984, p21. Clipping from Ashgrove Library. At "a large and brilliant gathering" in 1892, "guests including...Queensland Judges, the Chief Secretary and other Ministers, many members of both Houses and Legislature, of the legal profession, and of the civil service, and a large number of ladies. In all the number of visitors could not have been less than 500...the host and hostess charmingly received their visitors...A band of music was in attendance and the function passed off most pleasantly."
Royal visit controversy Since the 1930s there have been reports that the Hardings entertained Prince Albert and Prince George on their visit to Brisbane in 1881. The young Princes (aged 17 and 16 respectively) are reported as having spent most of their leisure at St Johns Wood and Ashgrove, riding through the country and fishing on Enoggera dam with the Harding children. No other records could be found to verify this story, although it has become local folklore. They attended the Ministerial Picnic that was held at Enoggera Reservoir 19 August 1881, along with two hundred other guests, who enjoyed the boating and lunch in the large marquee. There is no evidence that on their return to Government House that they visited the Harding residence, although they passed through the property along Waterworks Road. Even without Royal patronage George Harding's professional status in the community would have made the many functions at his home well attended by Brisbane society.
St Johns Wood housing estate After George Rogers Harding died in 1895 his estate was indebted to the Queensland National Bank Limited. The bank initially had difficulty in selling the land but eventually sold it in 1917 to the next owner, Francis Michael Anglim. Anglim initially used the land to breed thoroughbred brood mares. He subsequently subdivided the land in 1923, and sold it as a housing estate called St John's Wood after the house. In the following year the neighbouring Glen Lyon Estate was also subdivided, and the tramline to Ashgrove (Oleander Drive) was finally completed. This assisted in the rapid development of the area. In August 1927 a feature article appeared in the Brisbane Courier.
St Johns Wood ...on account of its beauty, has been sold to the best people in the State—people of wealth, repute and undoubted position. This alone will make the name of St Johns Wood a hallmark of distinction and exclusiveness.
A map advertised the sale of 800 allotments at Royal Park Estate, now The Gap and St. John's Wood Extension Estate, Ashgrove by F. M. Anglim in August 1927.
Anglim died in 1931.Queensland Death certificate Registration No 14243 In 1934 Edward Albert Hawkins purchased the property and although he planned a major extension to the Granite House, it did not proceed and he remained living at his Clayfield residence. He converted the house into two flats, partly enclosing the verandas and separating the service wing at the rear into a separate dwelling. At the same time he obtained an old school building at auction from the West End State School and used the materials to reconstruct a Recreation Hall adjacent to the Granite House in 1936. His nephew, Mervyn E Hawkins, inherited the property on Mr Hawkins' death in 1956 and in 1958 he arranged a further subdivision of the remaining property into six building allotments,Queensland Titles Office. Map of August 1958 further reducing the size of the Granite House allotment to its present area of 1432m2.RP Data search. Accessdate 9 October 2012 This resulted in the front of the house facing the side boundary with access now from Piddington Street. Ownership of Granite House changed several times and Mr and Mrs Guerassimoff converted it back to a grand house and sold it in 1987.
Embassy / Ambassador Hall
The Embassy Dance Hall, and then the Ambassador Theatre, occupied the same building at different periods. It was located on the west corner of Gresham Street and Royal Parade, St John's Wood.Queensland original paper Certificate of Title No 311203, Vol 1687, folio 193 Construction occurred in 1928 and was built for Frank Fraser Ltd.BCC register of new buildings, 24 November 1927 It was an all timber structure of 33.5m x 17m with a 6.5m ceiling height. Entry was from the Enoggera Creek end via a twin flight of stairs to a wide verandah. The Hall had side alcoves, a raised stage, two change rooms, a small apartment and a side refreshment counter. Male and female toilets were under the building at the creek end.Plan prepared by M Moorhouse based on information from the BCC site survey, description in newspapers and photographs.