Palma Rosa (my picture, above) was designed by Italian-born architect Andrea Stombuco and built in 1886-7 on the hill in Queens Rd Hamilton. Stombuco seems to have had a varied and interesting career, stretching from gold-miner to stone-mason and finally architect. He designed several buildings for the Catholic church, including St Patrick's in the Valley, but Palma Rosa has been described as his "most flamboyant" creation. Click here to go to the web pages of realestate.com, where you can see further images of the interior of this lovely property. Be quick though - I don't know how much longer they'll be there. (Photo: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library; #92286)
In 1911, the South Brisbane Gas & Light Company, which provided gas to the south side of the river, decided that it needed to upgrade its facilities. They sent their engineer to England to look at the most current technology, and his recommendation was to install this tower. It was built in Yorkshire in 1912 by Robert Hempster and Sons, and sent to Brisbane in sections to be erected at the South Brisbane Gas & Light Company's gas works on Montague Rd, West End.
I still haven't told you exactly what it is, have I? :-) Back in 1912, the gas that was being used here in Brisbane was coal gas, not the natural gas we use today. Part of the process that was needed for the gas to be used in homes and businesses involved the removal of ammonia and tar, and this tower performed that function. The gas was piped in at the bottom of the tower, and as it rose to the top it passed over baffels where it was sprayed with water to remove these contaminants. The clean gas was then removed at the top of the tower, and the water drawn off at the bottom could be sold as ammonia liquid. The tower has been moved slightly from its original position - it was originally situated on Montague Rd - but in 1979 its new owners, the National Trust, relocated it to its current site at the rear of Davies Park on Riverside Drive .
The overpass in my photograph is the Dornoch Terrace Bridge, where Dornoch Terrace crosses over Boundary St in West End, and it was constructed by the Brisbane City Council. Unfortunately the plans for it to be part of a river-crossing came to nought. The depression put the building of the University on hold, and then WWII forced cost reductions to the whole project. As a result, the bridge proposal was scrapped. Pictured below in 1940 is some of the work that was carried out before the project was abandoned. (Photo: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library; #191071)
However, Brisbane's growth in population and the resultant strain on infrastructure eventually led to the construction of the Eleanor Schonell Bridge, more commonly known as the "Green Bridge" because it caters only for buses, bicycles and pedestrians. The long dreamed of cross-river link to the university finally became reality when the Green Bridge opened in December 2006.
This rather low-res black-and-white image records the scene at one of Queensland's most violent crimes. It is a nightclub, burning out of control in Fortitude Valley in the early hours of the morning. It is 8 March 1973, thirty-seven years ago today. It is the Whiskey au Gogo. (Photo at www.news.com.au) In the late sixties and early seventies, Brisbane's Fortitude Valley was the equivalent of Sydney's Kings Cross - illegal gambling, strip clubs and prostitution - which all existed because of police corruption that was finally uncovered by the Fitzgerald Inquiry. Also drugs, protection rackets and all sorts of other seedy activity were not only rife, but also condoned by Queensland "wallopers" (police) right to the very top of the organisation.
Now that I'm a committed apartment dweller, I got to thinking about how popular apartments are these days, particularly in those areas close to the city. If people don't mind medium density living, they can be close to the city and near public transport. Back in the recesses of my memory, I recalled that the first high-rise apartment complex was Torbreck at Highgate Hill, built in the late fifties. A quick Google search soon dug up some facts: completed in 1960; built by Noel Kratzman; modern automatic lifts. Here is a drawing held by the John Oxley Library - the architects were from Brisbane, WH Job and RP Froud - and I assume that the drawing came from them originally. (Photo: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library; P 728.31 rei)
And here is one of the first photographs of the completed project, taken in 1963. (Photo: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library; #19468)
When the building was under construction, there was no City Council legislation governing home units. The state government, then headed by Frank Nicklin, heavily supported the concept. As the project was developed before the advent of Strata Title ownership, buyers became investors in the Torbreck Home Units Limited company, and received shares based on the purchase price of their apartment. The promotional literature boasted that: "Each of the 150 home units was designed with at least one private balcony, and was fitted with built-ins, electric kitchen, two telephone connections (bedroom and lounge), sewerage and garbage disposal facilities, washing machine and clothes drier. Water, pumped from the city reservoirs to large storage tanks on the roof, was treated by the latest in American water-softening equipment. Television reception was available, and a swimming pool was constructed in the grounds." An interesting aspect to the project was that the slabs for the floors and roof were pre-fabricated and then lifted into place by cranes. One of the clever innovations that came from the architects was the installation of these vertical louvres to control light and heat on the decks that had eastern or western walls. (Photo: Courtesy Leo Tsimpikas Real Estate via leotsimpikas.com.au)
Here's another of those little buildings that no-one notices. This one is in George St at the Turbot St intersection, and the narrow construction says, at the top, "BAFS Dispensary". Underneath that are two dates: 1885 and 1915.
As Australia developed, there sprang up various unions, co-operatives and friendly societies that were formed to allow groups of individuals to pool resources to help each other. The Brisbane Associated Friendly Societies was one such group. They formed in Brisbane in 1885, and were prominent in health care for the next sixty years or so. The foundation stone of this building was laid in 1915, and it opened in 1916 as the main dispensary and their first owned premises. Membership was then 13,000 and the cost of having the building constructed was raised by a debenture issue. The building was designed by Lange Powell (the Ann St Masonic Temple and St Martin's House, also in Ann St are other examples of his work) and erected for just over £11,000. As well as being a dispensing pharmacy, this building acted as the head office of the group and also provided facilities for meetings of other lodges and friendly societies.
This building is still the head office of the group of Friendly Societies, now operating as Friendly Care Chemists. It seems that they have about eight Queensland locations, and still provide discounted services to members. Good on them!
The railway reached Toowong in 1875, and by 1876 there was a Railway Hotel across the road from the station. The hotel changed its name in 1884, and became the Royal Exchange. It is pictured below from around 1908. The structure next to it is the lookout for the fire station. (Photo: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library)
I'm guessing here, but perhaps the most important thing to happen to the hotel was the building of the new University of Queensland just down the road in the early 1930s. Having a hotel at the rail access point that serviced the uni would have been a blessing to the students and the hotel. It has become a favourite student hangout. The RE has seen some changes - the photo below shows an extension has been added to the left side. (Photo: wikipedia)
Unfortunately the hotel was recently in the news for all the wrong reasons. Usually a place where people go for a drink and a game of pool, or a bet at the TAB and a round or two on the pokies, the RE found itself in the news as two of its security people were charged with murder after the death of a patron who was ejected from the premises. They were found not guilty.
(Photo: © 2010 the foto fanatic)
(Photo: State Library of Queensland and John Oxley Library; #92286)
(Photo: © 2010 the foto fanatic)
