
Brunswick St is a street of extremes - boarding houses and houses of ill-repute; priests and prostitutes; night clubs, restaurants, movie theatres, new and recycled apartment buildings and derelict residences. After getting married in a civil ceremony at Newstead House, the lovely mrs tff and I had our wedding reception at what was then one of Brisbane's well-known reception venues - Coolden on Brunswick St. The original Coolden has now been demolished and replaced by a residential apartment complex of the same name.
But, returning to the Primitive Methodist Church. It was built in 1876 to a design of prolific Brisbane architect Richard Gailey, and cost £1,100 at that time. The opening service occurred on 24 September 1876, and this church became "the centre of Primitive Methodism" in Brisbane. After the congregation joined the Fortitude Valley Presbyterians to form a Uniting Church in 1977, this building was no longer needed. It was sold to the Queensland Potters Association in 1982, and now it is the home of Fusions Gallery - well worth a look, too. The real estate sign in my picture gives a smile - it advertises some space to let in the building with the bold headline "Hallelujah!!!"
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tff
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Coolden also had a guest house/boarding house attached. I lived there for some months in 1962/3. There were private rooms downstairs with access to the garden & a dormitory upstairs.
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