On 27 October we farewelled well-known and highly regarded East Brisbane community personality and activist, crime writer and history buff Joy Loggie (Joyce Audrey Loggie, née Smith) at St Paul’s Anglican Church in East Brisbane. The fact that the service was conducted by the Parish Priest, the Reverend Mark Vincent, who was Joy’s neighbour for many years made the celebration of her life even more special.
Joy’s son Doug gave a loving account of his mother’s rich life from her childhood in war torn London where she developed a passion for reading at the age of eight, becoming a Mothercraft nurse, emigrating to Australia in 1952 at the age of 19 as a ‘ten pound Pom’ and blossoming as a crime writer and local history buff. In late 1953 she met Neil Loggie at a dance at Cloudland Ballroom and after a whirlwind romance they married in February the following year. Their son Doug was born in December 1955.
Neil Loggie was born in 69 Latrobe Street, East Brisbane which has been owned by his family, Loggie and Lloyd, since 1925. He attended East Brisbane Primary School and later joined the RAAF.
After their marriage Neil and Joy moved to RAAF postings in Brisbane, Richmond and Newcastle until 1985. Neil also served in Vietnam for a year. During those years Joy worked as a child care nurse and developed her love of writing, especially in the crime genre; there were always many books and a typewriter and later a computer in the house. She became a prolific author of short stories, crime and other genres and received many accolades.
Due to Neil’s ongoing ill health they returned to Brisbane in 1986, moving into Neil’s family home in Latrobe Street. Sadly Neil passed away in 1997. Joy loved living in such a historic area, she loved the people, the character and history of the houses in her street and the area which had originally been known as Mowbraytown.
It was a Council proposal in 1987 that sparked another interest and passion in Joy. Council wanted to turn Lytton Road into a highway which continued through Latrobe, Elfin and Lisburn Streets, destroying many character homes in the process. Joy was enraged by this proposal and decided to rally the local community and fight against it. She alerted the community with letterbox flyers delivered by local students and door-knocked her neighbourhood. That started a strong wave of community outrage and protests. Joy even managed to get the then Lord Mayor, Sallyanne Atkinson, to visit the area and appreciate the many beautiful old homes and special charm of the tight-knit community. She won that battle when Council abandoned the plans. Joy the community activist had been born.
Joy became passionate about preserving the unique history of East Brisbane and keeping it a safe and quiet suburb. She spent many hours researching and then published a series of booklets and heritage walks about Mowbraytown.
She clearly states her purpose in the introduction to the 2nd edition of Old Mowbraytown…and some of its Notable Neighbours published in November 1990.
‘Old Mowbraytown is not only a book about the past. It asks a question of you, the reader, about the future. Will you, too, treasure this area and resist the progress born of convenience or greed so that those who grow up behind you can experience the rich heritage handed down to our generation?’ Hopefully many readers have accepted her challenge.
In 2017, thirty years after the success of the first community action Joy supported and advised the ‘Lytton Rd is Wide Enough’ action group, which protested against the resumption of homes to make way for the road widening. Unfortunately that battle was lost. However, Joy never gave up on fighting for what she believed in.
After 91 years on this earth Joy died on 16 October 2023. She is survived by her son, Doug and his wife (who live in the family home in Latrobe Street), three granddaughters and six great grandchildren.
We say farewell to a much-loved and admired lady who lived a remarkable life.
Vale Joy Loggie (14 July 1932- 16 October 2023)