Rosewood History. Qld.
Rosewood Pioneers

Charles RIDSDALE

 Wheelwright, Builder, Plumber, Contractor

© Jane Schy 2026

Charles Ridsdale was enrolled in the electoral Division of Rosewood on 14th March 1898. He was a wheelwright by trade and lived on part Portion 283, Parish of Walloon, Township of Rosewood. He must have been working in the area beforehand, as he was a member of the Rosewood Cricket Team in 1894.

Charles was born on 13th March 1868 at West Ipswich, in a home in the vicinity of the One Mile Bridge. His parents Charles RIDSDALE and Mary née BOULTON were from Yorkshire, England. His father was employed in some capacity at Queen’s Park in Ipswich. After his mother died in May 1901, his father was bereft and indulged too much in drinking. As a consequence of that, he was not fit to carry out his duties and was dismissed in July. He passed away a few months later in October 1901.

Charles had four siblings:
Mary Jane RIDSDALE = Frederick MAKINS
Maria RIDSDALE  = 1. Thomas McKENZIE 2. Alfred BLAKE
George RIDSDALE = Sarah Jane GRIMSEY
Margaret Ann RIDSDALE = Ernest RICHARD

He met Alice Emma MASON in Rosewood. She was the daughter of Richard and Emily Mason. Charles and Alice married on 28th November 1894 in Rosewood. They had three children who, heartbreakingly, all died in infancy.

Charles Richard Ridsdale 27/12/1895-26/02/1896
Gladys May Ridsdale 17/06/1897-06/07/1897
Mary Emily Ridsdale 30/04/1903-18/11/1903

Charles learned the skills of carpentry and became a very well known building contractor. He employed a team of carpenters and supervised the construction of a very large number of buildings in Rosewood and throughout the district, as well as buildings in Ipswich, Boonah, Wynnum and Brisbane. 

Some examples of work he successfully tendered for locally are:

  • August 1898 – Mr. C. Ridsdale successfully tendered for ticket-selling and night-watching at the Rosewood Show.
  • 20July 1899 – New Buildings – One was completed for Mr. John Jacobs, who had recently disposed of his farm. One was being built for Mr F. Juillerat who was retiring from farming pursuits. (Both by Contractor C. Ridsdale)
  • November 1902 – A shop and dwelling for Mrs C. Lane in Albert Street.
  • January 1905 – The tender of C. Ridsdale. at £683, was accepted by the Government for the erection of a new State school at Rosewood. The time allowed was four months.
  • 19 October 1905 – The tender of C. Ridsdale for additions to the State school residence and fencing at Rosewood; price, £61 was accepted by the Works Department.
  • February 1906 – The erection of the Mount Tarampa provisional school, C. Ridsdale, £101 10s.
  • September 1906 – The tender of C. Ridsdale, £98, was accepted for the repair and painting of the Mount Walker State School.
  • February 1907 – The erection of a provisional school at Mount Stradbroke, Glamorgan Vale, C. Ridsdale, £105 5s.
  • February 1907 – The tender of C. Ridsdale was accepted for the erection of a Courthouse at Rosewood, the contract price being £791 15s.
  • October 1907 – The new rectory of the Rosewood Anglican Church is now nearing completion. It has an attractive appearance, contains seven rooms, a bathroom and pantry, and is skirted on the front and on one side by a spacious verandah. The opening ceremony will be performed by his Grace the Anglican Archbishop on Wednesday, October 23. The architect for the building was Mr. G. B. Gill, of the “Queensland Times” Chambers, and the contractor was Mr. C. Ridsdale, of Rosewood. 
  • May 1908 – Construction of the Tallegalla Methodist Church, cost £120. The contractor Mr. C. Ridsdale, very kindly donated £1 0s, and agreed to accept all liability. (The final cost came in under the quote at £117 12s 6d.)
  • July 1908  – Grandchester, repairs and painting, State school buildings. C. Ridsdale, £48.
  • July 1908 – Rosevale State school, repairs, &c.. C. Ridsdale, £49 15s.
  • September 1908 – Marburg State School, improvements etc. C. Ridsdale.£115 10s.
  • November 1908 – Repairs and painting of the Alfred State School: C. Ridsdale, £49 10s.
  • December 1908 January 1909 – Charles Ridsdale pulled down the old building and built the new Rosewood Congregational Church and Sunday School using new and old material.
  • May 1909 – Mount Walker Church of Christ. Mr. C. Ridsdale erected the building on a piece of land given by Mr. F. Henricksen in close proximity to the road. It was expected that the church would be completed within a month. 
  • June 1909 – Erection of a State school at Mount Marrow; C. Ridsdale, £169 15s.
  • November 1909 – A new residence for the teacher at State school, Lock Rose, Forest Hill, C. Ridsdale, £298 15s.
  • April 1910 – Erection of play shed at Mount Forbes, near Rosewood. C. Ridsdale, £34 5s.
  • April 1910 – Erection of play shed at Prenzlau, near Rosewood. C. Ridsdale £36 10s.
  • June 1910 – The new hurdle posts (voluntarily made by Mr. C. Ridsdale) were placed on the grounds ready for use.
  • June 1910 – Repairs and painting of the State school at Prenzlau: C. Ridsdale, £50.
  • March 1911 – Repairs and internal painting to Kirchheim State School: C. Ridsdale, £63/10/.
  • June 1911 – Mr. Ridsdale completed a beautiful residence for Mr. J. C. Holzwart, of the Mount Marrow district.
  • October 1911 – Lark Hill. Mr. Strasburg had a fine residence erected by Contractor C. Ridsdale.
  • 13 December 1911- Mount Marrow. The tap of the carpenter’s hammer is again heard in this district. Mr. C. Ridsdale, of Rosewood, has been very busy erecting a nice new house for Mr. P. O’Shea, Inspector of Railways, Toowoomba, on his property here, which is at present occupied by Mr. John O’Shea. The building is just completed, and is of a very nice design, and is another acquisition to the already well-built houses in our centre.
  • January 1913 – The buildings at the Mount Marrow school were all nicely painted, and an additional tank was added to ensure a plentiful supply of water. The contract was carried out by Mr. Ridsdale, of Rosewood.
  • March /April 1914 – Contractor C. Ridsdale erected the new Rosewood Hotel and new shops for Messrs. Fites and Fraser to replace those which were destroyed by fire earlier in the year. 
  • April 1914 – C. Ridsdale built a residence for Mrs. Yarrow on the Marburg road. Mr. R. Sellars was arranging to having a new residence built by Charles.
  • 14 April 1914 – Grandchester. Mr. C. Ridsdale has completed his contract at the State School. The improvements include the lining the walls of the building and removing the raised floor on which the rows of desks were previously placed. The desks and seats are now on a level floor, and can be removed when required.
  • May 1914 – Fencing at the State school Marburg. C. Ridsdale, £ 64.10s.
  • May 1914 – The tender of C. Ridsdale, £35/10/, had been accepted for the construction of a new roof for the Tallegalla State School. 
  • March 1916 – For erecting a fence around the School of Arts building at Rosewood. C. Ridsdale’s tender of £32 5s was accepted, the work to be completed within three months.
  • May 1916 – The last job Charles completed was building a grandstand on the show grounds at Rosewood. His tender of £285 was accepted for a stand to accommodate 400 persons. Sufficient room was also allowed underneath the building to provide for the publican’s booth and an official luncheon room.

Charles was strong and robust until a few months before he died. When he became ill, Alice took him to recuperate by the sea at Wynnum, but despite everything possible being done he gradually became weaker. He was transported home from Wynnum by the Ipswich ambulance on Friday evening 20th October 1916. His health rapidly declined and he passed away on Sunday morning (22nd) aged 48 years. The burial service was conducted at Tallegalla Cemetery by the Rev. C. A. Capern of the Rosewood Congregational Church, assisted by Mr. P. Hickey, P.N.G., who read the burial service on behalf of the Manchester Unity Order of Oddfellows. (Charles was a member.)

Alice placed a notice in the Queensland Times on Saturday 4th Nov 1916 on page 6.
Mrs. C. Ridsdale and relatives of the late Mr. Chas. Ridsdale, desire to express their heartfelt THANKS to all those who sent letters, cards of condolence, and wreaths, and otherwise showed a sympathy with them in their recent and sad bereavement; especially Messrs J. Elder, P. Sellars, G. Dale, G. Brown, C. Williams, Rev. C. A. Capern and many others.

Charles left Alice the residential property described as resubdivisions 59 (1389m2) and 60 (1386m2) of subdivision 19 of portion 283. (74-79 Matthew Street)

Alice left Rosewood around 1919 and went to live at Wynnum. She opened a boarding house in Gratton Terrace, Wynnum South and named it Alkoomia. Alice ran it until six weeks before her death on 22nd March 1930, aged 60 years. 

Alice was interred with Charles at Tallegalla Cemetery. (Plot: T2/1 – 3/07)

Queensland Times (Ipswich, Qld),  Tuesday, 27 October 1925, page 2

 

 

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