Aubigny, North Quay

Aubigny (later called Loretto) was a house located at 273 North Quay, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is associated with many significant aspects of Brisbane's history.

Brisbane's first synagogue
Brisbane's First Synagogue in the grounds of Aubigny, North Quay

The house was originally built in 1870 by Samuel Davis, a Jewish businessman, and included a separate building used as Brisbane's first synagogue.[1][2]

Society mansion
Aubigny, at North Quay, Brisbane, 1897, when Miss Lilly Perkins married Mr Randal McDonnell

In 1883 Patrick Perkins, brewer and politician, used his wealth to buy the palatial home, which he called "Aubigny" after the electoral district of Aubigny that first elected him to the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Patrick Perkins used the former synagogue as a billiards room.[1][2]

Police facility

In 1899, the Perkins family rented the property to the Criminal Investigation Department which used the house as offices and the synagogue as a photography room.[1]

The first Mater hospital

In late 1905 after the death of Perkins, the house was sold to the Rev. Mother Patrick of the Sisters of Mercy to create the 20-bed Mater Misericordiae Hospital (now a tertiary hospital located at South Brisbane); the former synagogue being the hospital chapel. Eventually, the hospital outgrew the house and relocated to the South Brisbane area where it still operates.[1][3]

Loretto, girls hostel

In 1913, the Sisters of Mercy then renamed the house "Loretto" and used it as a hostel for respectable Catholic girls coming from the country to work in Brisbane; the former synagogue being the maids' quarters.[1][4]

Resumption
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Brisbane, 2015

When the Brisbane City Council decided to build the Grey Street Bridge, it was necessary to resume the property to facilitate road widening. However, until the council needed to use the land, the church were permitted to continue to lease it.

In about 1939 a portion of the land not needed for road widening was sold to the Church of Christ, Scientist to build the (now heritage-listed) First Church of Christ, Scientist in Brisbane and the house was sold for £148.[5][6][7]

References
  1. "BRISBANE'S HISTORIC HOMES". The Queenslander. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 11 December 1930. p. 46. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  2. "All About People". The Catholic Press. NSW: National Library of Australia. 25 May 1901. p. 5. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  3. "5 fabulous Queensland houses no longer with us". State Library Of Queensland. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  4. "THE WEEK IN BRISBANE AND ELSEWHERE". The Queenslander. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 7 June 1913. p. 6. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  5. Unidentified (1905), Aubigny a residence in North Quay, ca. 1905, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, retrieved 25 January 2014
  6. "CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 13 April 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  7. "IN OTHER CITIES". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 14 April 1939. p. 27. Retrieved 25 January 2014.

27.4670°S 153.0168°E / -27.4670; 153.0168

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