Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Dods House, Wickham Terrace

Dr Espie Dods was already practicing on Wickham Terrace before he moved further up the hill to Callender House. His earlier rooms were at 97 Wickham Terrace, in a building designed for him by his architect brother, Robin, pictured below.
(Photo: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library; #107372)

Built around 1906, the house was a combined residence and surgery as were several other buildings on "The Terrace" at that time. In fact the Dods brothers' step-father, Dr Charles Marks, lived next door in the house that was demolished in 1982 to allow the construction of Silverton, a multi-storey development that stands on that site now. (Photo: DERM)

The combined house and surgery that Robin Dods designed for his brother is still standing. Around the time that Silverton was constructed next door, it was converted to a restaurant known as Dods House - a tribute to the Dods brothers. It is shown above in that guise. One night many years ago, I was dining there and saw George Negus of 60 Minutes fame. Back when he was a humble high school teacher, Negus happened to have been my cricket coach. As he was leaving, I decided to say hello, and stood up to shake his hand. "G'day George" I said. "Yeah, g'day mate" he growled in a style unmistakeably meaning "Piss off, you idiot!" and without even looking at me, he brushed past me at a fair clip and disappeared. I can't blame him, it must be annoying having people wanting to accost you because you're famous. I did see (and talk) to him several years after that when he was a guest speaker at a conference organised by my employer, a funds management company. We had a chat about the old school days, but I didn't mention that he gave me the flick at Dods House. (Photo: © 2010 the foto fanatic)

Since the creation of the initial restaurant, Dods House has had a few reincarnations as different bars and restaurants, a couple of them in the "adult" category. It is currently called Pink Piano, and here is its web site.

Click here for a Google Map.

tff

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2 comments:

  1. At least you had had a personal relationship with Negus, even if it was decades ago :) Imagine being accosted day and night by people you have never met and don't know from a bar of soap.

    Spouse and I were strolling down Lygon St Carlton late one night and bumped into Telly Savalas who seemed to be alone. He could not have been more gracious - I was well impressed.
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  2. Yes, I must say that he was a terrific guy as a teacher at one of Brisbane's less well-off schools. I met him again after I left school when he was a journalist with The Australian and we had a couple of drinks together. In retrospect I shouldn't have ambushed him on his way out of Dods House. At that time he was extremely well known, and I'm sure just wanted to escape unscathed from a fairly public place.
    tff
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