Bulolo Flats, Art Deco apartment building in Fortitude Valley, Australia.
Bulolo Flats is a two-storeyed brick block of eight self-contained flats at 9 McLachlan Street, designed by Hennessy, Hennessey & Co and built in 1934 by P H Turner & Co. Each flat has a large bed-sitting room opening onto a sleep-out balcony, a kitchenette with built-in cupboards, and a tiled bathroom with a built-in bath and hot water geyser. Every flat has both a private entrance and a service entrance with a trades hatch for deliveries, and shared laundry facilities are on the rooftop.
Bulolo Flats was built in 1934 for Thomas Charles Beirne, a draper who founded a Fortitude Valley department store, to house young women from the country working in his shop. Designed by Hennessy, Hennessey & Co and built by P H Turner & Co, it was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 November 2008.
The building marks a shift in how society viewed independent housing for working women during an era when such living arrangements were far from common. Each unit's private setup gave residents control over their own space and routines.
Bulolo Flats is a private residence at 9 McLachlan Street, Fortitude Valley, so the flats and rooftop laundry are not open to visitors. The exterior can be viewed from the public footpath; the site is within walking distance of the Brunswick Street shopping centre and the former TC Beirne department store.
The building was one of the few places of its era where women could live independently without being tied to family or household obligations. This forward-thinking approach to supporting female self-reliance set it apart for its time.
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