Richard Francis Thompson about 1914. From authors collection.

It was May 1949 when my paternal grandfather, Richard Francis Thompson known as “Dick” died at the age of 63, leaving my grandmother, Eileen Evans, a widow for the next 35 years. There were no wedding photos although I do have individual studio portraits of them that were taken either before or after the occasion. I vaguely recall a story, that my grandparents met at a dance. My grandmother seated in the balcony of a dance hall waiting for someone to ask her to dance, when Dick arrived and attracted to the young woman in the balcony, asks for an introduction. The rest is history. I have not been able to identify an occasion that fits this image, but in the early 1900’s, dances and balls were a popular way for young people to meet.

Dick was the youngest son of Irish immigrants, James Thompson, and Eleanor Hamilton. He had started work in the Qld Public Service at the early age of 16 and by 27 years, he had ambitions within the Qld Public Service. On the occasion of his coming marriage, he was presented with a “set of cutlery and a thermos flask” by Col T.W. Pye, Department of Public Works, on behalf of the Under Secretary.[1]

Re-examining their marriage certificate, I realized that I didn’t have an official Roman Catholic Marriage Record. I contacted the Brisbane RC Archives via email, as there are no church records online and received an image of a marriage entry from the Church Marriage Register.[2]  The information was the same as the Schedule D marriage record, which I had purchased from Qld Historic Marriage Records. [3] The wedding celebrant was Father Byrne, who performed the ceremony at Dara, Gotha Street, Brisbane on Tuesday 10^th February 1914.

Eileen Evans with her five daughters, all Sisters of St Joseph. Taken Christmas holiday about 1960. Authors collection.

I did locate an official wedding announcement in Trove but not where I had expected to find it. The marriage was published twice, once in The Telegraph[4] and another Brisbane newspaper, The Week[5]. It told me that the bride, Miss Eileen, wore a frock of ivory crepe de chine and instead of flowers, she carried a dainty prayer book. Her bridesmaids were her sister, Kathleen Evans and her cousin, Evelyn Walls. The bride’s father, William Evans gave his daughter away and after the wedding they took the Toowoomba train, journeying to the New England district, on a wedding tour.

Naturally I was curious about the location of the marriage. Darra is the name of a western suburb of Brisbane, but the wedding was held at Dara in Gotha Street, Fortitude Valley. A search of trove quickly gave me the answer, “a marriage was held in a private chapel at Dara, residence of Archbishop Dunne.[6]

 “Archbishop Dunne’s Palace” was also called the “New Dara” and described as a “handsome three-story building”.[7] Dara no longer exists, demolished in1928[8] by Dunne’s successor, the Archbishop of Brisbane, James Duhig, who had plans to build a great Cathedral “of massive proportions”.[9] In its place today is an inner-city residential development known as Cathedral Place, located opposite All Hallows Catholic Secondary School in Ann Street, Fortitude Valley, with its entrance in Gotha Street. Cathedral Place being bound by Ann, Wickham, and Gipps streets.[10]

The property of Dara has its roots in early Brisbane history when William A Duncan, Collector of Customs, purchased the land in 1848.In 1850 the family moved into their new home, which he named Dara.[11] The location later becoming known as Duncan’s Hill.[12]

Before it was sold to the Catholic Church, Patrick Mayne had purchased the property from Duncan who had moved back to Sydney. In 1862 the Rev. James Quinn purchased the property from Mayne.[13] He lived there until his death in August 1881.[14] It then became the residence of Bishop Dunne in 1882. The old Dara was “eventually condemned and declared unfit to live in.[15] but it wasn’t until 1890, that Dunne took 11 months leave and travelled to Rome and Ireland. While he was away a building committee was set up and plans were made to demolish the old Dara and build a new residence for the bishop on the same property. The driving force and generous financial donor behind this project was George W Gray.[16]

Aerial View of Duncan’s Hill with the building Dara facing Ann Street and opposite All Hallows Sisters of Mercy Secondary School. Dara wasn’t demolished until 1928.

Robert Dunne was well-liked and highly respected by a wide section of the Brisbane and Toowoomba communities. Evidence of his popularity was shown by the greeting that he received from the people of Brisbane on his return on 25^th April 1891.[17] The new Dara was a gift by many generous donations from people of various religions, for the Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr Robert Dunne. It was this building that became known as the Archbishop’s Palace, and it was not uncommon for weddings to be held in the archbishop’s private chapel, described as an “ornate chapel”.[18] When James Duhig became the next Archbishop of Brisbane, marriages continued to be held there, and one of the last was that of Judge Macrossan on the 2^nd December 1926.

Earlier in 1908, Eileen’s youngest aunt Agnes Evans married at Dara with Eileen as her bridesmaid. Agnes, described as the tall, graceful bride was given away by her brother-in-law, James Ryan, superintendent of St Helena Prison in Moreton Bay. This was followed by a quiet reception at Evaryn, James Street, organized by her aunts, Mrs Ryan and Jane Haughton. Eileen’s cousin, Edie Bishop also married at ‘Dara’ in 1913.

“The new and the old Dara”. (4 April 1891. The Queenslander p649).

Knowing the building’s history, I guess it wasn’t unexpected that my grandparents wedding was held at Dara, located not far from the bride’s home in James Street, Fortitude Valley as two other members of the Evan’s family also married there. To marry at “Dara”, in the “private chapel” of the Archbishop’s Palace was a popular choice in the Catholic community, especially for those who lived in Fortitude Valley and surrounds. The opportunity to make this choice was short lived when the building was demolished in 1928. While not everyone can say, “I married in a Palace” it must have been with “regret” to learn of the destruction of Dara, which held for them “such cherished memories”.[19]

[1] Personal (1914, February 4). The Brisbane Courier (Qld.: 1864 – 1933), p.11
[2] Archives – Archdiocese of Brisbane (brisbanecatholic.org.au)
[3] Qld Historic BDM 1914/B/14569
[4] The Telegraph, Qld.: 1872-1947, Wednesday Evening 18^th February 1914, p.8
[5] Family Notices (1914, February 20). The Week (Brisbane, Qld.: 1876 – 1934), p.23
[6] Wedding at Dara. (1908, April 23).The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld.: 1872 – 1947), p. 2
[7] The New “Dara.” (1891, April 20). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld.: 1872 – 1947), p.3
[8] Dara, about to be demolished. (1928, March 14). Daily Standard (Brisbane, Qld.: 1912 – 1936), p. 10 (3 p.m. EDITION).
[9] Dara Site. (1927, January 13). The Catholic Advocate (Brisbane, Qld.: 1911 – 1934; 1936 – 1938), p.41
[10] Cathedral Place Brisbane Fortitude Valley Information Guide
[11] A Hill in the Valley. Dara and the Holy Name Cathedral. D.W.Martin. Published by Brisbane Archdioceasn Archives. 2018. p.1-5.
[12] Brisbane Centenary 1823-1923, The Brisbane Centenary Official Historical Souvenir. Watson, Ferguson & Co Ltd. Brisbane, Queensland. 1924. p.135
[13] Courier (Brisbane, Qld.: 1861 – 1864), Wednesday 15 October 1862, p.2
[14] The Late Dr. O’Quinn, Bishop of Brisbane. (1881, August 27). Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW: 1870 – 1919), p. 17.
[15] A Hill in the Valley. Dara and the Holy Name Cathedral. D.W.Martin. Published by Brisbane Archdioceasn Archives. 2018. p.15
[16] Ibid p.19
[17] Ibid p.17
[18] Ibid. p.30
[19] A Hill in the Valley. Dara and the Holy Name Cathedral. D.W.Martin. Published by Brisbane Archdioceasn Archives. p.34