Queen Alexandra Home

Hatherton an elegant two-storey house was built for local Coorparoo resident Reuben Nicklin in 1886 as a home for himself, wife Jane (nee Lahey) and their children George, Alice and William. After the tragic death of Reubin and his wife Jane when the SS Quetta foundered in Torres Strait on 28 February 1890 Hatherton was home to Alice and William and some of their Lahey relatives.

In 1911 Hatherton became Queen Alexandra Children's Home. With gas for cooking and lighting, space to sleep 50 children, was close to public transport, beside the Coorparoo State school and acreage for growing food and keeping cows it was considered an excellent venture by the Methodist Church.

Growth in the number of children needing care resulted in the adding of another wing in 1919. This two-storey wing, stepped back a little from the original home also features lace balustrading and was named after the first President Mrs JJ Kingsbury.

In the late 1950s the Methodist Conference decided rather than the children growing up in a large institution it was better for them to grow up in units or cottage settlements. In August 1960 children and staff started moving into cottages. Meanwhile the home had been purchased by the government for use as a 'Home Crafts Centre' to be known as Alexandra House. During the 1960s and 70s it was part of the Kangaroos Point Technical College and in the 1980s it was a South Brisbane COTAH Campus.

On 30 August 1986 Alexandra House had another name change when it became Queen Alexandra Home Community Centre, however, part of the site was still used by COTAH. Since 2001 when AccessEd took over the site and established offices in the former Hatherton the two big rooms in the Kingsbury Wing are available for community use and venue available for hiring by the public and organisations.