Time and Place Issue 1 Spring 2001 - Queensland Heritage Council

S P R I N G 2001
I S S U E N Ọ 1
&place
TIME Quarterly Queensland Heritage Council newsletter
Modern
HERITAGE

4 6
3. Introduction
Welcome from the Minister for
Environment and Chair of the
Queensland Heritage Council
4. Postmodern Predilections
Reflections on modern
Queensland heritage
6. Foundation Stones
Queensland’s public buildings
- uncovering their stories and
the people who look
1
after them today
7 8 8
7. News from the Council 8. Grants
8. Heritage Register
Heritage news from around Stories from the Heritage New listings in the Queensland
the State
Incentive Program
Heritage Register
SSUE
o
INTRODUCING TIME & PLACE
.
Built heritage has traditionally been seen also possess state cultural heritage
as something old and pretty to look at. significance.
The first issue of Time and Place, the Foundation Stones in turn looks at how
quarterly newsletter of the Queensland Queensland’s historic public buildings
COVER: The changing face of Queensland’s cultural
heritage - examples of what heritage in the twentyfirst
Heritage Council, challenges that notion. are currently managed for modern day
century might look like years from now. The feature article considers how use, and News from the Council keeps
MAIN PHOTO: Dragon House, Sunshine Beach
(designed by John Mainwaring & Associates) communities can understand and readers up to date with what is
INSET FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Bundaberg Airport,
Bundaberg (designed by Noel Robinson Architects)
conserve places that have been built happening in heritage arenas
Riverside Building, Brisbane The Arbour, Southbank since the second world war but which throughout the state.
FEATURES 3
Time and Place is the Official Newsletter of the Queensland Heritage Council
Queensland Heritage Council
Secretariat, Level 9, 160 Ann Street, Brisbane QLD.
Postal Address - P.O.Box 155, Brisbane Albert Street QLD 4002.
Telephone - (07) 3227 6499 Facsimile - (07) 3227 7803
Designed by
E-mail - heritage.council@env.qld.gov.au
Chair of the Queensland Heritage Council ................................................................................ John Brannock
Unit 16 Hill House
71 Bradley Street
Spring Hill Qld 4000
TELEPHONE 07 3839 3144
FACSIMILE 07 3839 3155
www.bravecreative.com.au
Deputy Chair of the Queensland Heritage Council ................................................................. Karen Trainor
Manager, Cultural Heritage Branch ................................................................................................. Helen Gregory
Editor ................................................................................................................................................................ Andrew Blythe
Please provide appropriate acknowledgement when quoting articles.

Minister’s Foreword
Welcome to the first edition of Time and Place,
the quarterly newsletter of the Queensland Heritage
Council.
The council plays a vital role in ensuring that
Queensland’s cultural heritage places are recognised
and protected. As well as entering places in the
State Heritage Register, the council’s role in
approving development of registered places
supports the initiative of those who seek to ensure
that our important cultural heritage places remain
viable parts of their communities.
As Minister, I believe our cultural heritage is
extremely important in maintaining the sense of
identity which defines us as individuals, as
members of the communities in which we live, and
as Queenslanders.
All of our heritage places have their own unique
stories to tell of the way people dealt with the
challenge of making a living and building
communities. This spirit of initiative, innovation
and determination is reflected in all of Queensland’s
cultural heritage places, and forms an essential part
of Queensland’s culture. It is also gratifying that
cultural heritage places in many parts of rural and
regional Queensland are attractive to tourists. Our
cultural heritage is special - it can be experienced
no where else on earth.
I believe our cultural heritage
is extremely important in
maintaining the sense of
identity which defines us as individuals…
The Heritage Council is also to be congratulated for
ensuring some of its meetings are held outside
Brisbane so that the points of view and interests of all
parts of Queensland can be considered. This newsletter
is another important step in sharing the challenge of
the appropriate management of our cultural heritage.
The honourable Dean Wells MP
Minister for En v i ronment and
Member for Mu r ru m b a
Chair’s Comments
The Heritage Council remains committed to working with local communities and
local governments to promote the best management of these heritage places…
When the Heritage Council formulated its ‘Direction
Principles’ it was always envisaged that an informative
and engaging newsletter would be one of the most
important ways that the Council could promote
cultural heritage to the wider Queensland community.
Now that this is a reality I am pleased to present
our first issue, which focuses on modern heritage
and the importance of conserving a wide range of
places, not just the very old and the very elaborate.
The State Heritage Register is an inventory of all of
these places that are conserved and maintained for
everyone to enjoy, now and in the future.
The places chosen are representative of what is
important to us as a community, and remain as a
visual reminder of Queensland’s history and the
events and people that laid the foundation for our
modern society.
The Heritage Council remains committed to
working with local communities and local
governments to promote the best management of
these heritage places and welcomes any feedback,
whether from the contents of this newsletter, its
regional visits or the proceedings of its monthly
meetings.
John Brannock
3 .

POSTMODERN
PREDILECTIONS
Post-Second World War built heritage does not seem to be as
valued by communities as places that are older, elaborately
decorated and more traditionally seen as heritage. Helen Gregory,
Manager of the Cultural Heritage Branch interviewed Malcolm
Middleton, urban designer, architect, and newest member of the
Queensland Heritage Council for his thoughts on the future of
modern heritage.
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Treasury Building, Brisbane Roma War
Memorial and Heroes Avenue, Roma Birrell Carpark, Spring Hill
Fulton House, Indooroopilly former 4BU Studio, Bundaberg
Tieri War Memorial, Tieri St Monica’s New Cathedral, Cairns
I believe your predominant professional interest does not lie in heritage
architecture, but you are now a member of the Queensland Heritage
Council. Do you feel any conflict between generally accepted ideas of
“heritage” and your work as a contemporary architect?
MALCOLM:
No, I have always believed that history and the architecture of the past
can provide insights into contemporary design problems. It is for this
reason I have been a member of the National Trust since 1969. I believe
that all designers who are influencing the built environment should have
an understanding of built history. Without this they may not understand
the context in which a new building is designed and created. As the rate
of growth increases there are rapid and major changes in the existing
environment.
HELEN:
HELEN:
4 .
Why do you think it is harder for the community to accept modern, or
more properly post-modern, architecture has cultural heritage
significance, especially since its value in other art forms, for example
painting or antiques, has been comfortably categorised and ascribed a
measure of significance?
MALCOLM:
The simplistic answer is that it is young. Our attitudes to buildings are
dependent on our life experience of them, what I call the ‘lifetime test’.
New buildings start out obviously fresh and as we get older they become
of a different era, but not yet old. For this reason we can ascribe value to
things that are obviously old, for example stone buildings or classical
design, but our attitudes haven’t materially changed towards those that
are newer.
The problem is further compounded because the social purpose and often
relevance of older buildings, for example post offices, has changed. We
value them as structures with a purpose and we can readily ascribe them
value as places that communicate meaning. When we look at newer
buildings, for example mail or data centres, we do not see the same
significance because the purpose of the building is different, for example
as a place to store electronic data.
Furthermore, factory produced building materials are not valued as much
because we see them in abundance elsewhere and they don’t have the same
association of permanence and don’t represent labour intensive production.
HELEN:
So what you are saying is that the general community sees ‘old’ as being
‘pretty’ and responds accordingly?
MALCOLM:
Yes, but there is more to it. The community sees the physical without
necessarily appreciating the equally important underlayer of social
purpose and use which, when combined with the fabric, is what gives the
building or place significance. Within the architectural profession there
has been a shift in my lifetime in what is taught about cultural
methodology. Designers and academics have responded with new criteria,
and new aesthetics, with which to value buildings. This arguably is not
readily apparent to the general community. Again I think the lifetime test
applies. It takes time for a place to develop a culture and a patina of use,
always assuming that the place has an intrinsic value that will develop
and be respected over time.
I also think the issue of “prettiness” shows a symbolic value of older
aesthetic styles giving a certain amount of community comfort in a time
of rapid change. The desire to decorate mass housing with the merest
facade of past or imported styles is an example of this.
HELEN:
Does the fact that society is perceived to be changing faster mean that
things (items, ideas, places) become ‘the past’ or ‘historical’ much sooner?
MALCOLM:
Many buildings and places are certainly becoming irrelevant faster. The
demise of most of the wonderful picture theatres in urban Australia is a
good example. Where there is less development pressure and less impact of
technology they have survived physically, if not economically. We still go
to the movies but in an entirely different technological and social way.

DERN
I think places of potential historic value do have to stand some test of time MALCOLM:
to establish what this value really is. Often, however, this does not happen The value of place has changed regularly over the years. Australian
because of growth pressures. The “past” is arriving more quickly, but the colonies for example began as towns that gradually radiated outward but
value tests for history often do not have time to develop momentum. without a rural history. Up until the 1950s the cities remained vital places
What is also of a concern is the artificial nature of trying to design where most people lived and worked. However, when we apply the lifetime
modern buildings to represent past values that are redundant or that test today, we realise that half a century on, most people’s experience of
simply never existed. This can provide great confusion in attempting to cities is of a place with extensive suburbanisation. Many people alive today
measure meaning and relevance of style.
have experienced first hand the decline of inner-city areas as desirable
places to live and raise a family. The Great Australian Dream pushed them
HELEN:
further outward into the suburban realm so that today the suburbs
And in some ways this illusion is nothing new. In Victorian times there dominate the landscape. This image persists even though we are now
was a move to produce housing in the industrialised precincts that seeing that trend reverse, as once again the city centres are valuing what
mimicked the country life it had usurped, again as an attempt to invoke they once were - vital, livable places.
values that had disappeared, but that people still saw a being a beacon What I think is also changing the notion of place is the whole demographic
of certainty in an ever-changing world.
of society. Households were larger. Now as household size dramatically
declines we find that the same inner city landmass is housing the same
MALCOLM:
number of people but in a completely different urban and social pattern.
This is an interesting area to consider. It may be that this desire to evoke
the past, however superficially, is an accurate reflection of our lack of HELEN:
cultural heritage depth that is produced by the era we live in. At the You have said in other forums that current standards of urban design
same time we have a general community wealth base and education and community perceptions of our urban context are matters of great
standards that allow us to examine these issues in a way that we have concern to you. Could you expand on this?
never done before.
MALCOLM:
It must also be remembered that some buildings were never designed to
It is important that we design solutions that can accommodate today’s
last for posterity and yet still manage to establish themselves in our
requirements and anticipate future needs. We have to make good
social value systems. The Cloudland Ballroom in Brisbane was only ever
decisions because we know that rapid change will continue. For me a
intended as a temporary venue for entertainment and was constructed
good example is the re-use of the Treasury Building. It was vacant, and
accordingly. The point is that buildings of substance are grounded in the
had little prospect of being used to its potential until the Casino adapted
values of the society that creates them.
it to a use that still retained its cultural heritage significance. It wasn’t a
HELEN:
use or a design that everyone liked, but it kept the building and the city
in good repair and let people rediscover it.
Given these observations on social change and what things mean in a
society, will the 21st century see much more emphasis on, or
With the push to reinvigorate cities there has been some good debate on
understanding of, ‘place’ as a series of ideas bound up in a physical
how they will evolve as places, for example the South Bank development.
expression, and less emphasis on whether the ‘bricks and mortar’ are put
Good design solutions will continue if the debate informs the process
together in a particularly clever fashion?
through outcomes like this.
5 .

[FOUNDATION STONES]
QUEENSLAND’S PUBLIC BUILDINGS
n
Public buildings feature prominently when reviewing Queensland’s rich and varied cultural heritage. Hospitals, schools, court houses and
railway yards spring readily to mind, but there are many more that fit the bill.
If public buildings are defined through their use by government in the deployment of its services, then we should probably also consider
university campuses and wharves. How about housing commission homes and customs houses? Lighthouses and state-owned enterprises
like butcher shops and insurance halls? When considered in entirety, public buildings stand as a vast monument to the sheer breadth of
government activity since the colony of Moreton Bay was settled in 1824 through the period of Queensland’s separation from New South
Wales in 1859, through Federation and into the twenty-first century. This series of short articles aims to uncover the stories these
buildings tell, through their physical fabric and the government agencies that are entrusted with their care.
S P O T L I G H T
O N
FEDERATION
HOUSE
“Federation House in festive mood during its 1998
launch as home for Centenary of Federation Queensland”
Federation House is home to the team responsible for the Centenary Of
Federation celebrations in Queensland. After extensive conservation
and repainting it has been adapted specifically for this purpose. But, it
has, however, been known by many other names, and demonstrates
layers of government achievements and initiatives in Queensland.
Constructed in 1866 on land which, in convict times, had been the
Commandant’s (chief military officer) garden, it was purpose-built as
an immigration depot. With the closure of the penal settlement in
1839, and the arrival of free settlers after 1842, the depot was one part
of a government initiative to entice the healthiest and sturdiest of the
British agricultural classes to emigrate to the colony. Until the building
was opened, they had been forced to endure temporary accommodation
in the old military barracks. By 1864 these had decayed so badly that
one critic noted “The lowest of menials in government pay would
shudder at the thought of having to reside even temporarily in such an
abominable shed”. The new depot was for many the first experience of
colonial life, a place of comfort after their harrowing months at sea,
but not so comfortable as to provide a disincentive to immediately
travel the colony and find work! Ironically it seems the building was
not kept in good repair and in 1887 Dr Joseph Bancroft, Brisbane’s
Medical Officer, declared it unfit for human habitation.
By 1890 it had begun a completely new life as the headquarters of the
newly formed Department Of Agriculture. The growing importance of
agriculture to the colony and subsequent fledgling state was matched
by the growth of the building. From 1899 to 1935 it was extended no
fewer than 7 times, covering an area four times its original size. During
this time the building housed a Museum of Economic Botany, the
Agricultural Chemistry Laboratory and government Seeds Laboratory.
The site supported a vast hub of scientists working in the field, and it
was from here that much pioneering research into pest control and crop
infestation was undertaken in the 1920s. The Department of Primary
Industries, as it had become known, vacated the building only in 1989,
and the vast majority of those additions were demolished to make way
for the new William street government offices opened in 1994.
What remains today is the original immigration depot built in 1866
with its 1899 additions built for the Department of Agriculture. The
layering of the building and its proximity to the main hub of
government along William and George streets tells an important story
about the evolution of government in Queensland and its initiatives
over time.
For many migrants it represented that first taste of what life in a new
land might entail, and for those associated with farming and
agriculture, it represented for many years the central focus of
government endeavours to improve stock, crop and pasture quality.
It is appropriate that in 2001 its current occupants are promoting the
Centenary of Federation, and a way of life that laid the foundation
stones of modern Queensland.
6 .

e
ws
NEWS FROM THE COUNCIL
BELOW: Glengallan, Warwick
BELOW RIGHT: Court House, Roma
QUEENSLAND HERITAGE
TRAILS NETWORK
An Australian first in its concept, the
Queensland Heritage Trails Network (QHTN) is
a $110 million project which by the end of
2002, will feature 32 exciting tourism
attractions in rural and regional Queensland.
Each attraction will present the stories,
characters, buildings and natural heritage
which have helped to shape Queensland. The
Queensland Government and the
Commonwealth Government, through the
Federation Fund, have formed a unique partnership with local
government and the private sector to generate jobs, stimulate tourism
and conserve heritage.
One of QHTN’s major Darling Downs projects centres on Glengallan, a two
storey sandstone homestead built near Warwick in 1867. The project will
take the more unusual path of partial renovation as a reflection of the both
the grandeur and decline of the pastoral industry. The expansive verandahs
and internal staircase will be restored. The ornamental front garden and
landscaping will be re-established, further enhancing the magnificent
setting of this imposing homestead.
Glengallan will also play a major role in piecing together and presenting a
history of the development of the Darling Downs. It has a significant place in
the history of the pastoral industry of that part of Queensland but, when linked
with several other significant sites, its value to the network takes on additional
meaning and importance. Other QHTN attractions on the Darling Downs
include the Cobb & Co. Museum at Toowoomba and the Jondaryan Woolshed.
For more information visit the Network at www.heritagetrails.qld.gov.au
or telephone Julie Carter on (07) 322 78144.
NEW GUIDANCE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Local governments have been required to consider a range of
environmental management issues, including cultural heritage, in their
new planning schemes prepared under the Integrated Planning Act. Some
councils have little prior experience in cultural heritage management.
The Cultural Heritage Branch of the Environmental Protection Agency
has developed a comprehensive set of guidelines to help councils provide
appropriately for cultural heritage places in their planning schemes.
Addressing both historical and indigenous heritage, the guidelines
provide advice on the process of identification, consultation with the
community and plan-making. Planning and heritage conservation
professionals will also find the guidelines useful. Copies of the
guidelines, which have already been sent to local governments
throughout Queensland, are available at $45.00 per set from the
Naturally Queensland Information Centre, 160 Ann Street. Orders can be
posted to EPA, Naturally Queensland, PO Box 155, Brisbane Albert Street
QLD 4002, faxed on 07 3227 8749 or emailed to nqic@env.qld.gov.au
COUNCIL VISIT TO ROMA
In April the Heritage Council held its
first regional meeting of the year in
Roma. The Roma City Council kindly
made its chambers available for the
meeting and gave the councillors a
tour of the local landmarks. This
hospitality also included a lunch
hosted by the Booringa Shire Council and attended by councillors from the
Waroo and Bungil shire councils. All shire councillors were keen to share
their interest and pride in the heritage of their local communities as they
treated the ‘out-of-towners’ to a Cook’s tour of Mitchell and its surrounds.
The Heritage Council thanks them for their generosity of time, their
insights, and stories about conserving our heritage in regional Queensland.
QUEENSLAND CENTENARY OF FEDERATION
Queensland’s diverse Centenary of
Federation celebration program
includes a mix of community-based
events as well as a $10.2 million
community grant program. The
common links between 178 projects
funded statewide are the lasting legacies the projects will leave to their
local areas, their value in illuminating and sharing the stories of the
making of the nation, past and future, and the community involvement
turning these dreams into reality.
In Mackay, one of the earliest and most decorative timber churches
which survives in northern Queensland will be restored using a
Centenary of Federation Queensland grant. St Paul’s was constructed in
1897, and the building has been the subject of a demolition debate
within the Uniting Church for the past 15 years.
In the central west, Muttaburra’s Dr Arratta Memorial Hospital Museum
and Cassimatis’ Store and House will be restored, paying tribute to
migrants and pioneers for their contribution to regional communities.
For more on these and other projects visit the website at
www.federation.qld.gov.au
7 .

GRANTS
The Queensland Community Cultural Heritage Incentive Program (the
‘Heritage Incentive Program’) has been developed to enhance
appreciation and enjoyment of Queensland’s history and the way in
which cultural heritage places inform us of this history. It supports:
- the Queensland Indigenous community’s aspirations to document and
conserve sites and places of heritage value,
- community and local government aspirations to document and assess
places of heritage value,
- best-practice conservation planning and physical works associated
with places of heritage value.
STRATHEARN
Strathearn was built in 1920 under the Anzac Cottage Scheme to provide
accommodation for the families of Queensland enlisted soldiers or sailors
who died during the First World War. Funds to build the cottages were
raised in some of the first Golden Casket lottery draws. Of the 38 built in
Brisbane, Strathearn is one of the only ones remaining. A grant of $5000
has been given to the current owners to carry out urgent stabilisation
and restumping work. One of these owners is the great-granddaughter of
the original cottage recipient, and with her partner purchased the house
‘site unseen’ to prevent its demolition.
ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF HERITAGE LISTING
The Queensland University of Technology has been awarded a grant of
$5000 to investigate the economic impacts of heritage listing properties
in urban and regional Queensland. The study will review existing
nationwide initiatives and studies relating to heritage listing, identify
current specific influences on property value, specify conditions or areas
of particular susceptibility and sensitivity and create an inventory of
information sources currently used in valuing heritage properties. It is
envisaged that a second part of the study will apply these findings to
case studies throughout Queensland to provide practical changes to the
current system of valuation through a series of ‘Notes for Guidance” for
local councils.
OUT OF THE ARCHIVES -
HISTORIC LANGUAGE BOOK
The Kombumerri Aboriginal Corporation for
Culture has been awarded a grant of $5000 to
republish the language works of Bullumm (John
Allen), an Aboriginal man from the
Wangerriburra/Yugambeh language region in
south-east Queensland. They were originally
documented in 1912 by John Lane, a school
teacher and Utopian who was commissioned by
the government to work with Bullumm to record
what was thought to be an extinct language.
This new publication reprints the 1912 works
and include profiles of both Bullumm and John
Lane in their social context. Access to this
valuable resource will be greatly increased for
the Yugambeh people, as well as linguists and
educators who are researching the language,
heritage and culture of the indigenous people of
south-east Queensland.
NEW LISTINGS IN
THE QUEENSLAND
HERITAGE REGISTER
The Queensland Heritage Register
lists places of cultural heritage
significance throughout the state.
Below is a selection of recently
entered items.
If you require information on
nominating a place to
the register then please telephone
(07) 3227 6499 for a
complimentary information sheet
or e-mail
heritage.council@env.qld.gov.au
8 .
FORMER STATE BUTCHER’S SHOP
From 1915 to 1929 more than 90
state butchers’ shops operated
throughout Queensland to provide
cheap meat to thousands of
families. Although many were
leased, this shop in Roma, still a
butcher’s shop today, was one of
only six that were purpose-built.
OTHER PLACES RECENTLY ADDED TO THE REGISTER INCLUDE:
O’SHEA’S DRAYTON COTTAGE
The cottage is of the oldest
examples of the simpler houses
lived in by rural pioneers and the
working classes in colonial times.
The current owners are relatives of
Patrick O’Shea who built the
cottage over 125 years ago.
RADAR STATION
The Charlie’s Hill Radio Direction
and Ranging (RADAR) Station was
constructed in 1943 as part of the
Second World War defences mounted
in north Queensland. Comprising two
aerial towers and two ‘igloos’, one
with receiving equipment and one
with transmitting equipment, the
station was staffed around the clock
with operators, plotters, and recorders.
Selwyn House Mackay, David Fleay Wildlife Park Tallebudgera, Proserpine Hospital Proserpine, Former Newport Meatworks and Wharf
St Lawrence, Old St Mark’s Anglican Church Slacks Creek, Allora Cemetery Allora, Hibernian Hall Roma, Warwick General Cemetery Warwick,
Millbrook Toowoomba, Woody Island Lighthouse Hervey Bay, Sir Anthony’s Rest Bundaberg
If you require further information on these or other places listed in the register please e-mail Joanne.Ketter@env.qld.gov.au
ISSN: 1445-6397
© Crown copyright Printed August 2001