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Manly

History of Brisbane's Manly

Manly's history has been compiled by local historian, Kay Harbison, as a part of the BRISbites community history project.

Aboriginal history

The Manly area may have been occupied by Mipirimm people. They lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle with several campsites within their area and adjacent islands.

The coast and river provided abundant seafood. Pandanus, bangwall (fern root) and small mammals and birds were hunted, particularly the flying foxes on St Helena Island, where inter-tribal feasts and corroborees appear to have taken place.

As settlement grew the aborigines were confined to the coastal fringes, where agriculture was not possible and the good fishing and hunting meant they could survive. The area of the Manly Hotel, however was open ground where many aborigines still camped.

By the 1870s closer settlement around Brisbane was making this outskirts living impossible. The main destroyers of the Moreton Bay Aborigines were new diseases brought about though contact with the white population. Diseases such as smallpox and tuberculous decimated the indigenous population.

Urban development

Three cedar cutters were blown off course from Sydney in 1823. They were wrecked on Moreton Island and, with the help of local aborigines, explored the coast and inland until they met up with John Oxley’s party. It appears likely that they crossed to the mainland at Emu Point and travelled north along a native path, much of which is now Tingal Road, to the top of Lytton Hill where they became the first white people to see the Brisbane River.

From 1824 to 1839, Moreton Bay was a penal colony and no free settlement was allowed, but in 1842 this restriction was lifted. The area was surveyed by James Warner in 1859 and the first land auction took place in 1860. Most of Manly was divided between two large landholdings -Wyvernleigh, owned by Thomas Jones, and Lota House, owned by William Duckett White.

In 1882, the first subdivision in the area took place, at Manly Beach Estate, which had been part of the Wyvernleigh Estate. In 1888, the estimated population of the Lytton to Lota district was 200 with 50 households. Further sales were held, and the opening of the railway line, in 1889, led to a surge in growth. It was a popular holiday spot, with many holiday homes, guesthouses and camping sites along the foreshore. Daytrippers, too, were common, catching the train down to walk along the grassy slopes of the beaches and stroll on the jetty or swim.

Notable residents

George Cooling sailed into Manly in an old boat around 1900. He lived in the boat until it fell apart, and he then lived near Manly State School. Later he bought a large block of land called Guiley’s Paddock on Whites Road. He made his living out of taking photographs of people from Capalaba to Cannon Hill. He built his own motorbike and sidecar and navigated through the often-perilous roads and cross-country on these. His nickname, ‘Dirty George’ came from his aversion to washing. He travelled around taking photographs, often in exchange for a meal, and he reportedly built an airplane out of scrap, which he flew into the top of a large tree.

Joe Curtis cultivated land at Belmont, where he grew vegetables. He would then deliver them to the few Manly and Lytton residents. He then moved to Stratton Terrace where he rented a small house with a store attached. As business succeeded, he bought the property and added a covered area as a tea garden for the day-trippers who flocked to Manly on the train. He also dealt in real estate and was at one time the Postmaster. He was considerably involved in town affairs, being the Chairman of the Wynnum Town Council in 1912 and the second Mayor of Wynnum Township two years later. He worked hard to establish a school in Manly, and was the School Committees first chairman in 1910. In 1922, he passed the business on to his son and retired to Mt Nebo for six years, until his death in 1928.

In 1841, William Duckett White migrated to Australia and bought land at Richmond, Victoria, which was flooded the next year. He later acquired a large cattle run called Beau Desert. In 1857 they moved to Eagle Farm and in 1860 he became one of the first land holders on the bay, when he acquired the land from southern Manly to Lota Creek. In 1861 he took a seat in the Legislative Council of Queensland Parliament. Lota House was completed in 1863. He died there in 1893.

Landmarks

Wynnum and Manly Showground was built in 1918. Working bees cleared and drained the land, which covered 25 acres. The first show held there took place the next year (although previously shows had been held in the Wynnum School of Arts building).

In 1920 the pavilion was built, where the present high school stands. There were dog rings and a grandstand for watching sports on the oval. Originally called Russell Park, after the then mayor of Wynnum, it was later renamed Memorial Park and an avenue of trees was built with little plaques to commemorate the areas war dead.

Manly Boat Harbour was constructed in 1958. Protective walls were built to the north and south and gradual dredging took place between them. The dredged soil was used to form the parks and parking areas that adjoin the harbour.

Lota House was completed in 1863 and is the oldest surviving home in the district. It was built for William Dukett White and he gave it to his wife Jane, who named it after her family home in Ireland. It is a two-storey building of plastered brick, with a slate roof and wide verandahs. It had its own stables and wells, fruit orchard and vegetable gardens, and paddocks for livestock as well as fields of grains stretching down to Lota Creek. Today the building is the Edwin Marsden Tooth Memorial Home, named after the philanthropist who bequeathed the funds to found it. .

The Great Wall of Manly is an interesting feature of the district. Falcon Street is built in such a steep area that a retaining wall was necessary to allow access to both sides of the street. Originally this was an embankment, but the width of this restricted traffic. The wall was built, during the Great Depression, using ‘relief work’ labourers. It is 7.31 metres high and 2.8 metres thick at the base. It is built from basalt from the Lytton quarry, packed in concrete and with the joints plastered in concrete plaster. At various places animals and faces have been moulded into the concrete pointing.

Reference: K. Harbison, BRISbites, 2000

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