AN ENDURING LANDMARK IN WOOLLOONGABBA'S EVOLVING STORY

MORETON RUBBER BUILDING

Now better known and fondly referred to as the old Moreton Rubber Building (or the Goodyear Building), the former Taylor-Heaslop Building was erected in 1889-90 during Woolloongabba's commercial heyday.

This striking three-storied Victorian landmark which faces both Stanley Street and Logan Road, was designed as a row of three attached shops, by prominent Brisbane architect John Beauchamp Nicholson.

The northwest and middle shops were built as an investment by the well-known Brisbane chemist Walter Taylor. The third, to the southeast and the largest of the three was built for influential South Brisbane grocers James and Thomas Heaslop to extend their thriving retail enterprise, the People's Cash Store with the addition of a branch store at the bustling Woolloongabba Fiveways intersection.

The building's prominent location, its towering scale and huge "Peoples Cash Store" signage made it a dominating, landmark presence within the district.

The building's inception coincided with a dramatic transformation in Woolloongabba's fortunes. In the 1880s, the suburb surged in prominence as a working-class residential hub and vital commercial centre.

This growth was propelled by key transport developments: the 1884 opening of the railway from Corinda (South Brisbane Junction) to South Brisbane, the 1887 introduction of horse-drawn trams linking the area to Mount Gravatt via Logan Road, and the completion of the Cleveland Railway to Woolloongabba in November 1889. These infrastructure upgrades fuelled intense urban and retail expansion.

By 1901, James Heaslop had acquired all three shops, and by the early 20th century, the building had cemented its status as a cornerstone of local commerce. On 1 May 1902, draper John Edwin Sheppard Evans leased the central shop (12 Logan Road), followed by the northwest shop (10 Logan Road) in early 1903. Together, Evans' Cash Drapery and Heaslop's People's Cash Store dominated the Fiveways retail scene.

Following Evans' untimely death in 1907, his widow carried on the business until it was sold to George Logan, who continued trading well into the 1920s.

The Heaslop family remained closely tied to the building. Upon James Heaslop's death in 1922, his widow Clara Ellen Heaslop took over the estate. In 1923, she leased the southeast shop (14 Logan Road) to grocer and hardware merchant John Robertson Blane. That same year, Logan sold his drapery business to William Johns, who secured a lease on 10-12 Logan Road from Mrs Heaslop.

During the 1920s, Woolloongabba blossomed as a shopping destination for Brisbane's rapidly growing eastern and southern suburbs, Balmoral, Hawthorne, Coorparoo, and beyond, all connected via the electric tram network converging at the Fiveways. It was likely during this commercial peak that the shopfronts were modernised to suit the evolving retail landscape.

Blane operated from 14 Logan Road until around 1928, while Johns & Co., Drapers, remained until roughly 1930. Their successor, Ernest Reid, took over the drapery business and expanded into all three tenancies. Yet by the early 1930s, amid the grip of the Great Depression, the building entered a period of uncertainty, standing largely vacant after Reid's departure. Relief came in 1936, when the Moreton Rubber Works, a motor tyre sales and tyre retreading company, established offices at 14 Logan Road. By the late 1930s, Five Ways Real Estate & Auctioneers occupied 10-12 Logan Road, followed by Smith Bros Furniture Mart.

After Clara Heaslop's death in 1944, the building passed out of the family's hands in 1950. Frederick Pratt acquired 14 Logan Road, while the adjoining shops were acquired by Ruby Richards, and transferred to Andrew Lowreys in 1951. Pratt consolidated ownership of all three shops in 1953. The properties remained under the Pratt estate until 1989.

Woolloongabba's commercial decline began mid-century. The rise of suburban shopping centres in the 1950s and '60s, the closure of the Woolloongabba Railyards, the end of Brisbane's tram services in 1969, and the construction of the Southeast Freeway in the early 1970s which physically severed the suburb's historic core, all contributed to the area's diminished retail status.

Yet, from the late 1980s onwards, a slow renaissance began. Logan Road reimagined itself as a precinct for antiques, galleries, and specialty goods. The Moreton Rubber Building found a new life based around the buying, selling and restoration of antiques and period furniture, heralding a return to craftsmanship and heritage.

After substantial investment and restoration by the current owners, the iconic Moreton Rubber Building still stands proudly in the character heart of Woolloongabba, a beacon of Woolloongabba's layered history and a vibrant home to an eclectic and respected group of contemporary tenants. Its walls echo the stories of over a century of commerce, community, and change.