What seems to be a normal water tower on Archibald’s Hill in Paddington is actually registered in the Queensland Heritage Register.
Overlooking the suburb, one cannot miss this imposing structure. Built in 1927 by the Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, the tower is supported by 12 columns and octagonal grids of haunched beams that make for its unique design. With its structure, it’s safe to assume that this may be the only one of its type in the whole of Queensland. Standing 70 feet tall, it can carry 100,000 gallons whilst the water level is at 335 feet.
Photo credit: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library
Back in the day, the tower was considered to be the most expensive single structure to have been made. It has had its share of popular neighbours such as Sir Arthur Rutledge, a Queensland politician who lived in the street. Police Commissioner Terry Lewis also once lived next to the tower at 12 Garfield Drive.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
If you want to see it up close, you can do so from Garfield Drive while views of the tower can also be seen from Rockbourne Terrace and Latrobe Terrace.
he water tower is no longer functional but one should not miss a walk around it to take in its rare beauty while recalling a little bit of its history.
Speeding motorists are giving Paddington cause for concern and road upgrades have been made to solve the problem. The Great George St upgrade in Paddington is finally complete. The $268,000 project improves the safety of the residents and helps them get to their homes much quicker. This new upgrade also opens new travel options for motorists.
The upgrade comes on the heels of requests from residents for measures to help prevent the speeding of the motorists along the stretch and avoid any accidents in the future.
The Brisbane City Council has invested $1.3 billion over four years for more than 90 road projects. This also includes upgrades on Barbour Rd and Philips St.
The upgrade includes side-street splitter islands and two new slow points, improvements in the intersection at the Lower Cairns Tce service road and a fresh slab of paint on line markings and signs. There are also upgrades on street lighting.
This is not the first time that a road in Paddington has been given an upgrade this year. In May, a high number of illegal driving behaviour was recorded on Latrobe Terrace and other roads in Brisbane. This has prompted Lord Mayor Graham Quirk to release the first flashing traffic warning sign as part of a $3.2 million program to improve road safety.
Photo credit: http://www.973fm.com.au/
Such signs will light up with ‘slow down; in LEDs when a vehicle approaches. Each council ward was allocated $28,000 for each year over the course of four years to purchase and install these signs.
In 2016, a road safety campaign that involved wheelie bins and life-sized child stickers were placed in the suburb to encourage motorists to slow down.
Based on recent research conducted by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Queensland road fatalities have increased to 242 in 2016. It shows that accidents are more likely to occur during the weekdays and during daylight hours when kids are most likely crossing the roads.
A little alcove for authentic Asian tea lies on Latrobe Terrace in Paddington. The Sinmei Tea Room is West Brisbane’s version of an exotic little Hong Kong tea house.
The Sinmei Tea Room was founded in Hong Kong in 2008 and is a go-to place for HK locals in the former British colony. Since its entry into the Australian market, the Sinmei Tea Room has become quite a hit among the locals.
The tea room has an eclectic menu with Asian dishes such as the vegetarian Bibimpap, Hakka Thunder tea rice, Hot Tea Soba and Liang Mian.
The main attraction, of course, remains to be its selection of authentic teas straight from Hong Kong. Customers can choose between hot and cold teas. Its most popular item on the menu is the Hong Kong Milk Tea, a definite must-try.
For something more unique, order their Iced Ginger Honeycomb Tea or their Organic Hojicha Latte tea.
Photo credit: Sinmei Tea Room / Facebook
They also offer the full tea experience, with a Tea Ceremony that includes variants like Da Hong Pao or the Pu Erh Vintage 2003.
The High Tea Set includes scone with jam and cream and a selection of assorted cakes.
If you’re not up for some adventure and are simply longing for the familiar, their English Breakfast Tea is always available and always impeccably prepared.
Of course, tea time wouldn’t be complete without some delicious treats on the side. Choose from a wide selection of tea cakes such as Matcha Chocolate Shortbread or the Earl Grey Angel Cake.
Inspired by the Adirondack chair, a cafe was brought to life on the Latrobe Terrace in Paddington.
Photo credit: Rockler
The Westport & Lee Cafe is the latest addition in the upper Paddington area. It has three separate dining areas as it is in a three-story building. The owner, Stephanie, made sure that she put every room into good use.
The name was derived from Westport, New York, where she traveled and fell in love with the Adirondack chairs. She then set out to make a cafe built around the remarkable chair. Now, her cafe clearly represents the qualities of the chair: simple, comfortable, and unpretentious.
She aims to bring simple food to the customers but are high-quality. “Our food is very much related to relaxation and happiness. We would love for people to be able to eat here and be better for it by providing them with the best possible options for food they know and love,” Stephanie said.
Now the cafe that took over the former occupant, Chocolate & Orange, looks like a breath of fresh air along the street with the new fresh coat of paint, timber furniture in shades of turquoise, white, and black, matched with new artwork and a beautiful back deck enclosed in beautiful trees. Every customer that comes in will feel right at home, just the way Stephanie envisioned it to be.
Photo credit: Westport & Lee Cafe / Facebook
The cafe offers only breakfast and lunch menu. You can’t go wrong with some eggs benny on sourdough. On the other hand, if you’re feeling up for something bigger than that, try their big breakfast with eggs, an abundance of delicious vegetables such as mushrooms, tomatoes, baby spinach, and for the pièce de résistance, some strips of crisp bacon and sausage. It comes with toasted Turkish bread and some potato hash.
Photo credit: Trip Advisor
If you’re on a diet, then their Stacked Veggies is highly-recommended. It comes with a toaster Turkish bun with green beans, snow peas, spinach, asparagus tossed in delicious pesto topped with a poached egg, halloumi, and more pesto.
For lunch, you can choose from their wide selection such as salads, frittatas and tarts, burgers, pizza, and risotto.
Photo credit: Westport & Lee Cafe / Facebook
It’s not a cafe without freshly-brewed coffee, and their coffee is amazing. You also don’t want to miss their delicious milkshakes because they will just put you in so much comfort that you never want to get up out of the Adirondack.
On 22 July at Clovely Estate on Musgrave Road in Red Hill, an Art & Craft Degustation Dinner will take place starting at 6:30 p.m. for 7:00 p.m. They have also partnered with the Craft Wine Store for this special event.
Photo credit: Clovely Estate Wines / Facebook
The event aims to celebrate the craft of regional producers such as winemakers, market gardeners, bee-keepers, and farmers. Mike Kirwin, the executive chef will ensure that all plates that will be sent out for service will be tickle the event goers’ palettes and will be aesthetically pleasing with its blend of colours, as well as the flavours and textures of the dishes.
The degustation features a five-course menu with wine. Sashimi of Yellow Fin Tuna, wasabi, smoked soy, apple, yuzu, sesame, coriander is a sample of what to expect at the event.
Clovely Estate started their first vineyard in 1997 and in 2015, they became a James Halliday 5-star winery. They opened their City Cellar Door in Red Hill in 2007, which also became a place for events and regular degustation dinners that feature their wines and produce.
Each table will seat eight people. In the case that you can fill up an entire table, you can be placed on their mixed tables.
Interested in going? The event costs $150 each per diner. For the full list of their degustation menu, click here.
Locals of Red Hill are well-aware of the location of Plum Tucker. The charming cafe bistro with a garden courtyard on Ennogera Terrace is something that you can’t miss.
The two-storey cafe has vintage adornments, giving the place a personality whilst the second flood maintains a cosy atmosphere. The cafe is known to serve all-day breakfast with three varieties of avo on toast to choose from, because who doesn’t like fresh avos, right?
During lunchtime, a wide selection awaits. The chicken congee or the beef cheek pot pie is definitely a-must-try.
The cafe is also child-friendly with healthy breakfast and lunch food that children will like, such as Toasties, a special lunch pack with a variety of sandwiches, fruit, and marshmallow.
The coffee in the cafe comes from Supreme Roastersor their weekly single origin. But what makes them stand out is that the cafe encourages everybody to bring their own coffee cup. The cafe is listed on Responsible Cafes organisation and customers who bring their own coffee cup get a $1 discount.
Photo credit: Plum Tucker / Facebook
However, the store owner, Matt Carnell clarified that they are not only limited to KeepCups, but they encourage their clients to bring their own mugs. This move is their business’ War on Waste advocacy. Statistics from ABC’s War on Waste program show that an average of 100,000 coffee cups are being thrown away every single hour. People tend to think that the coffee cups we use are recyclable; actually, the waterproof coating on the inside of the cups means otherwise.
This is why Australians are encouraged to look for cafes that use BioPak paper cups or you can bring your own KeepCup to reduce paper cup waste.
Mr Carnell said that they have implemented this rule just last year and they have seen significant improvement, but noted that they still have a long way to go.
Responsible Cafes, an organisation dedicated to reducing the use of paper cups at cafes has a list of cafes that are dedicated to implementing this rule to its customers. The website has been there for three years but after the brief exposure on cafe paper cups in media recently, they have now more cafes to add to the list.
In November 2016, the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council got involved in a pilot project to upcycle coffee cups through the use of new technology that combines liquid-proof cups with a polymer to make a durable multi-use plastic-fibre compound. Now, the QLD government and BCC are looking at a possible processing facility to accommodate this process.
Plum Tucker is not only child-friendly, but it has become an eco-friendly place, too.
Paddington is home to some of Brisbane’s best antique shops. There are always such great finds in the suburb! On the 15th of July, the third Excess Baggage event will be gracing The Briswest Centre once again from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Photo credit: Weekend Notes
Excess Baggage has become such a popular event since it started three years ago. The market offers second-hand items up for grabs. Whether you’re planning to sell some of your items or looking to find some unique pieces, this is definitely an event you shouldn’t miss.
Photo credit: Weekend Notes
The event is organised by Jan Gillies and Patricia Ferrier. Ms Ferrier is the Secretary of Brisbane West Senior Citizens Centre whilst Ms Gillies is a local jazz singer who is looking to raise funds for the HEAL program, an art therapy program for refugee children to support their healing from the trauma of their life journey to Australia. FHEAL (Friends of The Home of Expressive Arts and Learning) was formed in 2002 that provides the HEAL program at Milpera State High School.
Photo credit: https://fheal.com.au
The event will also help create a place of connection with the seniors in the community. Aside from that, it is also a great chance for people to sell their stuff and engage with younger people as well.
Aside from the lines of stalls, there are also food stalls available. Check out some delicious spring rolls or the sausages that will give you more energy to rummage through second-hand stuff.
Most of the sellers at the event are downsizers, which means that aside from clothes, there will also be some great finds, such as furnishings or basically, whatever people are trying to clear out. Paddo residents have a reputation of having high-quality usable items even during clear-outs such as the recently-concluded Kerbside Collection Day, when the streets were filled with stuff that didn’t take long for scavengers to bring home.
So, if you want to get some really good and unique finds at affordable prices, and at the same time engage with the cheerful community of Paddo, this event is definitely for you.
Red Hill’s The Little Red Providore is a great source of good and artistic vibes. Now occupying what used to be a lighting store in a 140-year-old building on Windsor Road, it takes on a new persona with its newly-painted, matte black exterior.
Owned by Janelle and Glen Mogridge, the restaurant is one of the couple’s adventurous ventures together5. They formerly owned Soul Pantry, a cafe which operated out of a shipping container. This latest venture is no less creative, equally adventurous, plus it provides a warm, friendly space for curious customers who will most likely stay on to be long-term regulars.
The two-storey restaurant boasts of an airy first floor adorned with huge glass windows, a mix of wood and tin furniture, graced by a big red door that welcomes customers in.
On the second floor is a beautiful courtyard with a backdrop of rustic brick, perfect for those who wish to breathe some fresh air with their pooches or even by themselves. There are also a number of tables situated outside the restaurant.
Enclosed events spaces are available for rent, with full catering options.
In keeping with their vision to serve only the best and the freshest, their menu changes daily, depending on the available seasonal produce and the time of the year. The cafe always has a selection of fresh salads, an assortment of bread and pastries, and some homemade frittata to whet one’s appetite.
Photo credit: Little Red Providore / Facebook
Their coffee selection, featuring specialty blends by Toby’s Estate, is also one of the best.
This restaurant promotes a strong sense of community. Every four to six weeks, the restaurant holds a “Locals Night” where locals can drop by and meet. They also support local artists by featuring their creative works of art at the cafe. There is also an Artisan of the Month corner where the works of a featured artist are displayed, along with a brief description about the artist on their short blackboard.
Photo credit: Weekend Notes
The Mogridge couple certainly knows what they’re doing when they decided to put up this cute cafe. Now, Red Hill becomes an even more tight-knit community with establishments such as this one.
The Normanby Hotel that sits on the corner of Musgrave Road and Kelvin Grove Road in Red Hill is a distinctive landmark in the area, not just because of the establishment itself, but because of the memories associated with the iconic fig tree that used to stand outside the hotel.
Photo credit: http://blogs.slq.qld.gov.au/
Prior to the hotel, a smaller, two-storey hotel used to sit on the land with the same name. A hotel owned by the Burtons, its name was said to have been derived from Queensland Governor George Phipps, 2nd Marquis of Normanby. However, in 1889, the son-in-law of the Burtons decided to demolish the hotel to build a bigger one facing Musgrave Road. The new hotel officially opened on 1 December 1980.
Over the years, the hotel became a popular pub with the locals and became a home for nightclubs. There was even a time when the hotel featured a drive-in bottle shop.
Through it all, the large fig tree outside the hotel has stood witness to the passing of events, including more fond memories that locals hold close to their hearts. The tree has become one of Brisbane’s most well-known living icons and has been a place for romantic proposals and first kisses.
Photo credit: The Normanby Hotel
Sadly, on 8 June 2016, the tree collapsed during a storm. Quite surprisingly, the tree didn’t fall towards the hotel but away from it, leaving the hotel unscathed. Locals were devastated following the demise of their most-loved tree. A day after the news broke, the hotel garnered over 1,000 comments on their Facebook page with people sharing memories of “their” tree.
Photo credit: The Normanby Hotel / Facebook
The tree, it seems, has played a significant role in the lives of many. Some people shared their stories on how they met their partners under the tree while some even shared christening stories under it. Many parties were also thrown under its sheltering branches. There were also names etched on the branches of the tree, marking the many people whose lives it has touched.
Photo credit: Screenshot from The Normanby Hotel Facebook page
The iconic tree is no longer there; yet the hotel, in honour of the tree and the locals, has been giving pieces of the tree as a memento of the memories that were formed under Normanby Hotel’s beloved fig tree.
Typical 19th-century houses that date from the 1880s are very visible along the streets of Paddington. The classical houses with whimsical designs have been a staple in the suburb and have become an integral part of the suburb’s unique profile. Over the years, houses in Paddo have undergone renovations in an attempt to evolve to the modern times. One developer, however, believes that re-gentrification of homes in the suburb is the way to go, earning a massive number of nods from the residents.
When Empathy Meets Real Estate Development
James Lilley who hails from the suburb itself has his own real estate development company, Brisbane Prestige Developments. What they do is re-gentrify homes to preserve Paddo’s period charm, through the use of traditional styles and features in their new developments as well as renovations.
Given this direction, Mr Lilley’s clients are happy homeowners. They allow neighbours to have a say on their upcoming developments by involving them throughout the whole planning process up to building the house. Mr Lilley admits that even though they implement such a process, it doesn’t always go smoothly the way they planned it. There are times when they have to do other development works at their own cost, just for the neighbours.
Still, all’s well that ends well. Mr Lilley remains determined to continue this kind of real estate development as he thinks that it preserves the history of the entire suburb. Jonathan Sri, West End Councillor praises Mr Lilley’s efforts. He’s been actively protesting the lack of consultation between developers and the locals, and he is very happy that a developer in his ward is doing the right thing.
Houses Preserved In Time
A renovation done at Annie Street is a perfect example of the kind of re-gentrification that Mr Lilley’s company aims to do. The home’s renovation represents the traditional style and structure of Paddo homes whilst giving it a fresh new look. Still, the home blends well with the neighbourhood, making it more beautiful than ever.
Photo credit: Brisbane Prestige Developments
The Apartments at Wilden Street also preserves the period style of Paddo homes, even whilst it adheres to modern times with its smart black and glass frontage that makes it look chic but definitely not out-of-place.
