My grandfather Alfred Arthur Brookes is one of my brick walls. At first he was a hiccup, then a stumbling block. now I feel he is a dead end.

My first record of him is in the 1913 Electoral Roll for Leyburn, Darling Downs, Queensland. He was living at Thane's Creek and was a farm labourer. There is an Alfred Brookes in the 1905 roll for Oxley, Brisbane South living in William Street, occupation Salesman. It appears that an Eliza Brookes was also living there. As my Alfred was born in 1888, I feel that the 1905 Alfred is too old to be mine.
My next record is his marriage certificate to my grandmother Alice Emmiline Wode on 10 December 1918 in Warwick. He states that he is 30 years old, a batchelor, birthplace Ipswich, Queensland, a labourer, and that his parents were William Brookes and Mabel Prentice.
He then appears in the 1925, 1937, 1943, 1949, and 1954 Electoral rolls.
My grandmother was the informant on his death certificate. Same parents names, same birth place.

My problem is - I can't find any birth record for him or any record of his parents. I have searched BDM's in Queensland and New South Wales, in England, Cemetery records, Electoral rolls, shipping records, anything I can think of to find his parents. All for no results.

The only clue that I have is a story told by my Uncle Selwyn. Grandfather and Selwyn were in Nambour one day when they were approached by a woman who recognised Grandfather. She said they had gone to school together in Maitland, New South Wales. Unfortunately, Uncle Selwyn could not remember her name, and has since passed on.

If there is anybody out there with william Brookes or Mabel Prentice or Alfred Arthur Brookes (birth date 22 Feb 1888) in their tree, please contact me.
If anyone has any ideas of where else to look, or any suggestions at all, I would be pleased to hear from you.
I am not quite ready to give up on him yet.