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Honouring Walter Taylor

Kingsford Terrace Corinda’s sixth stage, the Taylor building, is named in honour of a man who changed the face of Brisbane ... Walter Taylor.

The man who tailored a city

Kingsford Terrace Corinda’s sixth stage, the Taylor building, is named in honour of a man who changed the face of Brisbane.

Architect and builder Walter Taylor left a remarkable legacy on the city. To pay homage to his contribution to Brisbane, Aura Holdings chose ‘Taylor’ when naming its penultimate stage at the Corinda retirement community, continuing a tradition of remembering the area’s former residents who made a difference.

Born September 16, 1872, in Sheffield, England, Walter and his family immigrated to Brisbane in 1882 where his father, Walter Taylor Senior, worked in the building industry.

Later, young Walter began working beside his father but had no formal training in construction or architecture. After Walter Senior was killed in an industrial accident while working on sheds at the Roma Street railyard in 1899 his estate was declared bankrupt and the family was left penniless.

Walter Taylor married Louisa Braun in 1900 and their daughter Thelma was born in 1901. A year later the family sailed to England to allow Walter to gain more experience, particularly in the method of using reinforced concrete in construction.

 

Walter Taylor and the pretty heritage-listed Graceville church he built in 1930.

The Taylor family returned to Brisbane in 1912 where Walter quickly established a very successful construction business.

More financially savvy than his father, Walter proposed innovative ways to fund his projects. For the Graceville Methodist (now Uniting) Church much of the construction material was donated and the roof tiles were purchased from donations of a shilling for each tile. The striking, white church opened in 1930, is now heritage-listed and remains a popular venue for weddings.

A man ahead of his time, Walter proposed an underground river tunnel from Brisbane’s CBD to Woolloongabba. His 1924 design was never built but the Clem7 was constructed nearly nine decades later and the Cross River Rail is due to open 100 years later in 2024.

Walter is best remembered for the Indooroopilly Toll Bridge, renamed the Walter Taylor Bridge in 1956. The city landmark opened in February 1936, replacing a barge that ferried cars between Chelmer and Indooroopilly. The heritage-listed suspension bridge took six years to complete and the toll was a penny for a vehicle to cross. The toll was lifted in 1965.

 

The opening of the bridge in 1936 (left) and how it looks today.

As the only habitable bridge in the Southern Hemisphere, the pylons at either end provided two three-storey apartments for the families of the toll master and his deputy. The last residents moved out around 2009. Washing flapping in the breeze on top of the bridge was a common sight for motorists crossing below.

Some of Walter’s other notable constructions that still stand include the Sherwood Uniting Church on Sherwood Road; the Abbotsford Road Bridge (Albion Fiveways) and the city’s first high-rise residential building, the nine-storey Craigston on Wickham Terrace. He also built the family’s long-time home Glenrae on the Brisbane River at Graceville.

Walter Taylor died in November 1955, aged 83. His grandson Noel Davis has written a book, The Remarkable Walter Taylor.

The six-level Taylor building will offer retirees the choice of 48 luxurious one, two or three-bedroom apartments with the largest having 222sq m of living space. For information about apartments in the Taylor building or others available in the Kingsford Terrace Corinda retirement community, please call (07) 3716 0804 or email live@kingsfordterrace.com.au

Compiled by Jo Cranstoun

The man who tailored a city

Kingsford Terrace Corinda’s sixth stage, the Taylor building, is named in honour of a man who changed the face of Brisbane.

Architect and builder Walter Taylor left a remarkable legacy on the city. To pay homage to his contribution to Brisbane, Aura Holdings chose ‘Taylor’ when naming its penultimate stage at the Corinda retirement community, continuing a tradition of remembering the area’s former residents who made a difference.

Born September 16, 1872, in Sheffield, England, Walter and his family immigrated to Brisbane in 1882 where his father, Walter Taylor Senior, worked in the building industry.

Later, young Walter began working beside his father but had no formal training in construction or architecture. After Walter Senior was killed in an industrial accident while working on sheds at the Roma Street railyard in 1899 his estate was declared bankrupt and the family was left penniless.

Walter Taylor married Louisa Braun in 1900 and their daughter Thelma was born in 1901. A year later the family sailed to England to allow Walter to gain more experience, particularly in the method of using reinforced concrete in construction.

 

Walter Taylor and the pretty heritage-listed Graceville church he built in 1930.

The Taylor family returned to Brisbane in 1912 where Walter quickly established a very successful construction business.

More financially savvy than his father, Walter proposed innovative ways to fund his projects. For the Graceville Methodist (now Uniting) Church much of the construction material was donated and the roof tiles were purchased from donations of a shilling for each tile. The striking, white church opened in 1930, is now heritage-listed and remains a popular venue for weddings.

A man ahead of his time, Walter proposed an underground river tunnel from Brisbane’s CBD to Woolloongabba. His 1924 design was never built but the Clem7 was constructed nearly nine decades later and the Cross River Rail is due to open 100 years later in 2024.

Walter is best remembered for the Indooroopilly Toll Bridge, renamed the Walter Taylor Bridge in 1956. The city landmark opened in February 1936, replacing a barge that ferried cars between Chelmer and Indooroopilly. The heritage-listed suspension bridge took six years to complete and the toll was a penny for a vehicle to cross. The toll was lifted in 1965.

 

The opening of the bridge in 1936 (left) and how it looks today.

As the only habitable bridge in the Southern Hemisphere, the pylons at either end provided two three-storey apartments for the families of the toll master and his deputy. The last residents moved out around 2009. Washing flapping in the breeze on top of the bridge was a common sight for motorists crossing below.

Some of Walter’s other notable constructions that still stand include the Sherwood Uniting Church on Sherwood Road; the Abbotsford Road Bridge (Albion Fiveways) and the city’s first high-rise residential building, the nine-storey Craigston on Wickham Terrace. He also built the family’s long-time home Glenrae on the Brisbane River at Graceville.

Walter Taylor died in November 1955, aged 83. His grandson Noel Davis has written a book, The Remarkable Walter Taylor.

The six-level Taylor building will offer retirees the choice of 48 luxurious one, two or three-bedroom apartments with the largest having 222sq m of living space. For information about apartments in the Taylor building or others available in the Kingsford Terrace Corinda retirement community, please call (07) 3716 0804 or email live@kingsfordterrace.com.au

Compiled by Jo Cranstoun
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