With notices in the Library and mention in the local news, about forty residents met at the Holy Spirit School in Villiers Street. David invited residents to contribute to the knowledge of the sites to be visited. The MLA member Peter Beattie and Alderman Beattie Dawson (1973-76) were in the group.
The group preceded up Brunswick Street and commented on the Brunswick Building, a group of shops at 710 Brunswick Street (Annie Street corner) built in 1889. This was perhaps the first substantial building in the area. We proceeded further up the road to the Brunswick Hotel also built in 1889. It features a truncated corner and cantilevered upper verandas.
The next stop was the corner of Brunswick Street & Harcourt Street. La Scala is a timber-framed structure of three stories, built in 1914-15, designed by T.R. Hall and built for Dr. T. Mathewson, locally known as the chocolate layer cake house. The group walked along Harcourt Street and turned into Bowen Terrace to Wilson’s Outlook, overlooking the quarry. The stone from here was used for the cutting made in Ann Street for All Hallows. This quarrying also made way for wharves on the waterfront.
Further down Bowen Terrace, at the corner of Balfour Street is Cairnsville, built by Charles Le Brocq, and rented to politician Albert Drury. The owner told the story of the house and invited participants inside. The cast iron lacework on the veranda and porch are very Victorian, of the l880s.
The walk then proceeded down Bowen Terrace, past Queenslanders, colonial semi-mansions and 1920 post-sewerage apartments, flats very similar to Melbourne ones. On the corner of Moreton and Bowen Terrace, the group was invited into a large, substantial residence named Winterburn,?which was For Sale. A New Farm thespian entertained the walkers with recitals from Colonial and Irish folklore.
Further along Moreton Street were four solid blockhouses built in 1898. This was a speculative development catering for the wealthy professional on the “right” side of Brunswick Street.
The walk concluded with morning tea at Holy Spirit School ?where Jan Power, food critic, journalist and broadcaster, gave a talk. Her subject was ‘Early New Farm Days.’ Councillor David Hinchliffe thanked the participants for attending and said there was much history to delve into and research to be carried out on New Farm. He intimated that a? grant could be available to a Society and invited interested people to form a committee.
The inaugural meeting was held on 18th June 1994 at the? New Farm Library. Maureen Baillie was elected president and the New Farm 85 Districts Historical Society was formed.
From the history of the walk by Arch Trail, June 2004. Further information is also available at the office of the Historical Society, next to the New Farm Library, open Thursdays from 2.00pm to 4 pm or by appointment.