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Corner of Mein and Adams Street, Scarborough aerial street history

Updated: Oct 14, 2022


This week's Redcliffe street aerial history is the corner of Mein and Adams Street, Scarborough. 1956, 1969 and 1988.

Charles Stuart Mein was born 14th June 1841 in Maitland NSW and was a politician and judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland.

Mein attended William Timothy Cape's school, at Darlinghurst until 1857, when he attended the newly opened Sydney Grammar School. He left the school as captain in 1859, and was a colleague of Samuel Griffith from 1860 to 1862 at the University of Sydney, of which he was scholar, and graduated M.A. Mein became private secretary to the Attorney-General of New South Wales, but left for Queensland in 1867, and became a solicitor of the Supreme Court three years later. He married Annie Theresa McCarthy in 1873 in Brisbane.

On 19 May 1876, Mein took his seat in the Queensland Legislative Council, and was appointed Postmaster-General and representative in the Council of the John Douglas Ministry on 8 July 1876. He retired with his colleagues in January 1879. In June 1884 Mein took office in the First Griffith Ministry in his former position as Postmaster-General, which he exchanged in the following January for the newly created post of Secretary for Public Instruction. In April 1885 Mr. Mein quit Parliament and the Ministry, and was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court on the death of the late Mr. Justice Pring.

He became a Lieutenant Colonial of the 1st Moreton Bay Regiment for the Queensland Defence Force.

He owned land in Scarborough before returning to Sydney where he died on 30 June 1890 in Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales from kidney disease. His body was brought back to Brisbane for burial at Toowong Cemetery.


Adams St is named after the Adams family:

John Adams was born in Enfield, Middlesex in 1836.

Eliza Breavington was born on 22nd July 1839 in Stoke, Newington, Middlesex.

They married on 8th April 1860 at St Andrews Church in Enfield:

John and Eliza Adams arrived in Australia in 1866 on the Netherby (a Black Ball liner of 944 tons under the command of Captain Owen Owens) which was wrecked on western side of King Island in the Bass Strait on 15th July 1966. All passengers & crew safely made it to shore and were later rescued and taken to Melbourne where they were housed in the (then) Exhibition Building (behind the State Library)


After their arrival in Brisbane they made their way to Humpybong where they purchased portions 138 and 139 - 36 acres of land on the eastern side of Maine Road between (now) King & Bell Streets for 4 pounds 10 shillings, and resided in their property called Oak Farm.

They had 10 children. 3 were born in England (Mary Anne (born 1860) Eliza (b.1862-66) and John (b.1864) and 2 travelled with them on the voyage to Australia in 1866.

The 7 children born in Queensland include: Catherine Sophia (b. 1867) Alice (b.1869) Ellen (b. 1871) Minnie (b. 1874) Joseph (b. 1876) Emma (b. 1879) and Fanny (b.1884)

The children attended the first Provisional School in Humpybong and appear in the first school register in 1876.

John was an engineer on the Sugar Farm owned by John Ham at Clontarf and he also ran a ferry boat across the bay from Woody Point to Sandgate.


John Died in on 24th September 1889 in West End, Brisbane aged 53 years. Eliza passed away on 8th October 1927 aged 88 years. They are both buried together in the Humpybong (Redcliffe) Cemetery. Plot 1/B/8.



Adams was also called Llewellyn St in 1890s and Ross Street in the early 1900s.


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