RECENT research indicates the house where Friedrich Ferdinand
HOHENHAUS operated a bootmaker's business (1874 -1900) might still
exist. Although yet to be accurately dated, a very old worker's
cottage stands at No 287 Brisbane Street Ipswich. The building
(pictured left and below) might be more than 100 years old, but no
one seems to know for sure.
Title documents show that in 1855 the New South Wales Government sold a 'Town Lot' at Number 80 Brisbane Street (the site's former street address) to real estate agent John Wright for eleven pounds. The agent held the land until 1908 when it was sold to Ernest Wilhelm Friedrich KREUGER, who owned the property until his death in 1917.
AS mentioned in previous pages, local rate books show that
Friedrich paid rates on the above-mentioned property from 1874 to
1900. Other researchers have reported that this was not an uncommon
arrangement at the time. Evidently, tenants sometimes paid the
rates in arrangement with the landlord.
Until someone can accurately estimate when this property was constructed, we will never really know whether it's the same building that Friedrich used for his business. There is nothing in the title documents that gives any hint of how many different buildings have existed on this particular block of land since 1855. Could it be that this is the same property that Friedrich first rented in 1874?
THE unusual
layout of the small room at the front of this house (and clear
evidence of numerous renovations) adds to the mystery surrounding
the building's origins. Perhaps older Ipswich residents can
remember what the house looked like 50 or 60 years ago? At the
moment (early November 1999), a redevelopment application for this
and the adjoining house are pending council
approval.
The Ipswich City Council is well aware that this house is one of the very few workers' cottages remaining in this area. It seems likely that the house will either be demolished or removed in the near future.
OWING to the fragile nature of century-old timber houses, I am
eager to document all that I can of this home before it is removed
or destroyed. The council has assured me that if the house is
removed, every effort will be made to document the home's current
layout and condition. Any feedback welcome.