Gympie Courthouse is located at the intersection of Channon and King Street, facing Channon Street, but not aligned to it. A face brick building, in the Federation Free Style, it comprises a single storey structure with a substantial clock tower, located on the southern side of the front entrance.
Located on one of the ridges in Gympie, it is a dominant landmark within the town, and together with the Post Office and the Land Office, forms a precinct of Government buildings.
On the Channon Street elevation a shallow set of stairs leads up to a centrally located portico comprising a substantial entablature supported by four columns and two square-planned piers, all with Doric order capitals and bases. A parapeted gable rises above the central section, which incorporates clerestory windows in each side elevation.
The clock tower is also located within the central section, positioned to the southern side of the central entrance. It is a substantial square-planned brick tower, and comprises the tower, which has a clock face in the upper section of each elevation, surmounted by a belvedere with a cupola above. Various mouldings in cement render are located above and below the clock faces and a Coat of Arms addresses the intersection of King and Channon Streets.
The side wings are single storeyed, and the entablature is continued around all four elevations. String courses are located below this at the height of the window heads, which run across a grouping of three double hung windows. The entablature, string courses, window heads and sills are cement rendered.
The side elevations are similar to the front elevations, with central entrances of columns and piers with Doric order capitals and bases. However, they sit flush with the line of the building and do not project forward as the main entrance portico does.
At the rear of the building, the ground slopes away to create two-storeys. The central bay projects forward and contains a two-storeyed arched opening, with steps leading to an entrance on the upper floor. The opening is flanked by doors at the lower level, with double hung windows above. Windows are also located on either side of the central bay.
The building is constructed of Campbell's double pressed Redbank face bricks, buff in colour and layed in Flemish bond. Tuck pointing survives in some areas, and all details are finished in cement render.
The central section of the building contains the court room. It is one and a half storeys high, whilst the two side wings are single storeyed.
Internally, the court room is centrally located, with rooms for support staff in the side wings. These include rooms for the judge, jury, clerks, registrars and, at the rear, toilets.
The court room is intact, apart from a new wall which creates a new entrance at the front of the building, and the addition of fluorescent lighting and new speakers. The walls are plastered with Keens marble cement to dado height, and capped with a plaster moulding, all now painted. Door and window architraves, a band mould under the sills and pilasters are of painted white plaster. The original furniture and cedar joinery remain intact. The ceiling comprises painted timber panels supported by decorative brackets with large Wunderlich ventilators in the central panels.
The secondary offices also have cedar joinery, including fireplaces. All timberwork remains unpainted, apart from the fireplace in the front room on the northern side of the entrance, which has been painted white. The fireplace in the clerk's office has been removed to make way for a new door opening. Various early objects remain in some rooms, including small shelves with mirrors above and large scale maps of the Gympie region.
","history":"The Gympie Court House is the third court house constructed in Gympie and is located in a prominent location on a ridge at the corner of Channon and King Streets. It was constructed between 1900 and 1902 and is a brick structure with a clock tower on the southern side of the front entrance.
The town of Gympie was established after the discovery of gold in the area by James Nash in 1867. At this stage, the new colony of Queensland was in dire financial trouble, and a reward was offered to anyone who discovered gold. Nash received the reward of £3 000, and the rush to the Gympie gold field began. By 1869, the town now known as Gympie had a population of many thousands. It was established so rapidly that by the time the official surveyors arrived in 1868, a substantial amount of the town had already been laid out. This resulted in the town being laid out in an irregular pattern, following the topography of the land and the mining sites, rather than the orthogonal grid pattern familiar to most Queensland towns. The 1868 survey of the town included reserves for public buildings, including the court house reserve.
The first court proceedings in Gympie were held by the Gold Commissioner in a series of temporary structures shortly after the influx of miners to the area. In the late 1860s, a more permanent structure, in the form of a timber slab building was erected on what was known as Commissioner's Hill.
In 1876 a substantial masonry court house building was erected in Channon Street on land reserved for police purposes. This building served the town until the mid 1890s when there was pressure for a new court house, primarily from local Labour politician Andrew Fisher, later the first Queenslander to become Prime Minister of Australia. The 1876 court house building still survives and is now used as the Lands Office.
Although the Colonial Architect was asked to prepare plans for a new court house in 1898, non were prepared until 1900. The delay may have been due to disputes over the site for the new court house, the site on the corner of King and Channon Street eventually being secured in preference to the original court house reserve on Duke Street. The site was selected by Colonial Architect, A B Brady, and the government purchased the land from the QN Bank and a private owner.
The new court house was designed by John S Murdoch who, at the time was an architect in the Department of Public Works. Murdoch had arrived in Australia from Scotland, originally working in Melbourne. He began working for the Queensland Public Works Department in the mid 1880s, leaving temporarily to practice privately before returning in the mid 1890s.
In 1901, he was appointed District Architect for the Central and Northern Division of Queensland, and in this capacity designed many government buildings north of Gympie.
Tenders were called for the building in 1900. The first tenders exceeded the £5000 allocated for its construction, requiring the design to be altered. Rendered cement replaced stonework detailing and fencing and landscaping were omitted altogether. Tenders were once again called and Bundaberg builder Edward Boyle won the contract. Boyle commenced work immediately, supervised by Bundaberg architect, Anton Hettrich, temporarily employed by the Works Department specifically for the purpose. The building was completed in March 1902.
The Gympie Court House was designed to suit the site and was intended to be viewed from all four elevations. The dominant clock tower became a landmark in the town. Murdoch designed the building in keeping with the new style of architecture, using a more refined style of embellishment. As it neared completion in 1901, it was described in the Gympie Times as ...not possess[ing] any architectural beauty....
The clock tower became a dominant landmark and a popular place from which to view and take photographs of the town.
Due to deductions which were made as a result of Boyle using inferior mortar, fencing was able to be erected. However this was not the originally designed brick and iron fence, but a simpler timber version with steps and a path leading from the corner of King and Channon Street.
In 1907 the roof was reconstructed to the designs of District Architect, Thomas Pye. This was due to the continual problem of a leaking roof, which was thought to be the result of the design.
However, this did not rectify the problem, which continued until the 1940s when the entire roof was replaced with a simple gabled structure.
Future alterations included the installation of a septic system, the addition of public toilets, minor room alterations, and the replacement of the original fence with a low height concrete one.
Work carried out in the 1960s and 70s included division of the court room space and the installation of air conditioning. Later work included an access ramp for the disabled and replacement of the original cedar doors at the front of the building.
","criteria":"The Gympie Court House was constructed between 1900 and 1902. It was the second substantial court house to be constructed in Gympie, and as such demonstrates the development of the town and consequently, the evolution of Queensland's history.
|The Gympie Court House demonstrates the principal characteristics of a building of its type, and the design and plan illustrates the way in which an early twentieth century court house operated.
|The place is a significant landmark in the town of Gympie. Situated on one of the hills of Gympie, the clock tower in particular, forms a dominant and well-known landmark. A precinct of Government buildings is formed by the Court House and nearby Post Office and Lands Office.
The Gympie Court House is of considerable aesthetic significance due to its landmark qualities and for its high quality of design and workmanship. This includes the refined design of the exterior and the purpose built interior fittings and furnishings.
|The place has strong associations with the local community.
|The place has strong associations with architect J Murdoch as an example of the development of his work.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion G | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15309,"place_ref":600534,"name":"Gympie Post Office (former)","alternate_name":"My Country; Old Post Office; Post Office Gympie","street_address":"Channon Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The Gympie Post Office is located at the intersection of Channon and Duke Streets and is a substantial two-storeyed masonry building. It is a dominant landmark in the streetscape and together with the Lands Office, Police Station and Court House, forms a precinct of Government buildings.
The front elevation facing Duke Street is symmetrically composed and comprises a central section with arched colonnades on the ground and upper levels, flanked by infilled sections on either end. The central section comprises three openings which extend the two levels of the building. These are arched above the first floor and intersected at mid point by the first floor verandah. Between each arch are engaged pilasters with substantially moulded capitals. Other decorative features include keystones at the centre of each arch, small brackets below the first floor verandah and cast iron balustrading. The end sections are also symmetrical in design, with a single window at ground level and a group of three windows at first floor level. Each end section is capped with a triangular pediment and string courses run at floor level between the ground and first floors.
The elevation facing Duke Street is a continuation of the design of the end sections, with a slightly projecting central bay capped with a triangular pediment. A secondary entrance is located at the northern end of this elevation.
Internally, much of the partitioning from the building's use as a Post Office has been removed, resulting in an open space on the ground level. Three octagonal timber posts supporting the first floor divide the space, and staircases with decorative timber balustrades are located in each corner at the rear of the building. The stair at the eastern end of the building is a reproduction based on the existing stair at the opposite end. Most joinery remains intact, apart from the skirtings which have been replaced.
The first floor comprises a corridor which runs between the staircases at the rear of the building and offices divided by new partitioning at the front. All offices open onto the verandah and a new bathroom is located at the western end of the building.
","history":"The Gympie Post Office was erected between 1878 and 1880 and is a substantial two-storeyed masonry structure. It was the third Post Office built in Gympie and was designed by F D G Stanley in his capacity as Colonial Architect. It is one of eleven similarly designed Post Offices erected throughout Queensland during the period 1878 - 1898.
Francis Drummond Greville Stanley emigrated to Queensland in 1861 and worked as an architect for the Lands Department before entering private practice. In 1863, he became clerk of works in the Office of the Colonial Architect and was appointed as Superintendent of Roads and Buildings in 1871. When the Roads and Buildings branches divided in 1873, Stanley was appointed Colonial Architect, a position he held until 1881, making him Queensland's longest serving Colonial Architect. He was a prolific worker and designed many buildings throughout the state, including public buildings and those commissioned privately.
Queensland's first post master was appointed in 1842, and the first mail service was established in 1845. By 1859, there were fifteen post offices through Queensland, although some of these were in privately owned buildings. In the 1860s, telegraph stations were established linking most towns to Brisbane and this resulted in many more Telegraph Offices than Post Offices being established. The two bodies amalgamated in 1879 and continued to be operated by the Queensland Government until Federation in 1901 when they came under the control of the Federal Government.
The town of Gympie was established after the discovery of gold in the area by James Nash in 1867. At this stage, the new colony of Queensland was in dire financial trouble, and a reward was offered to anyone who discovered gold. Nash received the reward of £3 000, and the rush to the Gympie gold field began. By 1869, the town now known as Gympie had a population of many thousands. It was established so rapidly that by the time the official surveyors arrived in 1868, a substantial amount of the town had already been laid out. This resulted in the town being laid out in an irregular pattern, following the topography of the land and the mining sites, rather than the orthogonal grid pattern familiar to most Queensland towns.
In 1867, Post Master General, Thomas L Murray-Prior reported to Parliament that...........complaints were being received concerning the lack of [postal] facilities at Gympie. It was decided to establish a postal service and in 1867, E H Booth took up service as Gympie's first post master. An auctioneer and estate agent, Booth was not officially appointed, but was classed as an allowance officer, indicating that the demand was not great enough to necessitate the appointment of a full time post master. Booth ran the post office from a shop in Mary Street, and the service rapidly expanded in the first two years.
In 1868, an official postmaster was appointed, making the evolution of the postal service from part time to an official service the most rapid in the history of the colony. The new service opened in Gympie's second post office building. However the gold rush continued to bring an influx of people to Gympie and the postal service developed accordingly, rendering the second post office building inadequate in a very short time.
A portion of land was set aside for a new Post Office on the corner of Duke and Channon Streets on what was then known as Commissioner's Hill. Due to its remoteness from the centre of the town, this location received strong protest from the residents of Gympie and a petition of five hundred signatures was sent to the Minister of Works. However, this was ignored by the Government and the erection of the new Post Office proceeded on the reserved site. Tenders for the new building were called on May 9 1878 and two were received. Both were beyond the expected cost and negotiations were made with the lowest tenderer, Andrew Collins. This included the reduction of the length of the building from 96 feet to 76 feet. The contract was signed on August 23 1878, however, the building was not completed in the specified time due to bad weather and a lack of skilled labour.
The building was finally completed in 1880 and included space for the Post Office, the Land Commissioner, the Telegraph Office and accommodation for the Post Master and his family. The building was arranged with space downstairs for the Post and Telegraph Offices, each with separate entrances from the verandah. The Land Commissioner was located at the Channon Street end of the building on the ground and first floors, with access from Channon Street. The remaining space was used by the Post Master as his residence and included most of the first floor and a ground level sitting room at the rear of the main building. An additional kitchen and bedroom were located in a separate wing at the rear of the main building.
In 1898, after the Land Commissioner was relocated, tenders were called for alterations and additions to the Post Office. These included the removal of the stair at the Channon Street end of the building, an additional room at the rear of the building and the alteration of the first level Land Commissioner's office to an additional bedroom and sitting room. These alterations necessitated the re-arrangement of window and door openings. The building underwent further alterations, including those in 1901, when the telephone exchange opened, and those in 1954 when the Post Master's residence was transformed into a new telephone trunk exchange.
In 1964, the new Automatic Telephone Exchange building was opened, adjoining and linked to the original Post Office building. This ensured that Gympie was equipped with one of the most modern services in Australia.
Both the Post Office and Telephone exchange continued to expand, until the building was no longer considered adequate. On November 14 1975, the new Post Office in Mary Street was opened, and the old one closed and purchased by Telecom. The building was subsequently handed over to the Gympie City Council in 1994.
","criteria":"Completed in 1880, the Gympie Post Office is the third Post Office in Gympie, demonstrating the growth of the town, as well as the growth of Government infrastructure throughout Queensland. As such, the Gympie Post Office is important in demonstrating the evolution of Queensland's history.
|The Post Office demonstrates the principal characteristics of a building of its type. It is a substantial two-storeyed masonry building with Classical detailing and is typical of Government designed buildings of the period.
|It is of aesthetic significance both for its landmark qualities and its contribution to the streetscape. Together with the Lands Office, the Police Station and the Court House, it forms a precinct of Government buildings. It is also of aesthetic significance for its design qualities and detailing including cast iron balustrading and internal joinery elements.
|The Gympie Post Office has association with Queensland architect, F D G Stanley, as one of the last examples of his work in the position of Colonial Architect.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15310,"place_ref":600535,"name":"Gympie and Widgee War Memorial Gates","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Mary Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The First World War Memorial Gates are situated in Mary Street, Gympie. They are located at the entrance to a block of land which stretches from Mary Street to Reef Street. The gates are flanked by a hotel on one side and a shop on the other, forming a walkway to the Memorial Park behind. The area between the two buildings is paved with planting down each side. Brick toilet blocks are located at the Reef Street end.
The Gates comprise two large and two small sandstone pillars with wrought iron swing gates and a wrought iron ornamental arch supporting a central lantern. An identical set of the smaller pillars are located in the walkway behind, also with an ornamental arch and lantern.
The inner pair of pillars on the main gate are larger than the outer pair, however all four pillars have the same basic structure with differences in detailing.
All pillars sit on a substantial plinth capped by a torus moulding. From this rises a shaft of banded sandstone which culminates in a stepped element. The entire front face of the pillar projects slightly forward.
The outer pillars are each surmounted by stylised eternal flame finials of sandstone. The front faces bear sandstone plaques with the words The Great War and appropriate dates on the western side and The Boer War and appropriate dates on the eastern side. The lower sides of each plaque is embellished with relief carved festoons of tropical fruit.
The inner pillars are the same standard design as the outer pillars, but at a larger scale. They are surmounted by large urns, draped with swags. The front faces display marble plaques with leaded names of the local Fallen Heroes from the Boer and First World Wars. Above each plate are relief carved laurel wreaths with drapery behind. At the foot of the western pillar is a marble plaque with an inscription to the memory of the fallen.
Green painted wrought iron swing gates allow vehicular traffic between the inner pillars and pedestrian traffic between these and the outer pillars. The gates have central arches at the top and simple decorative elements. Connecting the two inner pillars is an ornamental archway comprising scrollwork and scalloping and two flat plates. On one plate is the word Gympie, while on the other is the word Widgee. A decorative lantern is located at the centrepoint of the arch.
Located behind the main gates is a second set of pillars, similar in design to the main outer pillars. The front faces bear marble plaques with the leaded names of the locals men who served in the Vietnam and Second World Wars. They are joined by the same decorative arch as the front pillars and have the words Lest We Forget on the flat plates. A lantern also hangs from the centrepoint.
","history":"The Gympie War Memorial were unveiled in 1920 by the Prince of Wales. The gates were designed by George Rae, of Brisbane. Monumental masonry firm A L Petrie and Son of Toowong undertook the stonework whilst an unknown local blacksmith produced the ironwork. The memorial honours the 167 local men who fell in the First World War and the two who fell in the Boer War.
The township of Gympie was established after the discovery of gold by James Nash in 1867. This was the beginning of the first large goldrush in Queensland, and the town developed to support and supply the prospectors who came to the area.
In 1919 the Queensland Institute of Architects held a design competition for a memorial on behalf of the Gympie and Widgee District Soldiers' Memorial Fund. George Rae, then a young draftsman in the Brisbane office of Lange Powell won the competition. He also won the competition for the design of the memorial at Toowong, Brisbane.
George Rae was born in Glasgow, Scotland and arrived in Brisbane in 1914. Between 1919 and 1922, he was articled to architect L L Powell. He left to travel to Sydney and worked as a draftsman in various offices until 1924. Whilst in Sydney, he studied at Sydney Technical College and also with Professor Leslie Wilkinson. Returning to Brisbane in 1924, he again worked with L L Powell, firstly as chief draftsman and then as an associate. He became a registered architect in Queensland in 1929.
The masons, A L Petrie and Son were the largest monumental masonry firm in Queensland at this time and were responsible for many First World War memorials throughout the state.
The Henderson family donated their Union saw mill site for the Memorial Park and additional land was acquired at a later date.
The cost for the gates was £800 and although the memorial was for the whole of the Widgee Shire, the funds were raised primarily by public subscription and the Gympie City Council.
Australia, and Queensland in particular, had few civic monuments before the First World War. The memorials erected in its wake became our first national monuments, recording the devastating impact of the war on a young nation. Australia lost 60 000 from a population of about 4 million, representing one in five of those who served. No previous or subsequent war has made such an impact on the nation.
Even before the end of the war, memorials became a spontaneous and highly visible expression of national grief. To those who erected them, they were as sacred as grave sites, substitute graves for the Australians whose bodies lay in battlefield cemeteries in Europe and the Middle East. British policy decreed that the Empire war dead were to be buried where they fell. The word 'cenotaph', commonly applied to war memorials at the time, literally means 'empty tomb'.
Australian war memorials are distinctive in that they commemorate not only the dead. Australians were proud that their first great national army, unlike other belligerent armies, was composed entirely of volunteers, men worthy of honour whether or not they paid the supreme sacrifice. Many memorials honour all who served from a locality, not just the dead, providing valuable evidence of community involvement in the war. Such evidence is not readily obtainable from military records, or from state or national listings, where names are categorised alphabetically or by military unit.
Australian war memorials are also valuable evidence of imperial and national loyalties, at the time, not seen as conflicting; the skills of local stonemasons, metalworkers and architects; and of popular taste. In Queensland, the soldier statue was the popular choice of memorial, whereas the obelisk predominated in the southern states, possibly a reflection of Queensland's larger working-class population and a lesser involvement of architects.
Many of the First World War monuments have been updated to record local involvement in later conflicts, and some have fallen victim to unsympathetic re-location and repair.
","criteria":"War Memorials are important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland's history as they are representative of a recurrent theme that involved most communities throughout the state. They provide evidence of an era of widespread Australian patriotism and nationalism, particularly during and following the First World War.
|This particular memorial is rare as it also commemorates those who fell in the Boer War.
|The monuments manifest a unique documentary record and are demonstrative of popular taste in the inter-war period.
Unveiled in 1920, the Memorial at Gympie demonstrates the principal characteristics of a commemorative structure erected as an enduring record of a major historical event. This is achieved through the use of appropriate materials and design elements.
|As part of the Memorial Park, the Memorial Gates contribute to the aesthetic qualities of the townscape. They are also of aesthetic significance for their high degree of workmanship and design.
|The Memorial Gates have a strong and continuing association with the community as evidence of the impact of a major historic event and as the focal point for the remembrance of that event.
|They also have special association with Brisbane architect George Rae as an early example of his work, and with Brisbane masonry firm, A L Petrie and Son.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion G | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15311,"place_ref":600536,"name":"No. 1 Scottish Gympie Mine and Battery","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Old Brisbane Road","suburb":"MONKLAND","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The place consists of:
The standing assay office which has been conserved;
Concrete foundations of the compressor room, engine room and secondary crushing equipment;
A 4-head prospecting stamp battery;
Engine foundations;
Battery foundations;
Very large in-ground water tank;
Capped shaft, headframe foundations and foundations of the winding house.
","history":"The lease occupied by the site was taken up in 1889 as the "No.1 Eastern" mine, forfeited and taken up as the No.3 Great Eastern mine in 1891, but went into liquidation soon thereafter. Gympie Goldmines (Eastern Monkland) Company was formed, and was sold to Scottish investors in 1895, becoming the Scottish Gympie Gold Mines Limited with its head office in Glasgow.
By the following year the shaft was down 1,433ft, the deepest on the field. At this time companies started considering cyaniding their tailings dumps and the company increased the number of stampers in its battery by 50 in 1898. In 1904 the battery was reported to have 125 head of stamps and 394 men employed, and to be raising 7,000 tons of ore for crushing each year, with an estimated ore reserve for another ten years.
The company closed the mine in 1923 and in the following year a syndicate of 19 men was formed to purchase the lease over the shaft and winding gear, and mining recommenced intermittently. However the lease was relinquished in 1924 and an auction sale of machinery held. In 1927 W. Runge and O. Alexander took over the mine and battery site and established a cyaniding plant. The leases were held by the Runge family until taken over by the Gympie Council.
The mine was the most productive in the Gympie Goldfield producing 608,279 oz of gold from 1,589,162 tons of ore between 1867 and 1923.
","criteria":"The No.1 Scottish Gympie mine and battery is significant in the evolution and pattern of Queensland history because it was the most successful mine in the Gympie Goldfield, which had a major impact on Queensland's development and was a major example of the impact of overseas investment on the development of the State.
|The place is a rare aspect of Queensland's cultural heritage and contains the only readable evidence of historical mining activity in Gympie.
|The place demonstrates, through surviving foundations and the intact assay office, the characteristics of a large-scale gold mining works and as such has the potential to provide information to increase our understanding of battery technology and management.
|Significant as the most intact surviving example of mining remains in the Gympie field and probably the largest gold battery remains in Southeast Queensland.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion C | Criterion D","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15312,"place_ref":600537,"name":"Andrew Fishers Cottage","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"215 Brisbane Road","suburb":"MONKLAND","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"Andrew Fisher's Cottage is located within the Gympie and District Historical Society Mining Museum. It sits adjacent to other buildings also relocated to the site, including school buildings and those associated with mining and farming.
The cottage is a typical four room single skin timber dwelling with exposed studs externally. It has a verandah with new balustrading to the south-west and south-east elevations and the roof has been re-clad with new corrugated iron. The cottage has been re-painted internally and externally, the internal finish appearing to imitate the wood grain.
Entrance to the cottage is from the rear, either into the house itself or via a ramp onto the verandah. Internally, all walls on either side of the central hallway have been replaced with aluminium framed glass sliding doors which allow observation of the four rooms. Each of these rooms contain large collections of early furnishings.
","history":"Andrew Fisher's Cottage was erected c1870 and is a simple timber structure, representative of many other miner's house in the district. Originally located in Maori Lane at Red Hill, Gympie, it was relocated to is current site in 1972.
The house was owned by the family of Andrew Fisher's wife, Margaret Irvine, and Andrew and Margaret Fisher are thought to have resided in the house for a short period after their marriage in 1901. Fisher met Margaret whilst residing at her family home in Crown Street, Gympie.
Andrew Fisher was the first Queenslander to become Prime Minister of Australia. Having worked in mines in his birthplace of Ayrshire, Scotland since the age of ten, he arrived in Queensland in 1885. He was previously involved in miner's unions in Scotland where he was blacklisted for his association with the 1881 miners strikes. He continued his association with unions and the Labour movement in Queensland, becoming secretary and then president of the Gympie Branch of the Amalgamated Miner's Association. His foray into politics on a federal level began with his election to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1893, followed by his appointment as Prime Minister after Deakin's resignation in 1908. He was re-elected in 1910 and it was during this term that he passed many influential bills and established the Commonwealth Bank.
By the time Fisher arrived in Gympie in the late 1880s, it was a well established town. Gold had been discovered in the area by James Nash in 1867, providing the impetus for a rush of prospectors to the area. By 1869, Gympie had a population of many thousands and had been established so rapidly that by the time the official surveyors arrived in 1868, a substantial amount of the town had already been laid out.
","criteria":"Andrew Fisher was a Gympie miner whose involvement in the mining unions led to a political career culminating in him becoming the first Queenslander to serve as Prime Minister of Australia. Andrew Fisher's Cottage was owned by Fisher's wife's family, the Irvines. The Fishers reputedly stayed in the house for a short period after their marriage.
The cottage was moved to the site of the Gympie and District Historical Society Mining Museum in 1972 and has special association with that group. The Historical Society have carried out extensive renovations on the cottage and value it as a significant part of their historical village.
|Andrew Fisher was a Gympie miner whose involvement in the mining unions led to a political career culminating in him becoming the first Queenslander to serve as Prime Minister of Australia. Andrew Fisher's Cottage was owned by Fisher's wife's family, the Irvines. The Fishers reputedly stayed in the house for a short period after their marriage.
The cottage was moved to the site of the Gympie and District Historical Society Mining Museum in 1972 and has special association with that group. The Historical Society have carried out extensive renovations on the cottage and value it as a significant part of their historical village.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion G","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15414,"place_ref":600639,"name":"Booubyjan Homestead","alternate_name":"Boonbyjan","street_address":"Booubyjan Rd","suburb":"BOOUBYJAN","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"Booubyjan Homestead is situated on a 9000 acre run in the Kilkivan Shire, about 14km north of the small town of Tansey, which is north of Goomeri.
The homestead is on an elevated section of the run, allowing comprehensive views of the surrounding run. The complex consists of timber buildings, linked by open verandahs and covered walkways. Three principal buildings facing north east comprise the residence, with various outbuildings to the south and west of these.
The one storeyed building located centrally in the complex, the largest of the buildings, is referred to as the Homestead. This building, which is elevated on timber stumps, is of drop slab timber construction, although the front of the building has been faced with horizontal timber weatherboards. The hipped corrugated iron roof is centrally pierced with a brick chimney shaft, with simple brick corbelling and chimney hood.
Verandahs surround the building although these have been infilled and altered to the south west or rear of the building. Access is provided to the verandah via a centrally located open tread timber stair, which is emphasised with a planted trellis. Four half glazed french doors with transom lights above open from the homestead to the front verandah, and similar doors open on the north western and south eastern sides of the building. The corrugated iron verandah awning is supported on chamfered timber posts, and the soffit is clad with fibrous cement sheeting to the north west of the building.
Internally, the Homestead is divided into three principal rooms, to which the french doors provide access. These rooms are internally clad with fibrous cement sheeting braced with timber strips. Some of the internal walls are covered with calico and hessian lining. A chimney piece, with rudimentary timber mantle, is found in the largest of the rooms on the north west end of the homestead, and another in the adjacent room.
The rear of this building is lined with infilled and open sections of verandah, and also with substantial additions comprising a laundry, kitchen and billiard room. The timber frame additions are externally clad with horizontal weatherboards and internally with fibrous cement sheeting, similar to that found in the front rooms of this building.
To the north west of the homestead, abutting its verandah on this side, is a one-roomed timber building known as the Dining Room. This is thought by the Lawless family to be the oldest building on the site. The building has a hipped corrugated iron roof and verandahs to the north east and north west, the awnings of which are incorporated in the main roof made discernible by a slight change of pitch. The walls of the building are of drop slab construction, and apparent on the underside of the verandah are early shingles and framing. The building is constructed with a system of two roof structures, an external iron clad covering and another timber framed and clad under-roof which meets the top of the external walls, allowing the outer roof to remain at a distance above the walls, allowing a gentler pitch.
Three sets of half glazed french doors open onto the verandah from the interior. The interior walls of the Dining Room are plastered, with stained timber wainscotting to dado rail height. The stained timber beaded board ceiling is coved, following the rake of the under roof previously mentioned.
To the south east of the Homestead and connected to its verandah with a covered walkway, is a smaller timber building known as the Cottage. Encircling it are wide verandahs on all sides, with an infill section of the south east. This building is constructed of vertical slabs of timber housed in recessed timber sections at the top and base of the wall, and the building features a similar double roof system to that previously described. The verandah is supported on chamfered timber posts.
Half glazed french doors give access to the three internal room from the verandah, though some of these have been replaced with single half glazed doors. Internally the Cottage is clad with fibrous cement sheeting, braced with timber strips.
Several outbuildings of various ages surround the three principal buildings, these include a power house to the south-west of the homestead; an early bush house and entrance gates to the north west of the Dining Room; sheds, stores and garages to the north west of the bush house. Many mature trees and plants surround the homestead, these include a hoop pine.
","history":"Booubyjan homestead is a complex of timber structures built by the Lawless family at varying times in the nineteenth century as their accommodation needs increased.
Booubyjan Homestead has variously been referred to by a number of variations of the spelling of its title in both personal and business correspondence, Government publications and histories of the area. Such variations include Boombyjan, Boonbyjan, Booubijan and Boombagan.
The Lawless' occupation of the Booubyjan run began in 1847, when two brothers Paul and Clement Lawless took up three properties in the Burnett River district. The Lawless brothers arrived in Australia from County Cork, Ireland in 1841. After initially establishing themselves on a farm in the Hunter Valley, the brothers moved to the Moreton Bay district, where they took up the Nindooimba run in 1842. With the intention of finding land more suitable for sheep farming, Paul and Clement Lawless joined an expedition travelling to the Brisbane Valley, where they discovered their future home, Booubyjan, named after a near-by large rock.
A letter which Clement Lawless wrote to his sister-in-law, Alicia Lawless-Pyne, dated March 1849, provides many details about the early occupation of the Booubyjan run by the Lawless family. Lawless writes of the effects of the low wool prices and the consequent economic hardships which saw the importation and employment of many 'Celestials' on the station. The wages books from the station attest to the large proportion of Chinese labourers at Booubyjan, who were, it seems, paid considerably less than their European counterparts. The problems with language were overcome because the Chinese did everything by signs most readily and were excellent at tending sheep.
This letter goes on to give details of the early ownership of the station, We have not got any Title as yet from the Governor to our Station, which is keeping us in hot water, but expect it during the year. A great deal of business has accumulated in the Land's office in consequence of a change in Squatting regulations; the whole of the country has to be surveyed before they can give Leases, which must occupy a long time.
And by 1850, the New South Wales Government Gazette (June 19) published a list of successful tenders for runs in Crown Lands beyond the settled districts. Paul Lawless is listed with Windera and Clement Lawless with 'Boombagan'. According to early Lands Department Registers the Lawless brothers ran a station called Booubyjan and this comprised three runs, namely Booubyjan, Boonimba and Windera. These Registers indicate that Paul was the sole proprietor of Windera and Clement the sole proprietor of Booubyjan run and both brothers oversaw the Boonimba run.
An early Register indicates that a lease was issued for the Booubyjan (therein referred to as Boombagan) and Windera Runs in 1862 for a term of 14 years for an annual rent of £14. However, under Section 55 of the Pastoral Leases Act of 1869, the Lawless' brothers surrendered their leases at both Booubyjan and Windera and were issued with new leases for the two runs in July 1869.
Clement Lawless returned to Ireland in about 1860 to marry and remained living in Kilcrone, Ireland until 1869 when he returned to Booubyjan for one year before, again, returning to his country of birth. In 1873 Clement sold his interest in both the Booubyjan station property and another family property, Imbil in the Mary Valley, purchased in 1857, to Ellen Lawless, the wife of his brother Paul.
In about 1858 Paul lawless had also returned to Britain where he married Ellen Nash in Bath, and the young couple set out for Australia in April 1859. Paul and Ellen had three children, and by 1865 it was necessary for the sake of Paul's health to return to Britain where he died shortly after. Ellen, who now held her husband's share in the Australian properties, and her young children spent some years travelling around Europe before returning to Booubyjan in late 1870.
After Ellen's death in 1922, the property was bequeathed to her two sons, one of whom, William Burnett Lawless was actually residing at the homestead at the time of his mother's death. William and his wife, Beatrice Muriel Walker, did not have children, and the property was passed on William's death in 1945 to William's nephews, Ivan Desmond Lawless and Burnett Rhys Lawless, who were the sons of John Paul Lawless, then in residence at Windera. Burnett Rhys Lawless continued on at the homestead for many years until his death in 1995, and Booubyjan is now run by Burnett's son, Michael along with his wife and children.
It is not possible to date the buildings and structures on the homestead with any degree of certainty. It seems that the oldest building is that known as the Dining Room, which is thought to have been previously used as a nursery. The Queensland Women's Historical Association placed their first 'blue plaque' in the state on this building in 1960, giving its approximate age as being from 1860. Photographs dating from the 1870s suggest that the two other principal buildings, referred to as the Homestead and the Cottage, were built either during or before the early 1870s.
Early photographs of the head station at Booubyjan indicate that the complex has been subject to many changes, where buildings have been removed or added, and in some instances moved slightly. There is evidence, for example, that an elevated timber building to the south west of the Cottage was removed from the complex of buildings comprising the homestead at Booubyjan.
The 1950s saw the destruction of an early kitchen to the rear of the Dining Room, and its replacement with another kitchen built onto the rear of the Homestead.
In the 1970s a storm unroofed both the Cottage and the Homestead, and these were replaced, though not in the previous steeply pitched Dutch gabled roof form, but simply with hipped corrugated iron roofs.
Photographs taken in 1928 by the travelling photographer of The Queenslander, show the remarkably unchanged state of the buildings from this time, particularly the interiors which retain many pieces of furniture and other items from earlier periods of inhabitancy.
","criteria":"As one of the earliest pastoral stations in Queensland, Booubyjan Homestead demonstrates the pattern of land use and settlement in rural areas of the state from the late 1840s and, in particular the development of the Burnett region.
|Booubyjan provides rare surviving evidence of early timber building construction techniques, including drop slab and vertical slab construction, and shingled roofing.
|Booubyjan Homestead has the potential to yield further information through archaeological research about timber building construction techniques of the mid nineteenth century and of the early pastoral station.
|The homestead is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of early Queensland homesteads, constructed as the head station of a large run. The various accretions, dating from the 1860s, demonstrate the growth of the Lawless family.
|The buildings are picturesquely situated in an early garden at the crest of an incline, and have aesthetic significance. Booubyjan Homestead has a number of significant furniture pieces, important to the understanding of the history of the homestead.
|Booubyjan Homestead has special associations with the Lawless family, who originally took up the land in 1847, and have remained on the run to this day. The family included early pioneers of the Burnett region.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion C | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15415,"place_ref":600640,"name":"Mount Clara Smelter","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Rossmore Road","suburb":"KILKIVAN","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The Smelter remains which were renovated by Kilkivan Shire Council in 1978, are exposed to ground level. The smelter is made of brick and stone, the walls standing to a height of 170cm at the fire-box end, and to 120cm height at the opposite end of the smelter. These heights seem to correlate with the spring-level of the now collapsed arched roof. The internal ovoid form of the reverberatory smelter can be readily seen. The fire-box is particularly well preserved and has a deep below-ground access. Iron staples are inserted into the base plinth of the smelter at regular intervals and seem to be the support points for the rail reinforcing bars which would have originally bound the smelter.
The 13.8m high chimney stands close to the smelter and the entry point of the smelter flue, now collapsed, can be clearly seen at about 180cm up the western face of the chimney.
The slag heap is small (22m x 11m) and contains large square sand mould slag blocks, each about 80 x 40 x 15cm.
West of the smelter is an area of brick rubble and vitrified brick. This seems to be the dump spot where rubble removed from the smelter in 1978 was tipped. A chain wire fence was placed around the smelter and chimney in 1978 which prevents close access to the remains.
","history":"Mining probably commenced in the Mount Clara - Mount Coora area in 1872. The Mount Clara smelter was built in 1873 but only operated until 1875 when it was closed and the Mount Clara copper ore was subsequently carted to the Mount Coora smelter for treatment, following the purchase of the Mount Clara holdings by the Mount Coora Copper Mining Company in 1874. This may have been due to the fact that Mount Clara mine was two miles from the smelter, and ore had to be carted a considerable distance anyway. Mount Coora later had an ore roasting furnace built as well.
The eventual closure of the mines was attributed by Rands (in 1886) to the high cost of fuel for the smelters.
The Mount Clara smelter was among the earliest built in Queensland, being built after Peak Downs, Mount Perry and Flanagans smelters, but a year before those at Mount Coora, Blackall Mine and the Adolphus William.
","criteria":"Together with the small number of well-preserved 1870s smelters (Flanagans, Adolphus William) the Mount Clara smelter is important in demonstrating the evolution of base metal mining in Queensland.
|Smelters of this age and good state of preservation are rare aspects of Queensland's history. The smelter chimney is perhaps the oldest surviving mining industry chimney in Queensland.
|The site may also contain evidence that provides information contributing to the understanding of that period and of early mining in the Maryborough district.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion C","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15416,"place_ref":600641,"name":"Goomeri Hall of Memory","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Boonara Street","suburb":"GOOMERI","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The Hall of Memory is a high set timber building with a corrugated iron roof, which is prominently sited on Boonara Street, at the corner of McGregor Street, Goomeri. It is set in well-tended gardens and comprises a rectangular hall with a gabled roof and a smaller gabled addition set at one end. To the rear, toilet blocks are connected to the hall and it has been built in underneath to form a basement storey.
The main hall is a long rectangular building with its long axis presented to the street elevation. Along this elevation is an enclosed verandah and central gabled porch entry flanked by stairs. On the porch gable is the Commonwealth coat of arms surmounted by the words 'Hall of Memory 1914 - 1918'. A decorative timber ventilator surmounts the main roof. Attached to one side of the hall is the smaller separately roofed building which has a front verandah and separate stair entry.
The main hall is lined with beaded boards and has a timber ceiling and floor. One end has a stage with a curved front and a space for a piano to one side. The rear of the room has a modern bar with a projection box over. The access stair to be projection box has been removed to accommodate a steel cold room. Behind the bar is a large supper room leading into kitchens. There is a large kitchen range in the smaller room to the rear, although a modern cooking stove and kitchen cabinets have been installed in the larger room.
Inside the main room of the hall are a number of memorials. These include a modern timber roll of honour for Goomeri and District; timber framed metal honour rolls for World War I and 21 individual memorials in the form of decorative bronze plaques with an inset photograph of those honoured. Nine are for the First World War and twelve for World War II.
There is also a benefactors' memorial in the form of an open metallic book on a marble plaque. It reads: In grateful memory of John T Mayne a patriotic benefactor and Mary Mayne his wife and partner in benevolence.
The verandah along the front of the hall has been built in with casement windows glazed with obscure and green glass. There are large openings from the hall into them forming two long rooms. The central porch contains a ticket box accessed by a door in the hall and flanked by pairs of entry doors into the hall.
The basement area has been built in and has high, narrow windows. The toilet block on the corner is constructed of fibrous cement planks on a base of concrete blocks and has a skillion roof and sliding aluminium windows.
","history":"The Hall of Memory at Goomeri was opened in 1926 to commemorate all those from the district who had served in World War I, but this dedication has since been extended to also honour all those who have served in subsequent wars.
European settlement in the district took place in 1843-50 as large pastoral holdings were taken up. By 1870 these had been subdivided into smaller grazing farms. In 1902, the railway reached Goomeri and at that time was used principally by local farmers and to transport timber. In 1911, a sale of town commercial and residential blocks was held. More farms were established and a butter factory was built. The town of Goomeri developed with a school, showground and churches as a rural district centre in the 1930s.
The First World War [1914-1918], although fought in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, had a profound impact on Australia. At the outbreak of war Australia, settled as a British colony and with strong ties to the 'motherland', immediately entered the war in support of Britain and her allies. Over 300,000 Australians out of a population of 4 million volunteered for service overseas, with approximately 60,000 of these making the supreme sacrifice. Virtually every Australian community, including that of Goomeri, lost young men in this war.
Following the war, most communities wished to erect a memorial for those who served, and particularly those who had not returned. At Goomeri, a memorial was erected in Digger Perrett Park, although the Goomeri Memorial Clock, which stands opposite the site, replaced this in 1940. The Goomeri sub branch of the RSL received its charter on 1 January 1926 and members of this branch were a driving force behind the establishment of the Hall of Memory. A public meeting was held in March 1926 and a Memorial Hall Building Committee comprising Messrs. Mayne, Stanton, Wimberley, Maudsley and Wise was appointed with authority to obtain land and a building for use as a community hall. At the time, this was not a common form of memorial, most tributes to Queensland volunteers and war dead being monuments. It was not until the wake of World War II that such practical memorials as buildings and community facilities were favoured, so that the Goomeri Hall of Memory is one of only a small number of such buildings remaining.
The building committee purchased an existing timber store building from Cuthbert Butt at Nanango and A Kopp and W Toop had erected it on the site by May 1926. A crow's ash floor was laid for dancing and the hall was painted. It was initially leased to a Mr A Rich, who moved his silent picture show there from Boonara. Mrs Rich had a sweet stall under the hall, which appears to have been enclosed soon after the relocation. Funds to clear the debt and cover the purchase of furniture, crockery and other essential items were raised by holding a series of events from 1927. These included a concert and ball, a sports day and procession and a popular girl competition, won by Myrtle Wieland who was also one of the cinema pianists. These events were announced to have cleared the debt of £844 at Easter 1929 with a surplus of just £1/3/6.
In 1931 a large supper room with a kitchen was added. This room was also used for meetings and small functions. In 1935 sections of wall were removed between the hall and the enclosed verandahs to increase available space.
Mr A Duffy held a long lease on the hall to show films. He also acted as caretaker and installed electricity and equipment to show 'talkies'. In the 1940s he became one of the first operators in the country to install cinemascope.
During the Second World War, the basement area was used to store 600 tons of emergency supplies for the area in case of Japanese invasion. Following the war these were removed and the area was partitioned as clubrooms for the RSL. The Citizen's Military Forces also used the RSL space as a drill room and the grounds of the hall for parades.
World War II memorials to match those for WWI were ordered in 1950 from Smiths Rubber Stamp, Brass Plate and Stencil Manufacturing Coy in Brisbane for the sum of 7 guineas each. Murray Studios in Gympie supplied the photographs and the memorials were unveiled on Anzac Day 1951.
In the 1950s, the demand for film shows fell. Films were shown only once a week and were eventually discontinued in the late 1950s, although the hall continued to be used for other events. In 1971, the Kilkivan Shire Council accepted responsibility for the hall at the Trustee's request. Following this, the kitchens were modernised and a bar and cold room installed at the supper room end of the hall. The RSL kitchenette was modernised in 1991 and it is thought that the hall was re-roofed in 1995. The hall is still in regular use for a wide range of entertainments and social functions.
","criteria":"The Goomeri Hall of Memory is important is demonstrating the pattern and evolution of Queensland's history, as a memorial to the participation, and loss of, members of the Goomeri and district community in the First World War and later wars. Construction of the hall is also illustrative of the patriotic fervour associated with the First World War, and the community's identification with the British Empire at this period in Queensland's history.
|As a memorial hall it forms part of a relatively rare type of First World War memorial in Queensland, being a building for both memorial and recreational use, rather than the more common monumental memorial.
|The Goomeri Hall of Memory demonstrates the principal characteristics of a building designed for the use, both recreational and administrative, of returned soldiers and their families, with its honour rolls, meeting rooms, supper room, and dance hall. The large hall remains important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of its type, with a timber floor laid especially for dancing, a stage, supper room and large banks of windows to the street elevation.
|The Hall of Memory has landmark qualities as a large and well-detailed building on a prominent elevated site and makes a major contribution to the character of the townscape of Goomeri.
|The Goomeri Hall of Memory has a spiritual and social association with the Returned Services League as both a war memorial and a meeting place. It also has a special association with community of Goomeri and district because of its long use for many social functions, including balls, concerts and the showing of films.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion G","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15417,"place_ref":600642,"name":"Goomeri War Memorial Clock","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Burnett Highway","suburb":"GOOMERI","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The First World War Memorial is situated in a traffic island in one of the main intersections of Goomeri. It is a dominant landscape feature from most locations in the town.
The traffic island is located in the centre of the intersection, level with the road on the eastern side and dropping away on the western side. A flagpole is located on the north side of the monument which sits on a stepped concrete pad with short square concrete bollards at each corner.
The painted concrete monument rises to a height of 74 feet and comprises a tapered tower with clockfaces at the apex. Fixed to the west face of the foundation and to the north face of the clocktower are metal components from Goomeri's former memorial to the First World War.
The tower is subtly divided into three sections; a base, the body and the clock.
The base has shallow simply moulded details around the base and at each corner and has applied moulding at the termination of the base section. A substantial metal door bearing a bronze Australian Coat of Arms surrounded by a laurel wreath is recessed into the north face. The dates 1914 and 1919 are located above and below the wreath, also in bronze.
On each of the other faces are polished granite plaques with the engraved names of those who made the Supreme Sacrifice. The southern face bears the names of the nine who fell in the First World War and the dates 1914 - 1919. The western face displays the names of the twelve who fell in the Second World War, and the eastern face is blank.
Above the base is the body of the tower which is plain except for a simple central decorative element, painted dark brown. The uppermost section of the body has stop-chamfers to each corner which continue into the clock section.
The clock itself is located at the top of the tower and comprises four faces which are illuminated at night. The letters Lest we forget (reading clockwise) replace the numerals on each clock face.
","history":"The Goomeri War Memorial Clock was unveiled on 15 November 1940 by RSL State President RD Huish. The concrete memorial honours the 9 local men who fell in the First World War and the 12 who fell in the Second World War.
It was erected at a cost of £700 which was raised by the Goomeri Returned Services League Sub-Branch.
Australia, and Queensland in particular, had few civic monuments before the First World War. The memorials erected in its wake became our first national monuments, recording the devastating impact of the war on a young nation. Australia lost 60 000 from a population of about 4 million, representing one in five of those who served. No previous or subsequent war has made such an impact on the nation.
Even before the end of the war, memorials became a spontaneous and highly visible expression of national grief. To those who erected them, they were as sacred as grave sites, substitute graves for the Australians whose bodies lay in battlefield cemeteries in Europe and the Middle East. British policy decreed that the Empire war dead were to be buried where they fell. The word 'cenotaph', commonly applied to war memorials at the time, literally means 'empty tomb'.
Australian war memorials are distinctive in that they commemorate not only the dead. Australians were proud that their first great national army, unlike other belligerent armies, was composed entirely of volunteers, men worthy of honour whether or not they paid the supreme sacrifice. Many memorials honour all who served from a locality, not just the dead, providing valuable evidence of community involvement in the war. Such evidence is not readily obtainable from military records, or from state or national listings, where names are categorised alphabetically or by military unit.
Australian war memorials are also valuable evidence of imperial and national loyalties, at the time, not seen as conflicting; the skills of local stonemasons, metalworkers and architects; and of popular taste. In Queensland, the soldier statue was the popular choice of memorial, whereas the obelisk predominated in the southern states, possibly a reflection of Queensland's larger working-class population and a lesser involvement of architects.
Many of the First World War monuments have been updated to record local involvement in later conflicts, and some have fallen victim to unsympathetic re-location and repair.
Although many different types of war memorials were erected throughout Queensland, the clock type of memorial was comparatively rare. It is not known who designed the memorial, however the metal work was produced by Ernest Gunderson and was originally part of an earlier monument which also commemorated the First World War.
Ernest Gunderson established his metalworking company in Brisbane after migrating from Norway. The company operated until the mid 1930s and supplied honour boards and plates for memorials statewide. His work was distinctly original, often incorporating both Australian and British motifs.
The monument is painted, with details now picked out in darker colours.
","criteria":"War Memorials are important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland's history as they are representative of a recurrent theme that involved most communities throughout the state. They provide evidence of an era of widespread Australian patriotism and nationalism, particularly during and following the First World War.
It also has special association with Brisbane metalworker Ernest Gunderson as an example of his workmanship.
|It is one of the few memorials in Queensland in the form of a clock tower and has uncommon decorative features.
|The monuments manifest a unique documentary record and are demonstrative of popular taste in the inter-war period.
Unveiled in 1940, the war memorial at Goomeri demonstrates the principal characteristics of a commemorative structure erected as an enduring record of a major historical event. This is achieved through the use of appropriate materials and design elements.
|The memorial is of aesthetic significance as a dominant landmark in the main intersection of Goomeri, being the reason the town is known as 'the Clock Town.'
|It has a strong and continuing association with the community as evidence of the impact of a major historic event and as the focal point for the remembrance of that event.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion G","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15418,"place_ref":600643,"name":"Wodonga House (former)","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Woolooga Road","suburb":"UPPER WIDGEE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The former Wodonga house is now situated near the clubhouse within the grounds of the Widgee Historical and Recreational Association.
It is a rectangular timber structure set on low stumps with a gabled roof clad in corrugated iron. The roof over the rear section is angled down from the main roof, suggesting it was verandah that was been extended and built in. The floor joists, studs and rafters are split and adze dressed. An open verandah runs along the front of the building supported on plain timber posts. The building shows evidence of being constructed in stages, the walls containing examples of split slabs, hand dressed chamfer boards, pit sawn weatherboards and machine-sawn boards.
The interior is divided into six main rooms divided by timber walls. It has timber floors and is unceiled.
","history":"The former Wodonga house was constructed on its original site in 1902. The land on which it was located was first settled in 1849 when a number of runs were taken up by W B Tooth and Company. These holdings eventually developed into a cattle property known as Widgee Station.
Government resumptions of Widgee Station began in 1869, and in 1877 James Meakin jnr successfully applied for a 640-acre portion, which was to become Wodonga Station. In 1878 an adjoining portion was selected and further land was acquired until 1912 when Wodonga covered 1194 acres, making it one of the largest properties in the district. By January 1882, part of the holding had been transferred to James Meakin snr. The Meakins were cheese makers and also supplied produce to the residents of Gympie.
Prior to 1880, the Meakin brothers constructed the first homestead on the site. In 1887, Wodonga was transferred to Catherine Ellen Hillcoat, wife of John William Hillcoat, manager of Hope Crushing Battery at nearby Black Snake Mineral Field. Hillcoat's son Harold and his wife settled on the property and raised their family of five boys and four girls. The Hillcoats continued the practice of cheese making and dairying and the family lived in the original homestead until 1902, when they constructed the current homestead. The first stage comprised four rooms with a shingle roof. Pine floorboards were brought from the Gympie sawmill in exchange for pine logs from Wodonga. Two rooms were later added and the roof was extended and clad in corrugated iron.
The new building was located adjacent to the existing on the northern side enabling the kitchen to be re-used and eventually connected to the new building. It contained five bedrooms and a sitting room, with the original homestead building retained for use as a schoolroom and accommodation for visitors and workmen. The buildings were surrounded by a picket fence.
Around 1908 the Hillcoats ceased dairying and concentrated on raising beef cattle, supplementing their income by selling possum and kangaroo skins. In 1911-1912 the family worked timber getting in the surrounding area, though the property then reverted to dairying under Percy Pointen who married one of the Hillcoat daughters. When Pointen died the property was sold to the Wodonga Pastoral Company and was used to raise beef cattle again. From 1962 the homestead was unoccupied and became derelict. In August 1978, the homestead building was sold to the Widgee Historical Society and relocated to the Widgee Hall and Recreation Association grounds. Repairs have been carried out and it has been restumped and re roofed. It is currently used intermittently for community events. The original homestead and kitchen have not survived.
","criteria":"The house, formerly at Wodonga, is typical of many small homestead buildings, being built from local materials and showing evidence of being added to and adapted over the years to accommodate the changing needs of its occupants.
The building, as part of the former homestead that was constructed by the Hillcoat family in 1902, has local significance for its association with this family who occupied the original site for many years.
|The house, formerly at Wodonga, is typical of many small homestead buildings, being built from local materials and showing evidence of being added to and adapted over the years to accommodate the changing needs of its occupants.
|The building, as part of the former homestead that was constructed by the Hillcoat family in 1902, has local significance for its association with this family who occupied the original site for many years.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15419,"place_ref":600644,"name":"Barambah Homestead","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Goomeri Road","suburb":"GOOMERI","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-08-21","description":"The summary information for this place is currently under review.
","history":"The summary information for this place is currently under review.
","criteria":"Barambah station was established in 1843 by Ferriter and Uhr in the wake of Henry Stuart Russell's exploration of the Burnett district in 1842. The Barambah site once comprised a complete homestead complex, with some structures reputedly built during the 1870s. Today, the timber residence built in c1905-06 stands as testimony to the development of Barambah as one of the earliest principal pastoral holdings in the Burnett district. The physical improvement of the site reflects the growth of the Queensland rural economy during the early 20th century.
|Despite extensive renovations to the house, the main original divisions between the living areas and private spaces...such as bedrooms, and the internal core and encircling verandahs...remain intact, with the exception of the rear enclosed vernadah areas. The place demonstrates the principal characteristics of a substantial Queensland timber residence built in the first decade of the 20th century. The significant associated buildings present in the homestead complex assist in demonstrating how this kind of pastoral property would have operated.
|The residence exhibits a high standard of workmanship and architectural design, and its elevated position, amidst early garden remnants and overlooking a watercourse, enhances the aesthetic appeal of the site.
|Barambah has a special association with the Moore family, who owned the property for nearly 100 years and who developed it during that time as one of the pre-eminent cattle stations in the Burnett district.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15420,"place_ref":600645,"name":"Woolooga Rail Bridge","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Theebine - Kilikivan Line","suburb":"WIDE BAY CREEK","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The Woolooga Rail Bridge, Wide Bay No. 2 Crossing Bridge, at 25.14 km (15m45c) comprises two 100 feet lattice girder spans with steel cross girders and timber longitudinals supported on concrete piers with timber piers on a concrete base at the centre of each span.
","history":"The Woolooga Rail Bridge was built in 1884 and crosses Wide Bay Creek on the Maryborough to Kilkivan branch line.
The Kilkivan branch was built while the Maryborough Railway was not connected to any other system. A short section to Dickabram on the bank of the Mary River was opened on 1 January 1886. The section to Kilkivan opened on 6 December 1886 after the completion of a major combined rail-road bridge over the Mary River.
The Kilkivan branch, built in the hope of stimulating gold and copper mining, was ultimately extended to serve the South Burnett. Besides a major bridge over the Mary River, the Kilkivan branch crossed Wide Bay Creek three times. Tenders were called for just 4 miles, and had to be called twice as the short length made the project unattractive to contractors. The work for the whole section to Kilkivan was let to MCDermott, Owen & Co in August 1884.
In order to strengthen the bridge to permit C17 locomotives to operate, instead of just PB15 and B15 classes, the 100 feet spans were divided in the 1933-35 period by inserting timber piers at the centre of each span.
","criteria":"The Woolooga Rail Bridge is important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland's history in particular the development of the railway network from Maryborough and the development of gold and copper mining in the Kilkivan area.
|The Woolooga Rail Bridge is an example of a lattice girder bridge dating from the 1880s still in use, although the spans have been halved by extra piers.
|(Criterion under review)
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion E","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":15611,"place_ref":600836,"name":"Dickabram Bridge","alternate_name":"Mary River Bridge (Miva)","street_address":"across the Mary River Miva (south) to Theebine (north)","suburb":"MIVA","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1992-10-21","description":"The Dickabram Bridge over the Mary River comprises two 80 foot parallel chord lattice girder spans either side of a 120 foot hogback lattice girder span, having steel cross girders, supported on two cylinder piers and two double timber piers.
","history":"The Dickabram Bridge over the Mary River was the major bridge on the Kingaroy Branch line. The contract for construction of the line to Kilkivan was awarded to McDermott Owen & Co. in August 1884. Work was delayed in 1885 awaiting casting of the cylindrical piers for the central spans. The bridge was tested in November 1886 with a two-engine train. The line opened for traffic between Dickabram and Kilkivan on 6 December 1886.
The original road bridge across the Mary River at Miva had opened on 30 October 1878. This bridge was damaged by floods in July 1879 and swept away by floods in February 1880. A replacement road bridge was swept away by floods in October 1882.
It was provided in December 1882 that the proposed rail bridge be built to carry road traffic as well. Because of the delay in opening access roads it was March 1889 before it opened to road traffic.
The bridge has remained in use without substantial modification. Work since its completion includes undertrussing a 36 foot span in 1911, strengthening the 26 and 36 foot spans for C17 locomotives in 1935, a concrete base for pier 9 in 1968, and scour protection in 1976. Work strengthening the line from PB15 to C17 standard was completed between 1933 and 1935. Diesel electic locomotives were first permitted in 1977. The decking has been modified by adding a kerb in the 1970s/80s to separate road and rail traffic to save the need for a gatekeeper to control road traffic.
","criteria":"The bridge is a late 19th century and essentially unmodified high level road-rail bridge with half-through double by 2 lattice girder approach spans and hogback through double x 2 lattice girder main spans. It was constructed on the site of several low-level bridges that had been destroyed by floods.
|It is one of the few extant road-rail bridges in Queensland.
|It is the oldest extant of its type in Queensland with the longest hogback span of its type in Queensland.
|Its design was associated with the Chief Engineer, Henry C. Stanley.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion F | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16266,"place_ref":601503,"name":"St Patricks Church","alternate_name":"St Patrick's Church | St Patricks Catholic Church | St Patrick's Catholic Church","street_address":"Church Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1995-02-20","description":"St Patrick's Church is a substantial sandstone building on Calton Hill, a prominent site in Gympie. It is surrounded by concrete paving, and established lawns and gardens. There is a timber framed bell tower on the lawns to the east of the church.
The church has a rectangular plan, featuring a clerestoried five bay nave and side aisles, with an additional unextended transept bay. The church features a polygonal chancel and two smaller polygonal rooms on the southern end used as a vestry and a sanctuary.
The building is constructed of rock-faced sandstone laid in courses of random sized blocks, with elements such as quoining, continuous moulding beneath the gutter, plinth course and string courses chiselled smooth. The building has a plinth of larger rock-faced sandstone blocks. The angle buttressing is sandstone with wide chiselled edges. The southern end of the church, including the transept gables, diagonal buttressing, chancel, vestry and sanctuary is constructed of bricks with an inscribed render, imitating ashlar stonework. Generally the church has pointed arch windows with geometric stone tracery.
The steeply pitched gabled roof has Marseilles pattern interlocking terracotta tiles, with matching ridge capping. Gables are found on the southern end of the east and west walls, where transepts were to begin. Featured on each of the gables is a large pointed arch stained glass window, integrating many smaller lights with geometric tracery.
The western wall features a portal entrance framed by a ribbed pointed archway. Pointed arch windows flank the portal and feature hood mouldings, which are integrated with a string course. Above the entrance is a large three arched window, incorporating four lancet lights and geometric tracery. At the highest point of the gable is a small inverted eyelet window. Pointed arch windows are found on the southern and northern walls, defining the internal bays. The clerestory windows use the quatrefoil motif, to frame brightly coloured stained glass in simple geometric patterns.
Internally, round sandstone piers supporting pointed arches, form arcades which define the nave and aisles of the church. Slender engaged columns extend upward from the piers to support a variation of hammer-beam timber roof trusses, strengthened with brackets of decorative joinery. The ceiling is diagonally boarded, tongue and groove, v-jointed timber.
A pointed chancel arch, opens onto the chancel which has a faceted dome ceiling, which is painted with religious scenes. The chancel features a marble altar, accessed via two marble stairs, and a small stained glass rose window of the holy family.
The organ gallery at the west end of the church is supported on slender round columns with prominent stylised doric capitals. The organ is inscribed with Richard Heslop 16 Burma Rd London. Timber framed stations of the cross line the walls of the side aisles. Many of the stained glass windows bear plaques with details of the person who donated them.
","history":"St Patrick's Church was constructed on Calton Hill in Gympie from 1883 to 1887, by the Roman Catholic Church. It was the third permanent church constructed in the town for the catholic community on or near this site. The building was designed by the prominent Brisbane architect, FDG Stanley.
\nThe first catholic mass was celebrated in Gympie in February 1868, in the Brisbane Hotel, by Father Tissot. The following month, Father Matthew Horan arrived on the newly established goldfields and assumed his position as parish priest, which he held until his death in 1923. Upon his arrival, Father Horan pitched a tent on Calton Hill to celebrate mass, beginning the long catholic domination of the site. Tenders appeared in the Nashville Times on March 18, 1868, for the construction of a permanent church building. This timber building was ready for use by the end of 1868, but lasted only four years due to the damaging effects of weathering and white ants. Some of the land at Calton Hill was donated to the church by local residents including Patrick Lillis, and other land was bought at auction.
\nIn 1872 a second church was constructed of hardwood, and opened by Rev Dr James O'Quinn, Bishop of Queensland. Despite the later addition of side aisles, the hardwood church was regarded as inadequate for the growing catholic congregation and another building was planned reflecting the importance of the church in the community. In 1879 a catholic school was established on land nearby, when the Sisters of Mercy arrived in Gympie. Plans for the new church were prepared by well known Brisbane architect, FDG Stanley, and a local builder William Streeton and presented to the newly appointed Bishop Dunne in 1881. Plans shown to the bishop were prepared for both a stone and brick church costing £3800 and £3000 respectively, and from these Dunne decided to proceed with a stone church.
\nBishop Dunne officiated at a ceremony on January 28, 1883, to lay the foundation stone at St Patrick's. Subscription lists were opened for the funding of the construction and donations by the end of the day totalled £1200. On September 19, 1883, the tender of J Smith and Co was accepted to supply the material and build the church for a sum of £3591. Construction of St Patrick's took place over the next four years, firstly by the original contractors, then by Messrs Peter and George Duckworth. At about the time of this changeover the southern wall of the church collapsed in a strong wind. The joinery and seating was undertaken by local carpenter, William Condon. An organ worth £500 and a marble altar also worth £500 which was donated by Mr James Fitzpatrick, a successful mining pioneer in the area, were features of the new building.
\nOn July 17, 1887, St Patrick's Church was opened by Rev. Robert Dunne who had become the first Archbishop of Queensland. The church was built at a final cost of around £10,000. At the opening, St Patrick's Church, which was built to accommodate 950, was crowded with 1400 people who paid to attend the service. The church was described as a landmark for many miles around due to its elevated position, its great height, its pure white stone walls and its well-cut lines. St Patrick's was rectangular in plan, though was designed to accommodate the later addition of transepts. It was originally built with corrugated iron roof sheeting with small ventilation gablets lining the roof.
\nWhen St Patrick's opened other churches in Gympie included a timber Presbyterian church on Red Hill, a timber Weslyan Methodist Church on Surface Hill which was replaced in the 1890s by a large brick church, and a small Church of England on Palatine Hill, also replaced by a large brick church in 1888.
\nSt Patrick's Church continued to grow under the care of Father Horan; an organ gallery, designed by Hugo Durietz was added in 1896. Upon Horan's death on July 6, 1923, Dean Michael O'Flynn became the new parish priest. O'Flynn immediately began arrangements for the completion of the east end of the church. Brisbane architects, Cavanagh and Cavanagh, were commissioned to design the completion of the southern end, parts of which had been stopped with metal sheeting until this time. The extension included a polygonal chancel and flanking this, two smaller polygonal rooms used as the vestry and the sanctuary. The tender of Mr Brittam, for an amount of £1790 was accepted by September 8, 1924 and the work was finished in 1925. The following year work was completed on the adjacent brick presbytery, which replaced an earlier timber building.
\nOn April 14, 1929 Archbishop Duhig dedicated newly installed stained glass windows placed in the gables where the transepts were to have been extended. These windows were dedicated to the remembrance of the Catholic Emancipation and in particular to a key figure in the struggle, Daniel O'Connell. Duhig also laid the foundation stone for the new convent, commemorating the centenary of the Sisters of Mercy and the Jubilee of their arrival in Gympie.
\nFather O'Flynn remained at St Patrick's until his death in 1935, when he was replaced by Monsignor Timothy Malony. Malony undertook vast improvements to the grounds, including paving and lawns around the church, and the construction of broad steps to the church. In 1951, the new parish priest Monsignor David Dee, concerned with the lack of accommodation at St Patrick's, established a new catholic church in northern Gympie, diminishing the large congregation.
","criteria":"St Patrick's Church, erected 1883-87, is a substantial sandstone building which is important in demonstrating the rapid growth of Gympie in the 1880s, as a result of the prosperity of the gold fields.
|St Patricks is a good example of church architecture practiced in the 1880s, influenced by Gothic revival styles and of the ecclesiastical work of the prominent Queensland architect, FDG Stanley. It has a number of elements demonstrating high quality craftsmanship including the marble altar, the organ, joinery, stone masonry and stained glass windows.
|St Patricks is a good example of church architecture practiced in the 1880s, influenced by Gothic revival styles and of the ecclesiastical work of the prominent Queensland architect, FDG Stanley. It has a number of elements demonstrating high quality craftsmanship including the marble altar, the organ, joinery, stone masonry and stained glass windows.
The church has been an outstanding landmark in Gympie since its opening in 1887, as a large imposing building constructed on a prominent site. It was the first substantial masonry church in Gympie and served as the model for subsequent churches in the town.
|The church demonstrates the spread of the Catholic Church in regional Queensland. It has a long association with the catholic community in Gympie and reflects the development of Catholicism in the area.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion G","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16292,"place_ref":601529,"name":"Surface Hill Uniting Church","alternate_name":"Wesleyan/Wesley Church | Surface Hill Methodist Church | City Church","street_address":"14-18 Channon Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2003-05-30","description":"The Surface Hill Uniting Church is a load-bearing masonry, cement rendered building that sits with a group of other buildings within the Uniting Church precinct on Surface Hill in Gympie. The site also contains a timber hall (the former church, built in 1869), a masonry and fibro hall (1962) and a brick parsonage (1975). The building is an unpretentious interpretation of Gothic style, using Gothic motifs yet simple and restrained in it's overall design and composition. The street façade (southern elevation) is the most ornate with towers at each corner, lancet and rose windows and other moulded decorations. The church is rectilinear in form, divided into six bays by stepped buttresses, each bay containing a lancet window. The roof is steeply pitched and clad in colourbonded corrugated steel with lightning conductors at each gable end.
The interior of the church is also cement-rendered with a decorative cornice and mouldings around the windows and at dado and picture rail height. Engaged columns with decorative capitals mark each of the bays internally. The lofty space of the interior has a vaulted ceiling lined in timber VJ boarding braced with timber ribs and punctuated with ceiling roses with timber fretwork. Light fittings and ceiling fans are suspended from the ceiling on stiff rods. Lancet windows infilled with diamond-patterned leadlight with glass in pale tones are located along the side walls and the southern elevation has an arrangement of four similar windows highset in the wall, flanked by two stained glass rose windows. Most of the windows are now framed in aluminium.
The church is entered via two doors which lead into a small, internal porch-like space enclosed with dark stained timber. An Honour Roll is located within this space, alongside a noticeboard and a set of wall-mounted timber cabinets with leadlight doors. Lancet doors are located on both sides of this space. The main part of the church has a raked timber floor and timber pews which have recently been restored. The side aisles are carpeted. A raised platform enclosed with low timber rails at the front of the church is also carpeted, containing a simple timber altar and elders' chairs. A hexagonal timer pulpit is located to the left of the altar area and is decorated with a timber veneered depiction of the Uniting Church symbol. A recent timber screen separates the raised choir platform and organ loft. Doors are located at either end of this divider and provide access to the choir area and through to the two exit doors at the back of the church. A small library and sink is located on the eastern side of the choir and a vestry area on the west.
The fine organ is an outstanding feature of the interior. The pipes of the organ are hand-painted in tones of blue with cream and gold. The organ is framed by a section of wall with a moulded edge and a lancet arch at the top that has been painted tan against the otherwise cream walls and flanked by columns either side.
The former church is located at the north west corner of the site and is used as a hall for a range of church and community activities as well as accommodating the parish office. It a small timber building with a steeply pitched roof and a small porch, separately roofed, on the eastern side. The building is set on short concrete stumps and clad in weatherboards that are narrow up to sill height and then standard width above that. Windows are multi-paned casements with lancet arched tops. Gable ends are finished in sheet material decorated with vertical timber strips. The interior is lined with horizontal tongue-in-groove boarding and has an open ceiling with exposed scissor trusses. Some of these have been stiffened with steel rods. A raised stage is to be found at the back of the hall and is framed with a wide moulded timber architrave surmounted by a timber hymnboard. Timber floors are throughout. The office is housed in a hipped roof annexe at the western end of the building, facing Barter street.
The site boundary for part of Barter Street and all of Channon and Reef Streets is finished with a squared uncoursed rubble retaining wall. A concrete stair and landing is cut into the wall to provide access to the church.
","history":"The Surface Hill Uniting Church, constructed in 1890 and designed by architect Hugo Durietz, is the third church building to be built on the prominent site on Channon Street at the crest of Surface Hill in Gympie. In August 1868, Wesleyan Methodists erected a bark hut of pole construction on Surface Hill to use as a basic chapel. The Methodists were early in their efforts in establishing a place of worship on the goldfields, the Primitive Methodists had opened the "Digger's Bethel" only months after James Nash had made his momentous discovery of gold in 1867. Concurrent with building the bark hut, the Wesleyan Methodists were planning the construction of a new and more substantial church, under the auspice of the Maryborough circuit.
An early committee resolved to build a new church on the same site and local architect Charles G Smith was commissioned to prepare drawings for a timber church. The tender was let to a Mr John Nesbit and it appears that there was some sort of disagreement between this builder and the architect and the architect's name was removed from the drawings. Despite this, on Sunday 4th July the new church was opened. The building faced on to Reef Street. By October, a small three-roomed parsonage was built on the site.
The Wesleyans were consolidating their presence in the town, however, uncertainty persisted about the land tenure as the church had been built on land that was held without a proper title. Although the land had been purchased by members of the church committee at a land sale in 1869 and set aside as a church reserve in the first town survey in 1874, it was not officially secured until 1876. It appears that these difficulties were due to the land being under Miner's Right. Indeed mining was still taking place all over Surface Hill at this time, a whim is visible in a photo of the opening ceremony of the brick church in 1890 and at several points in time the church had to pay for shafts to be filled in for safety reasons.
In 1870, a full-time minister was appointed and two rooms and a verandah were added to the parsonage. By 1879, the parsonage was in a dilapidated condition and fund-raising began for the construction of a new one, which was completed in 1880. In 1889, Matthew Mellor, a prominent member of the congregation and church trustee moved that a new brick church to accommodate 250 people, be erected. Minutes of church meetings indicate that the construction of a more solid church had been in the minds of many members of the congregation for a number of years and suggests "that Gympie was a stable prosperous town, with a stable, committed population, who had enough faith and vision to build for the future." Both the Catholic and Anglican churches also built masonry churches in the town around this time.
Local Gympie architect Hugo Durietz was commissioned to design the new church and plans were presented to the church Trust in July 1889. Durietz was born in Sweden and came to Australia in 1852, taking up residence in Gympie around 1867 and staying there until his death in 1908. He was a prolific designer of buildings for the town and "was probably responsible for a number of distinctive local building features, such as ogee-profiled verandah roofs, close-spaced studs with cut-in angle braces and a distinctive colour scheme of cream walls and red roofs."
The church was substantial but simple in design. It was to be constructed of brick and rendered in concrete with Gothic detailing. Tenders were called and the lowest tender of Mr J McMorrine of £1905 was accepted.
A whole series of elaborate celebrations were held to mark the construction of the new church. A stone-laying ceremony was held on 30th January 1890. Eight large foundation stones were laid by prominent members of the congregation, a representative of the local preachers and one of the Sunday School scholars. An earthernware jar was placed under the first stone that was laid and it contained a copy of that day's Gympie Times, the previous day's Gympie Miner, The Weekly Advocate, The Christian Witness, the circuit plan, a programme of the proposed proceedings of the ceremony, the Society ticket for the last quarter (a Methodist membership ticket), a list of the Trustees and officers of the church, a list of the names of the teachers and officers of the Sunday School, the names of the architect, the contractor and an estimate of the cost and fittings of the building. Each stone-layer was presented with a "polished cedar mallet bearing a chaste silver plate beautifully inscribed." One of these is held in the Gympie Historical Museum.
On 7th August, the church was officially opened and a dedication service was held. A fine organ was purchased by the church from Mr James Lord, the organist from the Albert Street Methodist Church. The organ, along with the one in the Albert Street church, had been made by George Benson of Manchester, UK in 1888 and assembled by Benson in Brisbane. The final cost of the building, including seating, architect's commission, fittings, gas lights, pipe organ, retaining wall, lightning conductors and opening ceremonies was £3137/16/5-.
The timber church was renovated and used as the Sunday School. The Methodist Church continued to have a solid presence in the town, church news was regularly reported in the Gympie Times and frequently the full text of a sermon would be published. In 1904, the Reverend Harry Youngman addressed the Chinese members of the congregation in their own language, an event which attracted hundreds of people, non-Chinese and non-Methodists alike. Small repairs were carried out on the church, hall and parsonage and it was not until the 1930s that any more substantial work was carried out on the site.
In 1937 a representation was made to the State Government for the use of relief labour to construct a stone retaining wall along the frontage to Reef and Channon Streets. The church provided materials - a member of the congregation donated the stone, and the Government paid wages. The job took over eighteen months to complete and was opened by Mr F Cooper, the State Treasurer to co-incide with the church's seventieth anniversary. He said at the time that "I believe this wall will speak to you every time you come past it as of honest work earnestly done, it will also look at you (for walls have eyes) and will judge you whether you are doing your part in upholding the ideal for which it stands...it stands in perpetual reminder that work and worship go hand in hand." The relief labour went on to also construct a tennis court, lay paths and grade the church grounds. In the same year, the hall (the old church) was moved across the property and re-located to face Barter Street.
A new, two storey hall was erected at the eastern end of the site in 1962. The timber parsonage was demolished in 1975 and replaced with a low-set brick building. Restoration work was undertaken on the church from 1977-84 and included work on the stained glass windows, organ and exterior render and ramps were added to the church and hall.
","criteria":"The Surface Hill Uniting Church, constructed in 1890, is important in demonstrating the evolution of Queensland's history, representing the rapid growth of the town of Gympie and the establishment and development of religious, social and cultural institutions in the town during the 1880s and 90s as a result of the prosperity of the goldfields. In addition, the church demonstrates the growth and consolidation of the Methodist Church in regional Queensland and local community efforts in meeting their spiritual needs.
|The Benson organ of Surface Hill Uniting Church demonstrates rare and uncommon aspects of Queensland cultural heritage. One of only two such organs in Queensland, it is a rare example of its age and make and has been kept in its original design and sound.
|The stone retaining wall along Reef and Channon Streets is important as an example of work undertaken by relief labour as part of a co-operative scheme between the church and state during the Depression.
Surface Hill Uniting Church is a good example of church architecture practiced at the end of the nineteenth century and as an example of the work of Hugo Durietz.
|The church has aesthetic significance and has been an important landmark in the Gympie townscape since its construction. It is an imposing building on a prominent site, one of a family of churches located on top of the hills of Gympie. The simple and attractive interior has a number of noteworthy features, in particular the beautiful organ with hand-painted pipes.
|Surface Hill Uniting Church has a strong spiritual and social association with the Wesleyan Methodist Circuit and Surface Hill congregation in Gympie as the principal place of worship in Gympie for over 130 years.
|It has special association with Durietz, a local Gympie architect who made a significant contribution to the architectural character of the town.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion G | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16464,"place_ref":601722,"name":"Double Island Point Lightstation","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Double Island Point","suburb":"DOUBLE ISLAND POINT","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1998-09-23","description":"Double Island Point Lightstation is located on the highest point of Double Island Point, 70 kilometres north of Noosa Heads. The lightstation reserve is 57 hectares and includes all of the high rocky land at the point.
The site of the Double Island Point Lightstation can be divided into three areas: the Tower Area, the Cottage Area and the Remaining Area.
The tower is framed with hardwood and sheeted with iron plates about 2 mm thick. The footing and ground floor is mass concrete and the lantern floor and balcony are reinforced concrete. The height of the tower to the lantern floor is about seven metres and it supports a standard Chance Brothers lantern of cast and wrought iron with a copper cupola.
The Tower Area includes the tower, watch hut, power house and tank farm. Low dry stone retaining walls have been formed to the east of the tower. This has allowed the creation of a level area around the tower.
The existing track which provides access to the tower area is apparently the position of the 1884 track. It now has concrete wheel tracks to suit the LARCs which were used to supply the station until the mid 1980s.
The tower area contains few trees, and the grass is kept mown. Some introduced flowering plants probably indicate naturalised species from the cottage gardens. Two hoop pines near the first bend of the access track indicate an interest in landmark planting by some past keepers. The tower area is also the site for an anemometer and various radio aerials.
The Watch Hut is framed in hardwood and sheeted with asbestos cement. It has a concrete footing and floor and a corrugated asbestos cement roof.
The Cottage Area includes the two 1933 cottages, the weather shack, the garage and car ports, the workshop and store, the service pits, the flag pole, the stevensons screen and the tow barbecue areas. It is defined by surrounding fire breaks. The cottages are hardwood framed and are sheeted and lined with asbestos cement. Floors are hardwood, raised concrete stumps. The roofs were corrugated asbestos cement, but have been resheeted in colorbond corrugated steel.
The weather shack is timber framed, sheeted with asbestos cement, with a corrugated asbestos cement roof. It has a concrete slab-on-ground floor. It now functions as an office for the keepers, particualry in regard to recording weather observations. The flag pole is made from 75 mm diameter glavanised steel tube, with hardwood gallows set in concrete. It has stainless steel stays. The garage is a brick building with a concrete slab floor and timber framed aluminium sheet roof. At attached carport with galvanised steel tube columns and a hardwood framed roof with corrugated asbestos cement sheleters the keepers private vehicles. It has a concrete floor.
The workshop has a prefabricated galvanised steel frame clad with aluminium sheeting and a concrete floor. It has 240 volt electricity connected. It has a stainless steel bonding strip.
At least one person is buried at Double Island Point. The grave of Fanny Byrne is located at the foot of a depression to the south of the cottages. The grave is marked with a marble headstone and protected by a picket fence.
","history":"Up until 10 December 1859, the colony of New South Wales extended as far north as Cape York Peninsula. In 1859, the new colony of Queensland acquired over 5000 kilometres of coastline which had few safety features in place, and became responsible for all navigation lights and harbours along this coastline. At the time the only lighthouse which existed had been built at Cape Moreton [600257] by the New South Wales Government in 1857.
By 1862, the Queensland government had appointed a Portmaster, Commander George Poynter Heath and had passed the Marine Board Act 1862. In the two years following, due to a lack of funds to spend on marine safety, activity concentrated on dealing with pilots and harbour lights, The issue of coastal lights was not taken up until 25 May 1864, when Members of the Legislative Assembly moved that a Select Committee be appointed to enquiry into and report upon the state of the harbours and rivers in the colony. The Committee consisted of Messrs Macalister, Douglas, Sandeman, Cribb, Challinor and Bell and convened for the first time on 27 May 1864. The Committee widened the terms of reference to include..the question of the necessity of additional lighthouses on the coast of Australia, within the colony of Queensland.
A Select Committee was also appointed by the Legislative Council with the more specific field of reference to enquire into and report upon the requirements of this Colony, under its increasing trade and commerce, as to the provision of additional lighthouses for its coasts and harbors.
The reports of both Select Committees were in agreement regarding the necessity of a light at Sandy Cape. Other points where it was considered that lighthouses were required were at Cape Capricorn on Curtis Island, Point Danger or Cape Byron and Bustard Head [601260]. Lady Elliot Island [601580] and Double Island Point were also among the sites which the Committee indicated as possible suitable sites, however, it was not until the 1880s that the construction of a lighthouse on Double Island Point was seriously considered.
One of the earliest references to Double Island Point by Europeans was in 18 May 1770, when Captain James Cook, on his voyage of discovery in the Endeavour, named the island 'Double Island Point'.
In Heath's 1882 report to Parliament, he states...at Double Island Point a light is required for vessels entering Wide Bay. In January 1883, Heath visited Double Island Point and recommended that the site initially suggested would not have a sufficiently wide outlook. He recommended a light at the top of the headland with the installation of a 3rd Order light. This advice resulted in plans and specifications being prepared, by the Colonial Architect's Office, for a lighthouse and cottages at Double Island Point. Tenders were called, at the end of June 1883, for both Double Island Point and Pine Islet lighthouses.
The contract for the construction of the lighthouses was awarded to WP Clark at a cost of £6900. The figure included costs for constructing the lighthouse at Pine Islet [601268]. The Double Island Point light was first exhibited on 11 September 1884. A report to the Marine Department's Treasure dated 30th June, 1895, states the initial cost of constructing the Double Island Point Lighthouse was £5199, with annual maintenance costs of £484. With the completion of the Double Island Point and Pine Islet lighthouses, Clark had been responsible for five of the nine towers built in Queensland since separation in 1859.
The establishment of the lightstation of Double Island Point is the first, and apart from grazing and recreational fishing, the only use of the site following European settlement of Australia. This use has been uninterrupted from 1884 until the present.
The tower is the only component of the lightstation constructed in 1884 still extant. The light was originally fitted with a Third Order Lens and an oil wick burner. In 1923 the illuminant was altered to a kerosene burner. Ten years later the light was converted to electric operation. The light was automated in 1991, reducing the work of the lightkeeper to that of caretaker, and facilitated the subsequent destaffing of the lightstation.
","criteria":"Constructed in 1884, the 18th lighthouse built by the Queensland government, Double Island Point Lightstation occupies an integral part in understanding the establishment of maritime navigational aids along the Queensland coast and reflects the growth and development of Queensland after its separation from New South Wales.
Double Island Point Lightstation is associated with Commander George Poynter Heath, the first Portmaster of Queensland (1862-1890), a significant figure in the development of the Queensland lighthouse service. During Heath's time twelve major lighthouses were built along the Queensland coast.
|The area also has the potential to reveal further information about infrastructure associated with the lightstation.
|The lighthouse is substantially intact, and survives as a good example of a type of lighthouse construction, a round timber-framed tower clad with glavanised iron sheets, unique to Queensland and incorporating Queensland resources. The use of a timber framed building clad in iron was continued throughout the Colonial Period, following the construction of the timber-framed lighthouse on Lady Elliott Island in 1873.
|Double Island Point Lightstation is significant as a well-known landmark, visible from sea and air approaches. Although a comparatively small structure, the lighthouse has aesthetic value, with the white tower, capped by a bright red dome, isolated against the green foliage of the headland. It makes a dramatic visual statement in the natural landscape.
|The lighthouse is substantially intact, and survives as a good example of a type of lighthouse construction, a round timber-framed tower clad with glavanised iron sheets, unique to Queensland and incorporating Queensland resources. The use of a timber framed building clad in iron was continued throughout the Colonial Period, following the construction of the timber-framed lighthouse on Lady Elliott Island in 1873.
|The place has a strong association with the life of the lightkeepers, their families and maintenance and stores people, who contributed to the continuum of a system dedicated to the single aim of maintaining the navigational aid.
|(Criterion under review)
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion C | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion F | Criterion G | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16646,"place_ref":601910,"name":"Gympie School of Arts","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"39 Nash Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1999-04-23","description":"The Gympie School of Arts is a substantial two storey brick building, located on one of the main streets of Gympie. It is situated on a sloping site, with rock walls retaining gardens beds in the front. Access is via a centrally located concrete stair, or a ramp which located on the western side of the site. The rear of the site is bitumened for car parking.
The building is of brown face brick laid in English bond, with deep red voussoirs over the windows. It is symmetrically designed with centrally placed cedar entrance doors with fanlight and sidelights. These are flanked by double hung windows on either side. This arrangement is replicated on the upper level.
The upper level has a verandah which runs across the front elevation and halfway around the side elevations which is simply designed and comprises timber square posts with smaller square balusters. The end of the verandah on the eastern side is partially enclosed to form a kitchen, and a stair leads from the verandah on the opposite side. The verandah roof attaches to the building below the main roofline, allowing space for a series of pairs of timber brackets which support the fascia of the main roof. The main roof is pyramidal in form, with a decorative ventilator at its peak.
The side elevations have regularly and symmetrically placed double hung windows and the rear elevation has three sets of windows in staggered positions. A door is located at the rear, below the central window, which allows access to a new toilet block abutting the building.
Internally, walls have been removed on the ground floor to create an open space and partitions have recently been erected around the perimeter of room. Floorboards on the western side of the ground floor have been replaced, and the entire floor has been sanded. The door entering the kitchen at the rear of the ground floor has been extended to form a double-leafed opening, and the stair is enclosed with new partitioning.
The staircase has a highly decorative cedar balustrade and is located at the rear of the building, opposite the entrance. A door allows access to the rear of the site, where a toilet block is located adjacent to the building.
The ceilings throughout are timber boarded, with suspended track lighting on the ground floor and suspended fluorescent lighting and fans on the upper floor. All outer walls are plastered, whilst the internal walls are either of timber boards, horizontally laid, or sheeted with fibro.
The first floor comprises a central room at the top of the stairs, with access to rooms on either side. Double leafed doors open from the central room into a larger room which runs the width of the building. This room is a large open space with symmetrically placed windows and doors and a pressed metal cornice. A set of double leafed doors opening onto the verandah are centrally located within the front wall.
","history":"The Gympie School of Arts is a substantial two storeyed brick building located on a prominent Gympie site. Constructed between 1904 and 1905, it was designed by local architect Hugo W Durietz.
The School of Arts movement began in the 1820s, when Mechanics Institute were established in Glasgow and London, and a School of Arts was established in Edinburgh. Their intention was to promote mental and moral improvement of the working classes. The first institute in Australia was formed in Hobart in 1827, followed by Sydney in 1833, from which date the movement rapidly spread throughout the rest of the colony.
The first School of Arts in Queensland was established in Brisbane in 1846, although a building was not erected for the purpose until 1864. From this beginning, approximately 350 Schools of Arts were established throughout the state during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The intention of Schools of Arts was that they address the educational needs of the working classes, although it appears they were directed more towards the middle classes, with lectures on subjects such as philosophy, and classes in French and Latin, which may not have appealed to a largely illiterate working class. Some institutes also provided technical classes including measured drawing, painting and typewriting and all Schools of Arts provided a variety of entertainments as well as games, lending libraries and reading rooms.
The Gympie School of Arts was first established in 1870. Gold had been discovered in the region by James Nash in 1867, and the town grew rapidly. By 1868 there were 560 business licenses and 15 000 miners rights.
The impetus for a School of Arts was provided by Edward Bytheway, early settler and shopkeeper, and later mayor. Bytheway was involved in many community organisations including the local hospital and the Agricultural, Pastoral and Mining Company. Most Schools of Arts established in Queensland were driven by community minded men, usually middle or upper class, many with political aspirations.
The committee applied to the government for land on which to construct a suitable building. A temporary reading room was established in an existing building until the construction of a hall in 1874. There were many disputes over the siting of the hall, with some members wanting it near the government buildings, and others wanting it where it would be more accessible to the mass of the population in general. There were also disputes over whether the School of Arts should merge with the One Mile Miners Institute. Although this occurred in the early 1890s, it was unsuccessful and had dissolved prior to the erection of the new building.
It was decided that a new building was required as early as 1890, however the institute was financially insecure, owing to poor subscription levels. By 1904, there was 1000 pounds in the building fund, and the committee decided that this, coupled with the proposed sale of the existing building was sufficient to erect a new building.
Local architect, Hugo Durietz, who had previously served on the School of Arts committee, was requested to draw up plans for a new building which was not to exceed £1500. The committee provided a preferred layout, based on the workings of the previous building.
The design for the new building was of a functional nature with few decorative features. Constructed of brick it was two-storeyed with verandahs to the upper floor. The ground floor had a central entrance, with a library on the right and four classrooms on the left. The upper floor contained two rooms with specially reinforced floors for billiard tables and a reading room across the front of the building.
Hugo Durietz, the architect had arrived in Gympie at the beginning of the gold rush. He established many businesses in Gympie and was a member of various committees, including that of the School of Arts. By 1871, he was practising as an architect in Gympie, and designed many buildings in the town in the ensuing years.
The new School of Arts cost £1 400 and was officially opened on 28 February 1905 as the School of Arts and Technical College. It provided classes in practical subjects, which were also provided for state school students from 1909 on.
As with all Schools of Arts the 1920s saw the beginning of the demise of the institute. New forms of entertainment such as the radio, increases in car ownership resulting in a more mobile community, world wars and the economic collapse of the 1930s all contributed to reductions in membership. As members paid subscriptions, this financially disabled most institutes.
In order to raise revenue, the upstairs reading room was converted into a flat for rent in 1941. The role of the School of Arts was further diminished in the 1970s, when technical education was taken over by TAFE and the Gympie Adult Education Organisation. However, this was also a period where government support was given to the development of a free library system, and in January 1975, $30 000 was allocated to refurbish the School of Arts as a municipal library. At the end of 1975, the School of Arts Trustees resigned and the administration of the library was taken over by the Gympie Council.
As well as the library, the building also housed the Wide Bay Regional Council, Police Department and National Fitness Council at various times. In 1985, the building was shared by the library, and the Local History Collection, which was located in the former reading room. It was during this period that air conditioning and a book lift were installed in the building.
The library moved to new premises in 1995, leaving the School of Arts building unoccupied.
","criteria":"The Gympie School of Arts was constructed in 1904. It is one of many School of Arts constructed throughout Queensland in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as part of an attempt to promote mental and moral improvement of the working classes. By the 1900s, almost every town in Queensland had a School of Arts and they were often seen as indicators of the prosperity or status of the town. As such, they demonstrate the evolution of Queensland's history.
|The building is an uncommon example of a School of Arts of masonry construction in the Queensland vernacular style.
|The place demonstrates the principal characteristics of a building of its type, with provision for a reading room, library and games rooms. The inclusion of a verandah is also common to the design of Schools of Arts in Queensland. Most Schools of Arts in Queensland were of timber construction, with few substantial masonry buildings.
|The Gympie School of Arts is of aesthetic significance due to its simplicity and symetricality of design, and for its contribution to the streetscape. Internal features including the balustrading and joinery details also contribute to the overall aesthetic significance of the building.
|The place has strong associations with the community of Gympie due to its continued use as a library and educational facility. The building ceased to function as a library as recently as 1995.
|The building has special association with prolific local architect Hugo Durietz as an example of one of his more substantial Gympie buildings.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion G | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16749,"place_ref":602013,"name":"Monkland State School Residence","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Brisbane Road","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"1998-11-09","description":"The Monkland State School Residence is located within the school grounds, at the rear of the site adjacent to the railway line and is separated from the remainder of the school buildings by a tubular metal framed wire fence. Also located on the site is a small timber structure at the rear of the residence, and various plantings including a row of five palm trees immediately in front of the building.
The building is elevated on a combination of concrete and metal posts and is of timber construction with a corrugated iron roof. It comprises the original core and later additions of two rooms on the western side and an enclosed verandah on the eastern side. The core has a gable roof which intersects at right angles with a gable roof over the western addition.
A set of centrally located timber stairs provide access to the front verandah which has a balustrade with circular section balusters and is enclosed with metal framed insect screens. The front door is opposite the stairs and opens into the centrally located sitting room. It is flanked with double hung windows, the frames of which feature a chamfered detailing, and additional doors are located at right angles to the front face at either end.
The sitting room contains a rendered brick chimney breast and mantle-piece and is flanked by a similar sized dining room on the western side and two bedrooms on the eastern side. At the rear of the building is the bathroom, the kitchen, and an additional bedroom. This bedroom and the dining room open onto an enclosed verandah on the eastern side via sets of french doors. All ceilings and walls are lined with fibro-cement sheeting, apart from those on the enclosed verandahs, where ceilings are of tongue and groove boards with exposed beams and internal walls are of weatherboard.
An enclosed verandah is located at the rear of the residence, adjacent to the kitchen, from which steps lead into the rear yard. A laundry structure at ground level completes a 'U' shape at the rear of the building, the centre space of which is covered by a corrugated iron roof.
","history":"The Monkland State School Residence was constructed in 1884 and is a small timber structure raised on stumps with a corrugated iron roof. It was designed when architect Robert Ferguson was employed as Superintendent of Buildings for the Department of Public Instruction.
Ferguson arrived in Queensland from Ireland in 1860 and by 1864 was employed as a temporary foreman of works for the Queensland Government. He continued to work for the Government Architect in the areas of Wide Bay and Brisbane until 1879 when he was appointed Superintendent of Buildings for the Department of Public Instruction. In this position, Ferguson developed designs for single skin timber school buildings based on the Suter style, but 'avoiding the technical disadvantages of exposed studding by reverting to external sheeting.'
In 1885, Ferguson resigned from the Department of Public Instruction to become a partner in his brother-in-law's firm, John Petrie and Son. He resumed employment with the Public Service as Surveyor to the Meat and Dairy Board in 1894, a position in which he remained until his death in 1906.
In 1880 a public meeting was held at Monkland to discuss the establishment of a school for the district. Following the discovery of some of the most prosperous gold mines in the Gympie region in the early 1870s, the area had rapidly expanded and by 1873, a number of shops and four hotels were trading in the main street. By the 1880s, many families were living in the area and the walk to the nearest school at One Mile was reputedly hazardous and lengthy for small children.
As a result of the public meeting, a committee was formed, and the secretary, Mr John Clowes of One Mile Creek made a formal request to the Department of Public Instruction for the establishment of a new school, stating that the 'probable number of children likely to attend is about ninety.' Local subscriptions were promised and a site was proposed, although an alternative site on the corner of Brisbane and Araluen Roads was proposed in subsequent correspondence with the Department. This was probably due to a report from the head teacher of One Mile School disputing the fact that an additional school in the district was required, and that less than a mile separated the initially proposed site and the existing school.
Following a non-committal report by District Inspector John Shirley in 1881, Clowes again wrote to the Minister of Education stating that the number of likely pupils had increased and subscriptions of between £80 and £100 had been promised. The subscriptions were integral to the establishment of the school as under the Education Act of 1875, local communities were required to contribute one fifth of the cost of the construction of a new school.
Following a further inspection in the same year, after which District Inspector McGroarty advised that the proposed site was too close to the existing One Mile School to be beneficial, the committee continued their campaign. They focussed their efforts on another site, known as G F homestead no. 151, for which they paid £32.11.3 for improvements in 1881. During this time, a sub-group of the committee decided on yet another site, which was resumed and subsequently gazetted as a School Reserve.
Finally, in March 1883, McGroarty's successor, R Newcombe Ross recommended a State School be constructed on the initially purchased site and tenders were called for the construction of a school and residence. The lowest tender was received from Metcalfe and Wilson who were awarded the project, however their partnership dissolved prior to commencement of works. The next lowest tenderer, William Condon was then awarded the contract, agreeing to complete the school and residence in eight months for £895, including materials, of which approximately £180 was to be paid for by local subscriptions.
The buildings were completed in September 1884 and the first occupants of the residence were headmaster Charles Reinhold and his wife Marion. The school opened on Wednesday 24th September 1884, with 74 pupils enrolled on the first day. Numbers continued to grow and over 200 pupils were enrolled by the end of the year.
At the time of opening, the Monkland State School comprised a single room school building, and a detached residence, both of which were extended a number of times. The residence originally comprised three bedrooms, a sitting room with fire place, a kitchen an enclosed verandah at the rear and an open verandah at the front. Constructed of timber weatherboards, it was elevated on low stumps and early plans depict the roof as shingled. At the time of its construction, it was departmental policy to provide residences for married headmasters 'thereby securing a resident caretaker and cleaner for the school in the person of the headmaster's wife.' The construction of residences also addressed problems associated with the lack of suitable teacher accommodation in remote areas and was used to encourage teachers to relocate to these areas.
Few additions or alterations were made to the house, apart from the construction of a fence which divided the residence from the remainder of the school grounds in 1886. In 1887, land was resumed by the Railway Department, which removed a large triangular portion from the rear of the site.
In 1890, Charles Reinhold requested that an additional two rooms be added to the western side of the residence. At this time, conditions were quite cramped with space shared by Reinhold, his wife, their four children and a servant. The additions were approved, as well as the lining of all internal walls, and the extension of the front verandah to partially wrap around the eastern side. The tender of local contractor Henry Lee for £149 was recommended and the school committee was requested to contribute £29.16.0.
In 1932, a cyclonic storm severely damaged the school building, resulting in the demolition of a wing constructed in 1886, and the repair and extension of the original core. The residence remained relatively unscathed, only suffering damage to the roof over the kitchen. The new school building remained in use until a major reconstruction of the school occurred in 1958.
The Monkland State School continued to develop and expand, with a number of demountable buildings added to the site in the 1970s and 1980s. The school residence is fenced off from the main body of the site and remains largely intact but currently unoccupied.
","criteria":"The Monkland State School Residence was erected in 1884 as part of the newly established Monkland State School. As the only surviving building on the site from this period, the residence provides evidence of the growth of the area east of Gympie during the 1880s due to mining activity. It also provides evidence of the development of the education system throughout Queensland and is demonstrative of government policy of the period when residences were erected to overcome problems associated with the lack of appropriate accommodation for teachers in remote areas and also as encouragement for teachers to work in these areas.
|Although many similar residences were constructed throughout Queensland, many were replaced by new structures in the 1930s. The Monkland State School Residence is a rare surviving example of its type. It is the earliest of only four known intact examples of school residences constructed during the Ferguson period of school design.
|Although extended on a number of occasions, the Monkland State School Residence is largely intact and demonstrates the principal characteristics of a building of its type by its form and use of materials, as developed by Robert Ferguson.
|Its simple form and materials contribute to the aesthetic significance of the place.
|The building has strong associations with past pupils, many of whom still reside in the area, and contributed to the school centenary publication printed in 1984. It also has strong associations with the present Monkland Parents and Citizens Association.
|The Monkland State School Residence has special association with architect Robert Ferguson as a rare surviving example of his work whilst employed as Superintendent of Buildings for the Department of Public Instruction.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion G | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":16772,"place_ref":602036,"name":"Gympie Railway Station Platform Complex","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Tozer Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-10-14","description":"The Gympie Railway Station, a large railway complex bounded by Chapple, Mellor and Tozer Streets, is located on Caledonian Hill to the northeast of the central business district of Gympie. The complex comprises a long island platform which links via a subway, underpass and overbridge to neighbouring streets to the south and by parallel railway lines to engine yards and the remainder of the larger railway complex to the north. The island platform accommodates a substantial station building, a guard's room and storage room all built in the Pagoda idiom favoured by Queensland Railways at the time.
Station building
The main station building is a long narrow, one and two-storey, timber-framed structure running the length of the raised concrete island platform. Its varying roof forms are a dominant feature with raised lanterns piercing the roof lines. Generous platform awnings extend from each side of the building shading to the platform edge. The roofs are clad in rib and pan metal sheeting and external walls are clad in chamferboard.
The centrally located two storey section accommodates the main entrance at the platform level. The single storey portions extend either side and cantilevered platform awnings run along their lengths shading the platform. Roofs to the lower level are truncated hips and a gambrel roof shelters the upper level.
The main entrance to the station faces Tozer Street and provides access to the ticket booth and waiting area. The entrance is framed by a decorative archway with short timber balusters. Curved glazed fanlights are located above the two timber panelled entrance doors and above casement windows with coloured glass panes. Wall cladding below the window sills in this area is formed from vertically fixed v-jointed boarding.
The unlined timber framed platform awnings clad with metal sheeting are notable for the large, decorative riveted iron brackets running the length of the station building sheltering the platform edges.
Windows on the upper level are double-hung and top sashes have a multi-paned detail of coloured glass. These windows are shaded by timber-framed awnings with decorative timber brackets.
Openings on the lower level include double-hung windows with a similar multi-paned coloured glass to those to the upper level and timber-framed panelled doors with glazed fanlights. Bay windows with double-hung sashes project towards the platforms on each elevation to the south of the main entrance. Openings are framed with decorative timber architraves.
The roof lantern vents are located along the length of the building and include two to the northern end, one to the southern end and one on the upper level roof. Light and ventilation are provided through timber slatted openings.
Gutters to the platform awning are quad-profile while gable rolls and gutters to the main roofs are recent square profile metal.
The short southern elevation features gable ends finished with a decorative slatted barge board and exposed ceiling joists. A small multi-paned ticket window is the only opening. The northern elevation of the main building is obscured by the c.1924 refreshment room addition but similar gable details to the south elevation are visible above the roof of the addition.
The c.1924 addition has a lower pitched roof and shorter timber-framed platform awnings. Walls to the addition are clad in weatherboard and windows are simple double-hung sashes protected by timber-framed window hoods. On the western side of the addition a recent timber-framed covered walkway has been erected which links the station building to the guard's building.
The interior of the station building is centred on the main waiting area. To the south of this area is the current ticket sales area (the former ladies' rest room), former station master's office, and former booking office. To the north of the waiting area is a souvenir shop (the former servery), a refreshment room (reconfigured) and a former bar room and yards area now housing a model train display. On the upper floor a large open room (the former kitchen, scullery and pantry) is now used as training/office area. The interior of the lantern vent is visible in this room.
Internal walls and ceilings are lined with v-jointed boards with simple timber cornices, architraves and other mouldings. Internal doors which remain are panelled glazed doors with coloured panes similar to those in the external openings. Floors are lined with recent linoleum. A solid timber counter faces the waiting area from the ticket sales area. A staircase to the east of the ticket sales area accesses the upper floor which has similar finishes and detailing to the lower floor.
Distinctive elements of the station building and platform include a metal drinking fountain, timber and wrought iron platform seating, early signage, an early telephone located in the former servery area, remnant gas fittings in the store room end of the building and a fold up washbasin behind the bar in the refreshment room.
Guard's building
The guard's building, a timber-framed structure with a gable roof, accommodates male and female toilets and storage areas. Walls are clad with chamferboard while the roof is clad with corrugated metal sheeting. Timber-framed louvred vents are located at the wall and ceiling junction on the western and eastern elevations. Gutters are formed from quad-profile metal and gable ends feature metal gable rolls. The recent covered walkway extends from the station building to form a platform awning on the western-side of the guard's building. Panelled doors with fanlights above are located on both platform-facing elevations while double-hung windows are located on the northern and southern elevations. All openings are framed with decorative architraves and architrave blocks. Internal partitions and ceilings are lined with v-jointed boards.
Store building
A store building is located next to the guard's building and is a simple timber-framed structure with a gabled roof. Walls are clad with chamferboard while the roof is clad with corrugated metal sheeting. Gutters are quad profile metal and gable ends feature metal gable rolls. Windows are simple double-hung sashes and large, ledged doors open out to the western platform. A small metal window hood shelters the doors.
Signal maintainer's hut
The signal maintainer's hut, located at the northern end of the platform, is a small timber-framed structure sheltered by a gabled roof with overhanging eaves. Walls are clad with chamferboard and the roof is clad with corrugated metal sheeting. Gutters are quad profile metal and gable ends feature metal gable rolls. Sets of multi-paned windows are located on platform facing elevations.
Covered waiting area
A covered waiting area links the main station building to the goods lift and subway to the south. The structure's flat, cantilevered roof is supported by substantial bracketed timber posts. The roof is clad with rib and pan sheeting.
Subway
A concrete-walled subway provides pedestrian access from the southern end of the platform to the station entrance off Station Road below. It is accessed through wrought iron gates which open to concrete-formed steps leading down from the platform. The opening in the platform is bound by wrought iron spear-topped balusters and is sheltered by a roof formed from curved, corrugated metal sheeting supported on a timber frame. A sign with lettering 'WAY OUT' is located at the entrance to the steps. At the base of the steps the platform above is supported on a concrete-formed arched lintel. The walls of the subway are formed from concrete which has recently been painted with decorative murals. Access to Station Road is through another set of wrought iron gates. A 1963 ticket and parcel office is located on Station Road and is not considered to be of cultural heritage significance.
Footbridge and underpass
Concrete formed steps parallel to the railway lines rise to a now demolished footbridge which passed over the Station Road underpass. Walls supporting the steps are formed from heavy concrete walls, piers and plinths and are capped with concrete sills. Two half-through steel plate girder bridges supported on concrete abutments carry the rails over the underpass. A scallop-edged wall leads to another smaller set of concrete steps which lead directly into the road underpass.
Luggage lift
A luggage lift is located behind the subway access steps at the southern end of the station platform. It is sheltered by a simple gabled roof. The goods lift is framed with sheet metal and accessed into the lift is at the rear by a small sliding door. Early signage is visible at the rear of the lift.
Overbridge
A large timber overbridge is located at the far southern end of the station building with steps leading from the island platform to a bridge over the railway tracks and with steps at each end alighting onto Lady Mary Terrace to the west and the grounds of the Railway Hotel to the east. This structure is framed in timber and is supported on braced timber posts supported on concrete plinths. Balustrades are formed with timber posts and horizontal rails. Directly over the railway line, timber smoke screens are attached to the underside of the bridge.
","history":"The Gympie Railway Station platform complex is an intact component of a much larger former railway complex. Built on a site operating as a railway station from 1881, the platform complex largely dates from the 1910s and includes the station building and adjacent structures, pedestrian subway and luggage lift, underpass, footbridge and overbridge. The complex was built in response to changing requirements associated with the expansion of Queensland railway network and reflects the important status of Gympie within this system.
Gympie (initially called Nashville) was established after the discovery of gold in October 1867 by James Nash in the Upper Mary River district. The new gold field put Queensland on the map as a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. By Christmas of 1867, according to the Gold Commissioner, the Gympie field had a population of 4,000 (or over 15,000 according to James Nash). Although the alluvial deposits were quickly exhausted, from 1868 shallow reef mining occurred. The early makeshift structures of Gympie gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings.
Within months of the establishment of the goldfield, the idea of a railway linking Gympie to a port had been raised and various proposals for a starting point including Maryborough, Brisbane and Tewantin were promoted. Ultimately, the campaign for a Maryborough-Gympie route was successful. By the end of the 1870s, an intensive phase of underground reef mining was underway, facilitated by the injection of share-holding capital into mining companies for machinery and employees. Gold exports made up 20% of Queensland's economic output by 1870, outperforming wool in 1875. The increasing influence of the mining industry, and its ability to compete with other interests jostling for a rail link was evident with the Queensland government's approval in August 1877 of three railways connecting mining towns to their principal ports: Townsville to Charters Towers; Bundaberg to Mt Perry; and Maryborough to Gympie. The Maryborough-Gympie line was the first in the colony to run in a north-south direction rather than westwards from a port; the beginning of Queensland's coastal route.
Originally a terminus was planned for Commissioner's Hill, where most of Gympie's government buildings were clustered, but in 1880 a more central site on Caledonian Hill was approved. The railway to Gympie opened in August 1881 and soon became the dominant transport artery for the movement of goods and people in and out of Gympie. Within three months of opening, the traffic between Gympie and Maryborough required two trains daily. Timber extracted from the abundant softwood and hardwood stands surrounding Gympie was the main product to be transported for many years.
The station buildings at Gympie and Maryborough were positioned at the terminus of the track line, marking the railway's dead end status. Within a year of the line opening Gympie representatives had begun lobbying for a rail link to Brisbane. Brisbane commercial interests also pushed for better access to the Gympie market. A route was surveyed in 1885 and by 1886 the first section of the North Coast line from Brisbane-Caboolture had commenced construction. In 1888 construction of the remaining sections commenced simultaneously from Caboolture and Gympie. The Gympie-Brisbane line was opened in mid-1891, linking a route extending from Brisbane to Bundaberg. To enable the extension to proceed, Gympie's station building was moved from the end of the track and re-sited within the yard on the southern side of the line.
The passing of the North Coast Railway Act in 1910 facilitated the linking of the separate regional divisions of Queensland Railways into one network, through extending the state's coastal route. The passing of the Act (together with the Great Western Railway Act 1910) provided a major impetus for increased spending and construction works on the Queensland railways. New stations were built along the main lines in places such as Brisbane, Gympie and Townsville between 1910 and 1917. A corresponding development of improved locomotive technology, rolling stock, and railway infrastructure in general characterised this period, along with the construction of new rural branch lines throughout Queensland.
Major improvements and additions were undertaken at the Gympie station from 1911 to 1915. A triple-gabled, open-ended engine shed was built in 1912. In the same year plans were drawn for a substantial new passenger station building, designed within the architectural section of the Railway Department's Chief Engineers Office. Vincent Price was in charge of the architectural section at this time.
The station was based on the Queensland Railways A series 'Pagoda' standard design. From the 1860s, Queensland railway stations were predominantly built in timber, with only a small number of masonry stations built in major urban centres like Brisbane and Toowoomba. The Pagoda design series saw Queensland Railways adapt stylistic elements of what is often described as 'Federation style' to its existing timber tradition. Federation style architecture, broadly dating from the 1890s to 1915, incorporated a wide range of stylistic influences including the Queen Anne, English Arts and Crafts movement, Art Nouveau and the American shingle styles. Distinctive characteristics employed at Gympie included the use of decorative timber detailing, windows with small upper panes of coloured glass, ornate platform brackets, and Marseilles tiles on a picturesque roof form featuring half hipped ends, projecting gables and lantern vents. Other passenger stations built in 1913 in the 'Pagoda' style included the much smaller Yarraman (since relocated), Dirranbandi and Home Hill stations. Gympie's station appears to be the largest timber passenger station built by Queensland Railways during the twentieth century.
Construction of the station commenced in early 1913, with the new building commencing operations from 1 December. Positioned on an island platform, the long narrow chamferboard-clad building housed a bar, refreshment room and servery, waiting room, ladies room, station master's office, telegraph and booking office and sheltered ticket sales area. A smaller upper floor housed the kitchen, scullery and pantry for the refreshment room, serviced by a hand operated lift, and a concrete underground cellar was provided behind the bar. Cantilevered platform awnings with decorative riveted iron brackets extended the length of the building on both sides, from which lamps were suspended for lighting. Upon its completion, the Gympie Times described the station as '...certainly the most attractive of government buildings in Gympie...which lends distinction to its surroundings'. Next to the station on its north end, a smaller timber building following the Pagoda design style housing a lamp room, porter room, guard's room and toilets was completed around this time.
Other major work included the construction of a subway and luggage lift to provide pedestrian access from the southern end of the island platform to the station entrance, and an adjacent underpass to replace a gated crossing between Station Road and Mellor Street. Large excavations were required for this undertaking, and concrete walls were built to line the underpass and the station entrance. A set of concrete steps between the entrance and underpass linked to a small timber footbridge running parallel with the railway, connecting to Lady Mary Terrace. Two half-through plate girder bridges were constructed to carry the rails over the underpass. In 1915, a large timber two-span overbridge with steps leading from the island platform and steps alighting onto Lady Mary Terrace and Station Road was also completed. Timber screens were attached below the bridge to reduce pedestrian exposure to train smoke.
The Gympie goldfield passed through its most profitable period from 1901 to 1906 and in 1903 produced its peak annual output. After 1906 production declined and by 1925 the last of the big mines had ceased operations, ending a 50 year phase of deep reef mining in Gympie. By this time dairying and agriculture (especially fruit production) had emerged as key contributors to the economy of the Gympie district, strongly influenced by the opening of the Mary Valley branch railway in 1915 and the resulting influx of new settlers. These industries were heavily reliant on transport by rail and increasingly informed activities within the station complex while shaping the development of the surrounding precinct. The Wide Bay Co-operative Dairy Company was located on Tozer Street from 1906 and in 1925 built one of Australia's largest butter factories, a reflection of the region's prominence in dairying. In 1937 the Petty Sessions District of Gympie was Queensland's largest milk and butter producer, with the greatest number of dairy cattle in milk. The Gympie district was the largest producer of bananas in Australia in the 1920s and from the 1930s an important pineapple and bean growing area. Fruit trains began operating from Gympie to Melbourne from 1923 and in 1929 the Gympie Fruit Growers Co-operative Association erected premises opposite the station on Tozer Street.
The opening of the Townsville-Cairns section of the North Coast line in December 1924, the final link of Queensland's coastal route, sent more goods and people through Gympie. This increase in traffic determined further substantial alterations to the complex in the second half of the 1920s. Plans were drawn for an extension of the refreshment rooms in 1924, the northern end platform was extended in 1927 and the subway lift shaft at the south end was altered for a new electric lift. Other work included the installation of an electropnuematic signalling and interlocking system and triple storey signal cabin, addition of more rail lines within the complex, a new turntable and coal chutes. A 1932 site plan shows the platform shade extending from the south end of the station building to the subway entrance had been built and the earlier single storey signal cabin at the north end of the platform was in use as the signal maintainer's 'hut'.
By the 1930s, the Gympie railway station complex had evolved into one of Queensland's most substantial and busy railway complexes. Extending beyond the main yard into adjacent streets, a range of structures existed to meet the needs of railway staff and customers. Such structures included engine and wagon repair shops, storage and maintenance sheds, loading banks and trucking yards, offices, union rooms, station masters residence and guards, loco, inspectors and waitresses quarters. Within the yard were some 11 miles (17.6 km) of railway line.
The station played an important role in moving goods and people throughout most of the twentieth century. Gympie was the terminus for passenger services from Brisbane and Maryborough and the administrative boundary between these railway districts and operated as a crew change point, train examination, shunting and re-marshalling centre. During WWII, Gympie became an important depot and meal stop for troop trains. After the war the local small crops industry continued its expansion and in 1955 agricultural loadings worth a total of £1,494 000 were sent from the Gympie station including 900,000 cases of pineapples, 85,000 cases of beans and 20,000 cases of bananas.
Over time, a range of factors including the transition to diesel from steam, competition with road transport and changes in rural industries impacted on the operations of the station and informed changes to the complex. By 1956 a small timber building had been built next to the signallers hut on the platform and was used as a porter's room. The sheltered ticket sales at the south end of the station building area had been enclosed for other purposes and the north end was also extended for storage. In 1963 a new ticket and parcel office was built within the former parking area adjoining the subway entrance.
During the 1970s, the roof tiles on the station building were replaced by metal sheeting. By 1980 the roofing on the guard's room had also been clad with metal sheeting, the lantern vent removed and the half-hipped head roof ends of the building replaced with gables. The platform was further extended to accommodate longer air-conditioned trains. The three storey signal cabin was made obsolete around 1980 with the introduction of CTC signalling and was removed circa 1989.
In 1970 the 24 hour refreshment rooms dispensed with evening trading, before the service stopped altogether in 1972. In the 1930s, the rooms had employed two cooks, a manager and 15 waitresses. The closure of the refreshment rooms and other operational needs saw the internal spaces of the station building used for other purposes. In 1981 the main station building accommodated spaces for records and other storage, porters, fitters and driver's rooms, loco crew amenities, inspector's office, switchboard and CTC control room. The former kitchen on the first floor at this time housed the station master's office. The porter's room on the platform was in use as an electrician's hut.
The Gympie station had been operating for a century by 1981 but by the end of the 1980s was rendered largely redundant. As part of the upgrading and electrification process of the North Coast line between Brisbane and Rockhampton, an eastern deviation was constructed by Queensland Rail. A new station 'Gympie North' was built as part of this project, opening in early 1989 with the inauguration of electric train services. Gympie Railway Station was relegated to a goods and freight depot from 1989 before officially closing as a Queensland Rail station in 1995. By this time many of the structures within the complex had been removed.
For over a century the station complex was intrinsically linked to the economy of Gympie and the surrounding area and played an important regional role in Queensland's rail network. While facilitating the movement of goods, the site was also an important social space, for the wider community who greeted and farewelled family, friends and distinguished visitors at the station, for rail travellers passing through, and for the many employees connected to the station.
The closure of the station occurred in the same year goods trains ceased operating on the Mary Valley branch railway following its gradual decline in previous decades. The line however, was not formally closed and in 1996 the Mary Valley Heritage Railway Board negotiated to conduct tourist steam train services on the line and in 1997 became the custodians of much of the Gympie Railway complex. The Mary Valley Heritage Railway commenced operations on the former Mary Valley branch line on 23 May 1998. The 'Valley Rattler' steam train tours and rail motor rides have since become a major tourist attraction for the region. A large group of volunteers and trainees contribute to the operation and maintenance of the line, rolling stock and buildings between Gympie and Imbil.
","criteria":"The Gympie Railway Station platform complex is important in demonstrating the expansion of Queensland's railway network and the growth of Gympie as a major regional centre. As a key site for the movement of goods and people for over a century, the station was intimately connected to the Gympie district's development of its mining, timber, dairying and agricultural industries.
First established in 1881 as the terminus of the line from Maryborough, the station evolved over time following connections to Brisbane in 1891, the Mary Valley branch railway in 1915, and the extension of Queensland's coastal railway route. Major improvements dating from 1910s including the island platform, station building and associated pedestrian infrastructure demonstrate the response to changing requirements associated with the expansion of Queensland railway network and the important status of Gympie within this system. Later additions, including the platform shade, platform extensions, electric luggage lift and additional platform buildings further illustrate this growth.
|The highly intact passenger station building (1913) is important as an example of a large station building derived from the Queensland Railways A series 'Pagoda' style standard design and is considered rare in Queensland, as is the luggage lift (1927) connecting the platform and subway.
The intact arrangement of structures within the platform complex is rare within a Queensland railway station setting and includes the station building and adjacent staff and storage structures, pedestrian subway and luggage lift, underpass and overbridge.
|The passenger station building is important in illustrating the principal characteristics of a major regional railway station of the early twentieth century. These characteristics are expressed by the highly intact building in its platform setting, substantial and imposing form, exterior detail, internal layout of offices, storage spaces, refreshment and waiting rooms, and associated fittings, fixtures and decorative detailing. The station building's shaded platforms and waiting areas, its generous eave overhangs and window awnings are distinctive elements of early twentieth century railway architecture in Queensland.
The passenger station building is important in demonstrating the evolution of passenger station design in Queensland during the early twentieth century. Derived from the A series 'Pagoda' style standard design, distinctive features including the ornamental platform brackets, coloured glass windows, decorative timber detailing and roof form demonstrate the adoption of Federation style architectural characteristics by Queensland Railways during the 1910s.
Adjacent ancillary buildings used for staff and storage purposes are important in contributing to an understanding of how the station functioned. The platform shade, subway and luggage lift, underpass, and overhead bridge illustrate the response to the requirements of passengers and pedestrians.
|The landmark qualities of the Gympie passenger station building, derived from its elevated location and substantial form, reinforce its status as an important part of Queensland's regional transport network and declare Gympie's regional standing. Its prominence combine with its distinctive design features, including the ornamental platform brackets, coloured glass windows, decorative timber detailing and roof form to make a strong contribution to the Gympie townscape. The cohesive arrangement of buildings and structures within the complex, its aesthetic qualities and distinctive spine-like arrangement evoking the shape of the hilltop on which it stands, can be appreciated from a number of vantage points within and beyond the complex, including the Railway Hotel [QHR 602540] and adjacent streets.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion D | Criterion E","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":19662,"place_ref":602540,"name":"Railway Hotel","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"1 Station Road","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2008-06-12","description":"A prominent landmark standing on one of Gympie's hilltops, the Railway Hotel is a two-storeyed timber building on the corner of Station Road and Tozer Lane, Gympie. From this elevated site, adjacent to the former Gympie Railway Station, the hotel affords expansive views across Gympie and surrounding districts. A timber footbridge connects the hotel and the railway station.
The Railway Hotel is a large rectangular building sheltered by a hipped roof clad with corrugated iron sheeting. The building faces northeast, is timber-framed, clad with chamferboards and stands on brick and concrete stumps on a sloping site. The front elevation is dominated by projecting end gable bays carrying panels with painted lettering RAILWAY (east bay) and HOTEL (west bay) below decorative battened, pressed metal gable infills. Verandahs to each level have weatherboard valances. The verandah to the first floor has stop-chamfered timber posts with long, elegant curved brackets and dowel and decorative panel balustrading. On the ground floor enclosed verandahs flank the main entrance. Double-hung sash windows shaded by timber awnings punctuate the side elevations.
The ground floor elevation is asymmetrical with an off-centre main entrance sheltered by a projecting gable roof crowned at the apex by a metal scroll finial. A set of low tiled concrete stairs rises to the timber floored entrance porch which is framed by oversized decorative brackets matching the pattern of the brackets to first floor verandah posts. A four-panelled timber entrance door with glazed sidelights and fanlights opens into the vestibule and a side door to the left opens onto the former sitting room off the dining room. A later metal ramp runs along the front from the west to alight at the porch. The public bar is accommodated within the east side of the building and is entered through doorways to the northeast recessed to each side of a bay window. The awning sheltering one of these entrances is recent. Northwest of the public bar, two low timber doors open from carpark level into the concrete and brick basement cellar.
The ground floor accommodates the entrance vestibule, manager's office and private quarters, dining room and former sitting room, and public bar. The ground floor plan works off the entrance vestibule from which a fine timber stair rises to the guest accommodation on the first floor. From the vestibule, the dining room is entered to the left and the manager's quarters/office to the right. The vestibule runs through to the rear verandah which accommodates toilets at each end. Partitions to the ground floor rooms are post and rail construction lined with vertical tongue and groove boards. All the public rooms, including the bay window space in the public bar, have decorative pressed metal ceilings, ceiling roses and cornices except the rear section of the public bar where the ceiling is lined with tongue and groove timber boards.
The dining room opens onto the service corridor to the rear, to the public bar through a door at the far east side of the room and receives service from the bar through an open hatch. The former lounge to the northeast of the dining room is enclosed with aluminium sliding doors and accommodates a billiard table.
The public bar is refurbished and incorporates the former parlour bar to the southeast. There is evidence of earlier partitions now removed and a window opening now infilled with vertical timber boards. Murals decorating the upper walls and bar fittings are recent.
The first floor is organised about a central corridor which is punctuated by arched openings and accommodates 12 bedrooms, a recreation room and two storage cupboards. Verandahs run to the front and rear, the narrow rear verandah accommodating bathrooms and toilets at each end. Short transverse corridors connect front and rear verandahs. The bedrooms open onto the corridor and the verandahs four-panel timber doors with fixed fretwork transom windows open onto the corridor and french windows with pivoting glazed fanlights open onto the verandahs. The partitions are of post and rail construction lined with vertical timber boards. The external walls are clad with chamferboards. The ceilings are lined with tongue and groove boards and have decorative metal ceiling roses. Double-hung sash windows terminate each end of the corridor and are installed in the end rooms.
Earlier gas light pipes and fittings remain to the upper and lower rear verandahs. Original door and window joinery and hardware remain throughout the building. The building has timber floors throughout except for the upper verandahs which are now sheeted with a thick fibre cement board. Fibre cement sheeting encloses the bathrooms to the northwest and the enclosed services corridor of the ground floor rear verandah.
A timber framed two-roomed rectangular building clad with chamferboards (some beaded to the interior), the kitchen/laundry wing stands to the rear of the main building. It is reached from the rear ground floor verandah through an enclosed service corridor and storage area. The roof to the kitchen/laundry is clad with corrugated metal sheeting with a gable to the north end and a hip to the south. A two-sided fireplace with a tall brick chimney stands to the centre. The fireplace is no longer operable and accommodates a contemporary stove within the north end. The kitchen fit-out is recent including the plasterboard lining. The laundry ceiling is lined with timber boards and has a decorative metal ceiling rose; the laundry walls are unlined.
A modern beer garden sheltered by a low pitched skillion roof stands to the northwest of the kitchen/laundry. This is not considered to be of cultural heritage significance.
A bitumen carpark slopes uphill towards the railway line forming a forecourt to the building. A concrete fence runs along the northeast side of the carpark from which terraced garden beds retained by battered stone and concrete walls fall to Station Road. The beds are planted with a range of shrubs and a set of concrete stairs rises within them.
","history":"The Railway Hotel at Gympie is a large, two-storeyed timber building constructed in 1915-1916 for owner Charles Caston. Designed by Brisbane architect AB Wilson, it replaced an earlier single-storey Railway Hotel erected in 1882 on the same site.
\nGympie was established after the discovery of gold in the Mary River district in October 1867. The new goldfield put Queensland on the map as a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. Thousands of people arrived at the Gympie goldfield in the months after the discovery and a fledgling settlement emerged.
\nThe early makeshift structures of Gympie gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings. The township provided a ready market for local timbergetters and the growing number of agricultural producers in the surrounding district. By the end of the 1870s, an intensive phase of underground reef mining was underway, facilitated by the injection of capital into mining companies for machinery and employees. During 1881, mines began yielding large amounts of gold, marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie.
\nThe 1880s were an important period of expansion for railways in Queensland, with new lines opening throughout the state. The economic importance of Gympie's mining industry was the key factor in the approval of the construction of a rail line between the sea port of Maryborough and Gympie. The line was officially opened in August 1881, and soon became the dominant transport artery for the movement of goods and people in and out of Gympie.
\nGympie Railway Station, located between Tozer Hill and Caledonian Hill, was erected adjacent to land owned by Walter A Compigne, Gympie's first Clerk of Petty Sessions in 1868 and registrar of the Gympie District Court by 1874. In 1882 Compigne took advantage of this proximity to the station by constructing the Railway Hotel on his land.
\nAs Queensland's railway system expanded, hotels joined other businesses in clustering around the rail stations. Use of the name \"Railway Hotel\" was common by the 1860s, a popular means of advertising proximity to the railway station. By the early twentieth century there were close to 70 \"Railway Hotels\" in Queensland.
\nCompigne did not conduct the Railway Hotel himself, preferring to lease it to licensees. Following his death in 1884 the property passed to his wife Mary Ann, who continued leasing out the Railway Hotel.
\nIn 1888 construction of the North Coast railway commenced simultaneously from Brisbane and Gympie. The southward extension resulted in further land resumptions, with the allotment on which the Railway Hotel stood being reduced in size. In May 1888, tenders were called for the removal of the Railway Hotel, possibly to reposition the hotel following the resumption.
\nThe Gympie-Brisbane rail line was opened in 1891, linking a coastal route from Brisbane to Bundaberg. The extended scope of services from Gympie Station generated more activity around the railway precinct. In 1892 title to the Railway Hotel and adjoining land was transferred to Charles Caston, a second generation Gympie mining secretary. The Caston family maintained an interest in the hotel for over 60 years. Caston continued to lease out the Railway Hotel.
\nOn the night of 1 February 1915, the Railway Hotel was almost totally destroyed by fire, except for some detached rooms at the rear. In May tenders were advertised for the construction of a new Railway Hotel, designed by Brisbane architect Alexander Brown Wilson. After working in the private practice of Colonial Architect, FDG Stanley, and studying in England, Wilson began his own architectural practice in Brisbane in 1884, maintaining a long and distinguished career until his retirement in 1928. He was responsible for buildings such as the Plough Inn at Southbank [QHR 600294], Kinauld on Dornoch Terrace [QHR 600225] and Leckhampton at Kangaroo Point [QHR 600246].
\nGympie builder JJ Georges was awarded the contract for the construction of the new hotel in June 1915 and this was completed by February 1916 at a cost of £1980. The new hotel was a large two-storey timber building with first floor verandahs and a double gabled roof with a detached kitchen to the rear. Wilson's design responded to the requirements of a subtropical timber hotel, providing well ventilated rooms with high ceilings and guests quarters that opened onto front and rear verandahs. The interiors of the building were enhanced by the inclusion of pressed metal ceilings. The exterior of the hotel shared similarities with popular domestic architecture in its decorative treatment of the verandah and gables. Two earlier detached rooms were repositioned at the rear of the premises. Between 1916 and 1920 Charles Caston held the license to the hotel.
\nThe building's elevated position on a rise overlooking the station made it a prominent landmark in the city.
\nThe rebuilding of the Railway Hotel coincided with a substantial upgrading to the Gympie Railway Station between 1911 and 1915. Crew barracks for overnight accommodation were built in 1914. Other work included a new large station building, pedestrian subway, an underpass linking Station Road to Mellor Street and conversion of the platform into an island. In 1915, a large overbridge was built from the island platform linking Lady Mary Terrace and Station Road. The new bridge was a welcome development for the Railway Hotel, with pedestrians alighting from the overbridge directly in front of the building.
\nThe opening of the Mary Valley railway to Brooloo in 1915 and the connection between Cairns and Brisbane in 1924 sent more goods and people through Gympie. The Gympie district was the largest producer of bananas in Australia in the 1920s and an important pineapple growing area. Fruit trains began operating from Gympie to Melbourne and in 1923 the Gympie Fruit Growers Co-operative Association erected premises opposite the station on Tozer Street. The Wide Bay Co-operative Dairy Company also was located on Tozer Street and in 1925 built one of Australia's largest butter factories. By 1927 one tenth of Queensland's milk production was from the Gympie district. The centrality of the railway precinct to Gympie's economy offered enhanced opportunities for the Railway Hotel to generate business.
\nIn November 1928 newly formed Brisbane brewer Castlemaine Perkins Limited acquired an interest in the lease of the Railway Hotel from William English. The purchase of the leasehold by Castlemaine Perkins exemplified their practice of acquiring hotel freeholds and leases throughout Queensland. This process of vertical integration continued into the 1930s, ensuring the company's domination of the Queensland market.
\nA licensing inspection report from 1936 indicates the Railway Hotel's internal arrangement of space followed a layout typical of early twentieth century Queensland hotels. The first floor contained 12 guest bedrooms, a sitting room, one bathroom, two water closets and front and rear verandahs. On the ground floor were eight guest rooms, one sitting room, dining room, large kitchen, laundry, parlour, bar, and cellar. Four detached rooms at the rear of the premises were used by the publican and servants and a garage with space for two cars was available for guests. The Railway Hotel was a prosperous and well maintained place at this period. Used extensively by the travelling public and commercial travellers the hotel averaged fifty guests a week, mostly persons of \"good character\".
\nCastlemaine Perkins maintained an interest in the hotel until 1945, through leases and sub-leases to and from publicans. In 1953 the Caston family ended their association with the Railway Hotel and since that time a number of owners and publications have been involved in its management.
\nThe public bar was enlarged in 1966, by incorporating the parlour bar at the far end from the street entrance. The dining room has been extended into the front sitting room and kitchen capacity has been expanded by widening the original walkway. The garage and detached rooms have been removed and in recent years a beer garden has been added at the rear of the building.
\nWith the electrification of the Main North Coast line in 1989, a new railway station for Gympie was built east of the town. Since 1998, the original Gympie railway station has become an important tourist attraction for the city with the Mary Valley Heritage Railway operating steam train excursions through the Mary Valley. The Railway Hotel continues its role of providing drink, food and lodgings for visitors and locals. A regular local clientele drink at the public bar and a number of long-term residents occupy rooms on the first floor. Memorabilia throughout the building celebrates the hotel's long association with the railway.
","criteria":"The Railway Hotel at Gympie, constructed in 1915 on a site associated with a hotel since 1882, is important in demonstrating a significant pattern of urban development from the 1860s: the clustering of commercial premises in the vicinity of railway stations. The Railway Hotel at Gympie is an excellent illustration of this trend. The connectivity between the hotel and the railway station, due both to the close proximity and to the footbridge that emerges from the station in front of the hotel, is a particularly good illustration of the interdependence of commercial places (including hotels) and railways in moving and accommodating goods and people in Queensland prior to developments in road transportation. The hotel occupies a prominent and easily accessible position in relation to the former Gympie Railway Station, and for decades has offered accommodation to rail travellers and the provision of drink and food for visitors and locals.
The construction of the new Railway Hotel in 1915-1916 is associated with a period of significant growth in Gympie, during which services and facilities at Gympie Railway Station and precinct were expanded, closely linked to the increasing economic importance of the district's dairy and fruit industries.
|Situated on one of Gympie's hills, the Railway Hotel is a prominent and well known landmark in Gympie. The building's position overlooking the train station and next to the platform footbridge, reinforces its connectivity to the railway while making a strong aesthetic contribution to the railway precinct and to the Gympie townscape.
|Although some interior alterations, especially on the ground floor which contains the public spaces, can be expected in hotels that have sustained their function through many decades, the Railway Hotel at Gympie retains a high degree of integrity and intactness. It remains important in illustrating the principal characteristics of a large timber hotel of the early twentieth century, expressed in its form, exterior detail, and internal layout, fittings, fixtures and decorative detailing. High ceilings and verandahs illustrate a response to sub-tropical Queensland conditions, while the decorative elements on the verandah and gables reveal the influence of domestic forms on hotel architecture at this period. Internally, the place retains an early and fine timber staircase; extensive use of decorative pressed metal ceilings, ceiling roses and cornices in the public rooms on the ground floor; original door and window joinery and hardware; and a highly intact upper floor with early bedrooms opening off a central corridor. Earlier gas light pipes and fittings remain to the upper and lower rear veranda's.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion E | Criterion D","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":20026,"place_ref":602773,"name":"Queensland National Bank (former)","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"cnr Channon Street and Nash Streets","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-04-15","description":"The former Queensland National Bank, a single storey rendered masonry building, stands to the corner of Channon and Nash Streets, Gympie.
Sheltered by a hipped roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting the building, at street level to the north corner, is supported on concrete stumps and stone retaining walls accommodating the slope of the site south and southwest down to Mary Street. Three rendered masonry chimneystacks rise from rooms on the eastern side. Decorative paired timber roof brackets interspersed with rectangular moulded concrete indents run around the building under the main roof. A reconstructed timber floored verandah runs around the northeast and northwest sides, sheltered by a concave roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting.
The main elevation faces northwest onto Channon Street and is asymmetrical about the main entrance which is marked by the projecting gable roof entrance within the concave verandah roof. The elevation is punctuated by large full pane sash windows one to the east and three to the west of the entrance, a two leaf timber door with an arched fixed light fanlight over. Plain painted concrete sills with stark moulded brackets project beneath the windows.
The northeast elevation to Nash Street is punctuated by a run of openings - a set of French windows and entrance to the former residence to the south end and a line of four large sash windows to the north matching those of the main elevation. The blank southwest elevation is partly obscured by the recent small hipped roof, weatherboard clad extension accommodating an entry porch and toilets. The southeast elevation accommodates two large sash windows with concrete sills and is supported on a random course stone wall base.
L-shaped in plan, the building accommodates the former bank in the northwest wing and the former manager's residence in the southeast wing. The bank wing is rectangular in plan and accommodates the banking chamber, accountant/clerks' office, strong room, manager's office and stationery room. Entered from the main entrance on Channon Street, the banking chamber is distinguished by a decorative pressed metal ceiling and cornice. Two flattened archways with prominent decorative keystones to the southwest mark the extent of the 1876 chamber beyond which is the accountant and clerks area also defined by a pressed metal ceiling and cornice matching that in the main banking chamber. A strong room stands to the southern corner of this space. The heavy metal door to the strong room has a maker's mark - John N Tann's Reliance Door - stamped on the front.
The former manager's office stands to the northern corner of the building and opens into the banking chamber to the southwest and the stationery room to the southeast which in turn opens to the former residence behind. The manager's office is notable for a fine decorative pressed metal ceiling and accommodates a fireplace with a decorative timber surround.
Square in plan, the core of the residence survives to the southeast of the bank. Four rooms are organised off a central hall which narrows halfway along. The main entrance to Nash Street is a four-panel timber door with sidelights and fanlights. Both front rooms have fireplaces with carved timber surrounds. Ceilings throughout the residence are plastered and plain with no cornices. The remnant of a gas light fitting remains in the room to the northwest of the entrance hall.
Recent reconstruction and renovation work includes new door and window joinery and light fittings, however, original skirtings, architraves, fanlights, and door and window joinery and hardware survive. A pine floor runs throughout, polished in some areas and covered with carpet in others.
A bitumened carpark stands to the southwest and southeast of the building.
The shed to the south-east on Lot 1 is not considered to be of cultural heritage significance.
","history":"This single-storey masonry former Queensland National Bank (QNB) and residence is located on the corner of Channon and Nash Streets, Gympie. It was designed by architect John Richard Hall in 1875 and opened in February 1877. Extensions designed by architect Claude Chambers were made in 1898. The bank served its original function until 1937.
Gympie (initially known as Nashville) was established after the discovery of gold in the Mary River district in October 1867. The new goldfield turned Queensland into a significant gold producer and contributed much needed finances to the young colony. Thousands of people arrived at the Gympie goldfield in the months after the discovery and a fledgling settlement emerged. In a year the alluvial gold had been exhausted and shallow reef mining commenced. With the change to deep reef mining from 1875, came the need for extensive capital investment through the formation of companies using foreign as well as local capital. During 1881, mines began yielding large amounts of gold, marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie as an intensive phase of underground reef mining began, facilitated by the injection of capital into mining companies for machinery and employees.
As Gympie evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, it developed a distinctive character with an irregular street pattern amid a series of valleys and ridges. Consequently many roads run along ridgelines (such as Channon Street) with linking roads across valleys and hillsides (as does Nash Street). Gradually the early makeshift structures of 1860s Gympie gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings, including government buildings on Channon Street from the mid 1870s. A series of fires in Mary Street in 1877, 1881, 1891, 1929 and 1946 razed many of Gympie's early buildings, but left the QNB building untouched. Other extant early buildings are the former Gympie Court House and Lands Office (1876) and the first Masonic Hall in Duke Street (1869).
The Queensland National Bank was the first and most successful of Queensland's three indigenous 19th century banks. As the colony's most powerful banking institution, the QNB dominated the Queensland economy. It was established in March 1872 by an influential group of prominent Queensland squatters, politicians, lawyers, and businessmen who wished to secure development capital free from overseas or inter-colonial control. It commenced trading on 3 June 1872 at its first office in Brisbane. The bank attracted widespread Queensland patronage and branches opened in quick succession. By early in 1874 the bank had 10 branches. In 1878 the Queensland National Bank opened a branch in London, while one in Sydney opened two years later. In September 1879 Thomas McIlwraith (Queensland Premier 1877-83, 1888, 1893), a director of the QNB, persuaded Parliament to confer on it the whole of the Queensland Government's banking business. By 1880 the bank held 40% of the total deposits and advances in Queensland, a higher proportion than any other bank in any Australian colony. Despite financial scandals and a brief suspension of operation during the 1890s the bank exclusively held the government's account for 42 years, until 1921.
A branch of the Queensland National Bank opened in Gympie on 11 December 1872, within six months of the bank commencing operation. In its first 21 days of trading the Gympie branch purchased 6,095 ounces of gold and in the first seven years of trading it handled 142,000 ounces of gold. By 1890 the QNB had 14 branches on the Queensland mining fields. Charters Towers and Gympie were the premier mining branches transacting more than half of the bank's mining business. Their aggregate deposits and advances exceeded £0.5 million making them highly profitable branches.
Mainly due to Queensland's three major gold mining centres - Gympie, Charters Towers and Mt Morgan - gold production contributed between 21.61 and 35.53 percent of Queensland's export income during the 1880s and 1890s. The value of gold output rose from £698,000 in 1883 to £2.75m in 1889, exceeding the value of exported wool. These enormous amounts of gold were purchased by banks such as the Queensland National Bank, which played a vital role in this process of wealth creation and distribution.
The architect for the Gympie branch of the Queensland National Bank and many of its other branches throughout the colony from 1872 was John Richard Hall (1835-83). Born and trained as an architect in England he migrated to the colonies by 1857. On 23 December 1859 Hall was appointed a foreman of works in the Queensland Colonial Architect's Office, but in the following May was made redundant. By 1864 Hall had begun private practice as an architect in Brisbane but little of his earliest work can be identified. From 1866 to 1872 he was Assessor for Brisbane's North Ward and in 1866 he was runner-up in a design competition for an engine house for the Citizens' Volunteer Fire Brigade. In 1868 he was appointed as a licensed surveyor in Queensland and took over superintending the outstanding work of Benjamin Backhouse, especially the completion of the Brisbane Grammar School (demolished 1911). As a private architect, Hall designed fine buildings throughout Queensland, including buildings for the Queensland National Bank; Maryborough Boys Grammar School (1881) [QHR 600697]; residences including 'Greylands' [QHR 600230], 'Langlands' and 'Pahroombin'; commercial projects; churches; and hotels.
Hall designed the QNB's Gympie bank building in 1875 and construction took place in the following year, on the site of the bank's previous timber building, which was moved to the rear of the new building and used as part of the residence.
The task of supervising the building of the Gympie branch of the QNB and residence was undertaken by local Gympie architect Hugo Durietz. The new building was mainly of brick with stone foundations and the old timber premises were attached at the rear as part of the manager's residence. Andrew Collins was appointed as the builder after his tender of £1,500 was accepted. The total cost of the building, opened in February 1877, was £2,495/13/9.
In 1898 alterations to the Queensland National Bank building in Gympie were made by architect Claude William Chambers. These widened the bank on the western side of the Channon Street elevation to accommodate the accountant, clerks and a strong room. A site plan shows the extended bank building and the location of its outbuildings on the large block of land in relation to the building. The stables and buggy shed with feed room were located along Nash Street 65 feet (19.81 m) from the nearest point of the building. A WC was located 42 feet (12.8 m) from the nearest point of the building to the south-east of the residence and a second lavatory was located 19 feet (5.79 m) to the south-west of the bank building along Channon Street.
Architect C W Chambers (1861-1947) was born and educated in Melbourne and worked in both Melbourne and Sydney before coming to Brisbane in November 1885 to work for FDG Stanley. He assisted with the plans for St Paul's Presbyterian Church, Robert Harper and Co.'s mills and D L Brown and Co.'s new warehouse in Brisbane; was honorary architect to the Brisbane gymnasium and in 1885 was instrumental in founding the Queensland Institute of Architects. In March 1889 Chambers joined the Sydney architects A L & G McCredie as their Brisbane partner, forming McCredie Bros and Chambers. He supervised the firm's new AUSN offices (Naldham House) [QHR 600133] and in December 1889 produced the firm's winning entry in a design competition for Brisbane's Trades and Labour Hall. After the partnership ended on 1 February 1893, Chambers practised in his own right as an architect and consulting engineer in Brisbane and supervised the Burns, Philp and Co. Offices in Townsville for the McCredie Brothers architects.
His practice was one of Brisbane's largest in the early 20th century. His major works include 'Drysllwyn' (later 'Raymont Lodge') [QHR 600051] home of Gympie magnate, William Davies; 'Ross Roy', Indooroopilly; additions to the Commercial Travellers Association Club, Elizabeth Street (1898) [QHR 600110]; 'The Big Block' for Finney Isles, Queen Street (1908-10) and Perry House, corner of Albert and Elizabeth Streets, (1910-13) [QHR 600103]. After entering partnership with Lange Powell in 1911 as Chambers and Powell, he moved to Sydney in 1915. From 1920 to 1935 Chambers formed another Brisbane partnership with E M Ford as Chambers and Ford and practised in Sydney from 1931 to 1934 with a pioneer woman architect from Queensland, Beatrice May Hutton (1893-1990).
After the turn of the century the town's key function changed from gold mining to service town for the surrounding dairy and fruit-growing district. Accordingly, the QNB turned to commerce and agriculture to provide the Gympie branch's business. Over time the commercial centre of the town moved eastward down Mary Street in response to commercial activity centering upon the railway station. As a result the QNB Board sanctioned the purchase of premises at the corner of Mary and Monkland Streets in 1937 for its operations and approved the sale of the Channon Street bank premises. In the following year it was sold. The building was used by industrial service businesses until its purchase by the Widgee Shire Council in 1990.
Restoration of the former Queensland National Bank building by the Widgee Shire Council took place in 2000 after the shire council received funding under the Federation Community Projects Program for restoration of the building. The project was described as 'architecturally sensitive restoration works on a culturally significant building'. The work included reinstatement of the front and side verandahs that had been removed decades previously; repairs to the rear verandah, flooring, stumps, joists, windows, plaster and roof; repair and upgrading of electrical and plumbing installations and toilet facilities; polishing selected floors and laying floor coverings; and painting the building internally and externally.
The former Queensland National Bank building served as Cooloola Shire Council chambers for a number of years, but in 2011 is used as office space by the Gympie Regional Council.
","criteria":"The former Queensland National Bank (QNB) building (1877)-and the important gold-era precinct of which it is a part-is physical evidence of the vital role of financial institutions in the process of wealth creation and distribution on Queensland goldfields as it converted enormous amounts of gold into cash. Gympie's gold was a major contributor to the wealth of Queensland for approximately 60 years from 1867.
The former QNB building is set apart from other bank buildings also in the Queensland Heritage Register [e.g. QHR 602774, Royal Bank of Queensland (former)] in being one of the permanent commercial buildings that resulted from the success of shallow reef mining, an early phase of gold mining in the town of Gympie, and the expectation of further gold discovery through deep reef mining. For 60 years the building served as a Queensland National Bank branch and manager's residence. It is one of only a few known 1870s commercial buildings remaining in Gympie.
The siting of the QNB building on Commissioners Hill and its later sale when the centre of the town moved eastwards after gold production ceased also illustrate the evolution of Gympie's development.
|The former QNB building, operating as a QNB branch from February 1877 until 1937, has a special association with the Queensland National Bank. As one of its earliest and most profitable branches, the Gympie branch of the QNB was important in the QNB's growth in Queensland. By 1880 the QNB held 40% of the total deposits and advances in Queensland, a higher proportion than any other bank in any Australian colony. The bank also exclusively held the Queensland government's account for 42 years (1879-1921). As the colony's most powerful banking institution, the QNB dominated Queensland's economy during the last quarter of the 19th century.
|Sited on one of Gympie's high points in the vicinity of important government buildings such as the former Lands Office and Courthouse, the former QNB building is symbolic of the importance and permanence of the bank in one of the most economically important towns in Queensland. Along with a number of other bank buildings, including the former Bank of New South Wales [QHR 602775], the QNB building contributes to an important and substantially intact gold-era precinct in upper Mary Street area of Gympie.
The building has aesthetic significance for its architectural qualities expressed in the craftsmanship and detailing of the joinery and finishes, and for its streetscape value through its form, scale and design which complement other surviving 19th century buildings in its vicinity.
|The former QNB building is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a regional bank of its era, being a good example of a masonry structure combining a banking chamber, office and manager's residence. Its siting with other important institutions like the Lands Office and Courthouse on Commissioner's Hill, high above the gold diggings, illustrates the prominence of banks in the gold mining town of Gympie.
The former QNB building is the oldest extant bank building in Gympie and the only one dating from the 1870s.
Its intactness is demonstrated in its planning, room volumes, joinery, strongroom and pressed metal ceilings.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion H | Criterion E | Criterion D","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":20029,"place_ref":602778,"name":"Gympie Court House and Lands Office (former)","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"26 Channon Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-07-15","description":"The site accommodates a number of buildings and structures. This description is concerned with the former court house (and extensions), strongroom and air raid shelter. A modern brick toilet block located behind the court house is not of cultural heritage significance.
\nFormer court house (and extensions)
\nA single storey, rectangular, rendered brick building in a classical idiom; the former court house stands prominently to Channon Street, Gympie.
\nOn a site sloping down to the south-west, the building is sheltered by a gable roof clad with trimdeck metal sheeting and stands level with the street at the portico/verandah entrance and is elevated above street level at the southern entrance which is approached by concrete steps. Four rendered masonry chimneys project through the roof.
\nDefined vertically by plain pilasters, the elevations are unified by employing semi-circular arched openings, decorative moulded sill strips and projecting window head cornices.
\nThe asymmetrical front elevation to Channon Street reflects the 1893 extension to the southwest. The former court house comprises a central pedimented portico flanked by open verandah bays which terminate in the end wings. The bays of the verandah are defined by engaged columns and have horizontal metal tube rails. The wings are each distinguished by a central arched window housing a pair of casement windows and fanlight. The extension to the south-west accommodates an entrance distinguished by a decorative moulded blank fanlight above a double timber door with a flat arch glazed fanlight. The adjacent bay is punctuated by two arched openings housing pairs of casement windows and glazed fanlights.
\nThe north-east elevation comprises an enclosed entrance porch flanked by the northern and eastern corner room wings with the whole crowned by a blank pediment. A modern steel awning (not of cultural heritage significance) extends from the entrance porch. The north-west elevation is dominated by the skillion roofed, brick kitchen extension notable for its banks of hopper windows to three sides. The balance of the elevation comprises the north wing, west wing and the extension to the south-west, punctuated by arched openings housing paired casement windows and fanlights sheltered by timber framed hoods. The blank south-west elevation accommodates two arched openings with paired casement windows and fanlights.
\nThe former court house area of the building is organised around a central rectangular room with square rooms offset to each corner. A verandah runs along the south-east and a later kitchen extension is to the north-west. The original western and southern corner rooms open into the central room, the northern and eastern corner rooms open to the verandah and enclosed porch which in turn opens into the central room. The central room, lit by clerestorey semi-circular lights to the south-east and rectangular hopper windows to the northwest, is notable for its coved ceiling and a vaulted timber lined alcove to the southwest end. Three arched openings to the verandah accommodate two sets of French windows and a set of paired casements, all with fanlights. Each of the corner rooms accommodates a carved timber fireplace. Throughout the building interior walls are plastered; ceilings are lined with tongue and groove timber boards; and floors are polished timber or carpeted. Original joinery (including fine panelled doors and fanlights, skirtings and architraves) is cedar and floors are of pine. Recent joinery around the building is of Malaysian cedar and floors of blackbean.
\nThe southwest extension works off a vestibule which provides access to a large rectangular room to the southwest, the original western and southern corner rooms of the court house and terminates at a square room to the rear of the lands office extension. Evidence remains of the earlier south-west court house entrance porch configuration including the infilled arched doorway into the courtroom.
\nThe kitchen, a light and airy rectangular room lit by banks of hopper windows, projects between the original northern and western corner rooms. The roof is framed with steel web trusses, the ceiling lined with fibre cement sheeting and the kitchen fit-out is modern.
\nStrongroom
\nThe strongroom is a freestanding painted brick building to the north-west of the former court house. Measuring 12 feet (3.72 m) x 10 feet (3.1 m) internally with 18 inch (457.2 mm) thick walls, the building stands on a concrete slab and is sheltered by a gable roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting. A heavy metal entrance door opens into a depressed arch vaulted ceiling space and lit by a narrow rectangular louvered window to the northwest.
\nAir raid shelter
\nButting against the north-east side of the strongroom, the rectangular pill box air raid shelter has off-form concrete blast walls, a concrete slab floor and flat roof. It has entrances at the north-east and south-west ends, each with an open porch sheltered by the cantilevered roof. Only the north-east end retains its interior concrete blast wall, which forms an entrance corridor into the main space of the shelter. The floor and ceiling are coved and there are three openings to the north-west and south-east sides housing pairs of eight-light casement windows. Original toilet cubicles remain at each end of the building. The exterior and parts of the interior are painted. A metal framed communications mast sits on the roof of the shelter, but this is not of cultural heritage significance.
","history":"The second Gympie Court House was built during 1875 and 1876 in Channon Street. The classical revival style brick and stone building was designed by the Colonial Architect's Office, and was extended in 1893 to include the Gympie Lands Office. It was the first substantial public building constructed in the town which developed at the site of Queensland's first major productive goldfield. The only known surviving earlier Queensland court houses (purpose-built) are in Ipswich (stone and brick, 1859, QHR 600575) and Toowoomba (its first, brick, 1863, QHR 601315). Other known surviving 1870s court houses in Queensland include those in: Maryborough (brick, 1877, QHR 600714), Port Douglas (timber, 1879, QHR 600465), St Lawrence (timber, 1878, QHR 601152), Toowoomba (its second, sandstone, 1878, QHR 600848) and Townsville (brick, 1877, QHR 600929). Also present on the site, behind the main building, are an 1882 strongroom and a 1942 air raid shelter.
Gympie (initially called Nashville) was established after the discovery of gold in October 1867 by James Nash. Although small finds of gold had been made in the region-near Imbil, Black Snake Range, and Nanango-it was the discovery of gold at Gympie in a gully near the Mary River that suddenly changed the fortunes of the region and Queensland. The new gold field established Queensland as a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. By Christmas of 1867, according to the Gold Commissioner, the Gympie field had a population of 4,000 (or over 15,000 according to James Nash). Although the alluvial deposits were quickly exhausted, from 1868 shallow reef mining occurred. From 1875 a third phase of mining began, based on deep reef mining, which marked a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie. Peak gold production occurred in 1903 but by 1927 production at Gympie had almost ceased.
As it evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, Gympie developed a distinctive character with an irregular street pattern amid a series of valleys and ridges. Existing buildings and mining homestead leases were accommodated in the first survey of the township in April 1868. Development of roads within the township of Gympie followed the terrain rather than adopting the standard grid pattern that was applied to townships surveyed for settlement, and consequently many roads run along ridgelines with linking roads across valleys and hillsides. The early makeshift structures of 1860s Gympie gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings, including government buildings on Channon Street from the mid 1870s.
The first government buildings in Gympie - the Gold Commissioner's Office, Powder Magazine and Post Office - were built in 1868. The Gympie Gold Commissioner, Henry Edward King, (also Secretary for Public Works and Mines from November 1874 to May 1876) initially conducted his court in temporary structures, and the first permanent mining court was a slab and shingle-roofed building near Cross Street, northwest of the Surface Hill Uniting Church. A Court of Petty Sessions, Commissioner's Camp, Mary River Gold Fields, was proclaimed by the Governor in Council on 20 February 1868, and by 1869 there was a court house at the corner of Duke and Channon Streets, on Commissioner's Hill (on the site of the town's third Post Office). The town's second Post Office was located just northwest of this court house. The 1876 court house (the second Court of Petty Sessions in Gympie) was built on the site of the original police lock-up and stables, on the north side of Channon Street between Duke and King Streets.
Planning for this new court house began in 1874. In December of that year EH Harries, a draughtsman with the Colonial Architect's Office, reported that a new Gympie court house of brick with stone foundations, with a court room 40 feet by 24 feet (12.2 m by 7.3 m) and offices for the Police Magistrate and Clerk of Petty Sessions, would cost around £1,500. Tenders were called on 23 December 1874 and the £1,468 tender of Andrew Collins, a builder from Red Hill, Gympie, was accepted in a Memorandum of Agreement with the Secretary of Public Works (HE King) on 13 March 1875.
The designer of the Gympie Court House is unknown. It is not attributed to FDG Stanley (Colonial Architect 1873 to 1881), although it has some stylistic touches in common with his work on the Maryborough Court House (1875-1878) and the third Gympie Post Office (1878-1880). However, it is possible that the Gympie Court House was designed either by EH Harries or by George Connolly. Connolly joined the Colonial Architect's Office in 1872. Much of his work is derivative of FDG Stanley or JJ Clark (Colonial Architect 1883-1885), and his best known designs include the classical revival style Northern Supreme Court at Bowen (1880-1881). The classical revival style was thought to be well suited to those public buildings intended to convey a sense of stability and dignity.
The new court house was finished in April 1876. The Brisbane Courier's Gympie correspondent reported that to celebrate a grand calico ball would be held there on 19 April. The building was described as a substantial, commodious brick edifice which appeared to be fitted up with every convenience suitable to the purpose for which it was designed.
However, this was not the case and inadequacies were reported. By June 1876 the building was occupied, but due to a lack of fittings the Police Magistrate had to convey his documents to the old court house. On 1 July 1876 the Brisbane Courier's Gympie correspondent commented on the bad acoustics of the alcove behind the bench, stating that 'sounds as if a multitude of voices were speaking at the one time were heard all over the building, and caused much confusion ...directly a word is uttered, it is immediately sucked into the alcove, and smashed into fragments against the walls, the pieces being hurled back at the speaker'.
Furniture was still a problem in 1881, when a letter of complaint from residents of Gympie noted that there was no provision for seating the public, jurors, suitors or witnesses, and jurors had to use the office of the Clerk of Petty Sessions to confer. A jury room was built on the rear verandah later in 1881. Expenditure on the Gympie court house, as reported by the Department of Public Works in 1891, included: £1,017 in 1875; £674 in 1876; £86 in 1877; £37 in 1881; and £220 (for a strongroom by George Caldwell) in 1882. The strongroom measured 12 feet by 10 feet (3.7 m by 3 m) internally, with 18 inch (457 mm) walls, and it is still extant behind the former court house.
In 1888, the layout of the court house included two offices at the southwest end of the building, the corner office on Channon Street being for the Police Magistrate, and the rear corner office was for Clerk of Petty Sessions. There was an area for the judge's bench between the two offices, and the three spaces each had a door leading to a verandah on the southwest elevation. The separate court and public areas took up the main rectangular space of the building. There were also two offices at the corners of the northeast elevation of the building, with a verandah between them. A portico with pediment stood in the centre of the verandah to the Channon street elevation, and the jury room took up the southwest end of the rear verandah. There were fireplaces with chimneys in each of the four offices, and there was a fleche in the centre of the roof.
In early 1891 a jury 'escaped' from the jury room, which was too small and hot for 12 men. Its timber walls were also vulnerable to eavesdropping. Two alternative plans were drawn up in October 1892, to provide a room for the use of jurors and two rooms for the Lands Commissioner. The latter had received notice to quit the offices he used at Gympie's third Post Office. The role of the Lands Department was to open up new land for settlement, and to sell, auction, or lease town, country and suburban land. It was also responsible for occupation licences, rabbit control, weed control and roads in new areas. The first applications for land lodged in the Lands Office in Gympie were in early 1869, and the Lands Office may have operated out of the second Post Office at this time.
Another plan was drawn up in November 1892, signed by Alfred Barton Brady, the Government Architect and Engineer for Bridges. This is the plan that was used, and in March 1893 the tender of Mark Doggett of Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, for £535, was accepted by Horace Tozer, Secretary for Public Works and Gympie solicitor. WT Newman carried out the painting at a cost of £35. The brick extension to the south-west included a second room for the Clerk of Petty Sessions (where the old verandah had been), a new room for the Judge and Police Magistrate at the rear, a hallway to Channon Street, a new office for the Lands Commissioner at the rear corner, and a Lands Office in the south-west corner to Channon Street. Doorways from the original south-west elevation's corner rooms onto the front and rear verandahs were sealed around this time. A small verandah was located at the rear corner of the new south-west elevation, accessed from both the Land Commissioner's office and the Judge's room. The old Police Magistrate's office was the Clerk of Petty Session's office by this time, and it was proposed that the original Clerk's office would become the new jury room. The 1893 extension includes the door and two windows at the south-west end of the Channon Street elevation of the current building.
As a result of pressure for a new court house during the mid 1890s a site on the corner of King and Channon Streets, northeast of the 1876 court house, was purchased in 1899. A new court house was built between 1900 and 1902 for a total of £5 671. Consequently, the 1876 court house became the Lands Office, and £27 for alterations to the Lands Office is noted in the Return of Expenditure on State Public Buildings for the period 1 July 1901 to 30 June 1902.
During its time as the Lands Office the former court house housed a number of government organisations, which jostled each other for office space and moved around the various offices in the building. The Geological Survey used the main room in the 1893 extension prior to 1912, and cooking classes were held by the Technical College in two rear rooms of the southwest end of the building up to 1917. The Queensland Government Savings Bank (which merged with the Commonwealth Bank in December 1920) occupied various rooms in the southwest end of the building between 1912 to 1927, competing for space with the Forestry Department, which was present in the building from c.1912 to 1921, and again from 1926. Other tenants over time included the Labour Department (prior to 1919 and again from 1927), the Department of Agriculture and Stock, the Inspector of Machinery, the Inspector of Factories and Shops, and the Agricultural Bank Inspector.
In 1919 the occupants of the north-east end of building included: the Lands Office at the northeast end of the old courtroom; the Land Commissioner in the Channon Street corner office; Land Rangers on the enclosed north-east verandah; and the Inspector of Machinery in the rear corner office. There was still a room on the rear verandah. In the south-west end of the building, the Inspector of Factories and Shops occupied the original Channon Street corner office; the Labour Agent occupied the centre office of the 1893 extension; the Forestry Branch used the old rear corner office and the 1893 extension's rear office; and the Queensland Government Savings Bank occupied the room built for the Lands Office in 1893.
During World War II a concrete air raid shelter for 50 persons was built behind the former court house. Constructed by June 1942 by the Department of Public Works, with help from the Gympie City Council, it was intended to shelter civil service personnel and any members of the public who might be nearby during a Japanese air raid.
By 1949 the timber store room on the back verandah had been demolished, and in 1950 the air raid shelter was modified for storage use by the Lands Office and the Forestry Office. An internal dividing wall (since removed) and casement windows were added. The fleche on the roof of the former court house was removed about 1951, as it had rotted and was leaking water onto the counter used by the Department of Agriculture and Stock. A new kitchen extension was added to the northwest elevation of the court house some time after 1954.
In 2002 the Lands Office building was transferred from the State to the Cooloola Shire Council, which made the building available to the Australian Institute of Country Music (AICM). The Apex Club funded the reconstruction of the Lands Office for the AICM, and this work occurred during 2008. As a result the courtroom became one open space again, and walls were reinstated between the two square rooms towards the southern end of the northwest elevation, and between the vestibule of the 1890s extension and the large room at the southwest end (now a music studio). The doorway between the remnant of the original rear verandah and the original western corner room has been reopened, and a small bathroom (c.1921) off the verandah at the rear corner of the southwest elevation has been converted into an electronic hub room.
","criteria":"The construction of the Gympie Court House in 1876 is important in demonstrating the evolution of Gympie, the site of Queensland's first major productive goldfield, from a shanty town into a permanent settlement. The alluvial gold deposits discovered in 1867 had been exhausted by the 1870s, and shallow reef mining had begun.
The former Gympie Court House is the first substantial masonry public building erected in Gympie and is one of the oldest extant buildings in the city. The place is also the third-oldest known surviving court house building in Queensland. It replaced an adjacent timber court house, and represented the growing town's need for impressive justice buildings to project an image of stability.
The World War II air raid shelter, constructed behind the main building in mid 1942, demonstrates the Queensland government's response to the threat of Japanese air raids, and its policy of building shelters for civil servants so that government could continue to function after an air attack.
|Standing within a precinct of government buildings near the corner of Duke and Channon Streets on Commissioner's Hill, and retaining major design elements of a court house (central courtroom, associated offices and separated entrances), the former Gympie Court House is important in demonstrating the layout and siting of a 19th century court house. It was extended to include a Lands Office in 1893, and ceased to function as a court house circa 1901.
A single room structure with thick, solid brick walls and a heavy metal door, the strongroom behind the main building is a good example of a secure storage vault.
Retaining its context and the major design elements of an air raid shelter (rectangular in plan, reinforced concrete roof and external and internal blast walls, two entrances to the same side and toilet cubicles), the air raid shelter is important in demonstrating the layout, operation and siting of structures in the ARP system.
|Important for its association with the Air Raid Precaution (ARP) activities undertaken for the protection of the civil service, the air raid shelter is a rare surviving example of a shelter associated with a public building and is an uncommon surviving example of an ARP structure built during World War II.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion B","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":20093,"place_ref":602774,"name":"Royal Bank of Queensland (former)","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"199 Mary Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-04-15","description":"The former Royal Bank of Queensland is an imposing single-storey rendered masonry building with a pedimented temple front standing prominently to upper Mary Street in Gympie's central business area.
The rendered masonry front fence forms a plinth to the building which is set back from the property boundary and raised above street level. The compact front elevation is dominated by a projecting pedimented portico which is framed by fluted corner pilasters and shelters a set of concrete stairs and a landing. The plain moulded pediments of the front elevation and portico rest on decorative entablature friezes. The portico pediment has 1892 inscribed within. The front elevation is defined by fluted corner pilasters and composed of three arched openings notable for their severe rendered rusticated surrounds. The central arched entrance accommodates a narrow draft lobby which projects into the banking chamber. The lobby is lined with timber panelling and houses two sets of doors, the outer a set of solid timber panelled doors and the inner a set glazed timber doors. The flanking arched openings house timber framed double hung sash windows with masonry sills.
Garden beds sit behind the front fence separating the building from the footpath. Decorative wrought iron balustrading runs between the fence posts and a decorative wrought iron gate opens to the entry steps. A recent concrete ramp to the western end is accessed from the street through a later opening in the front fence.
The building is sheltered by a gabled roof hidden from view behind the pediment. The roof is timber-framed and clad with corrugated metal sheeting and rests within parapet walls on all four sides. Box gutters drain to two rainwater heads at each end of the northern elevation. A masonry chimney with moulded cornice rises through the roof on the eastern side of the building.
Exterior walls to the remainder of the building are rendered and finished with shallow ruled ashlar. The western elevation is punctuated by four large double-hung sash windows shaded by curved timber-framed window hoods. Verandahs wrap around the east and north. The south end of the east verandah is open and stop chamfered posts with capitals are supported on recent metal stirrups and bearers are supported on low masonry piers. The verandah roof is timber-framed and the floor is lined with wide hardwood boards. Two door openings to the east verandah flank a large double-hung timber sash window. At the south end, a timber paneled door with glazed fanlight opens into the manager's office and the northern opening houses glazed French windows which open into the vestibule to the rear of the manager's office.
The remainder of the verandahs is enclosed with concrete blockwork. The parapet wall on the northern elevation rises to follow the gabled roof shape and is capped with a simple masonry mould. Early security bars remain in place on all external openings.
The interior is organized around the banking chamber which is accessed directly from the main entrance. The manager's office opens to the right of the chamber and two smaller offices and the bank vault run along the rear. A side entrance from the east verandah opens into a vestibule to the rear of the manager's office providing discreet access to this office and to the rear of the chamber. The banking chamber has additional later partitioning that is not full height. Two decorative timber rails run at half height around the chamber. An early fireplace, located in the manager's office, is framed with a simple timber mantelpiece and has a cast iron grate and side cheeks with a masonry hearth.
The interiors generally are notable for early cedar joinery and early door and window hardware including door knobs, locks, drop bolts, porcelain finger plates and key plates, and brass door handles to inner entrance doors. There is a gaslight fitting to the left of the vault opening.
Internal openings are generous in height and house fine timber-paneled doors with tall glazed pivoting fanlights. Generous moulded plaster skirting boards and timber skirting blocks and architraves are intact throughout. All interior timber work and joinery is varnished. Walls and ceilings are lined with hardset plaster with deep moulded cornices. A single decorative plaster ceiling rose is located in the banking chamber. Floors are generally covered with recent carpet.
The early bank vault remains intact and is secured by a heavy, metal plated door with early door furnishings intact. The vault is formed with arched brickwork supported on thick brickwork walls which have a thin render finish and has metal rod cross bracing.
The site rises sharply to the north, registering Gympie's hilly landscape. A concrete retaining wall stands to the rear of the building within which concrete steps rise steeply to a flat grassed platform which accommodates a small blockwork shed which is not considered to be of cultural heritage significance. An early concrete surface drain is located on the eastern side of the building.
","history":"The former Royal Bank of Queensland building at Gympie, located at 199 Mary Street, was designed by architect Hugh Durietz in 1891 and built in 1892. This neoclassical building served as the Gympie branch of successive banks for 87 years, firstly as Royal Bank of Queensland from 1892 and finally as the National Australia Bank to 1979.
Gympie (initially known as Nashville) was established after the discovery of gold in the Mary River district in October 1867. The new goldfield turned Queensland into a significant gold producer and contributed much needed finances to the young colony. Thousands of people arrived at the Gympie goldfield in the months after the discovery and a fledgling settlement emerged. In a year the alluvial gold had been exhausted and shallow reef mining commenced.
As Gympie evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, the early makeshift structures of the 1860s gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings from the mid 1870s. With the change to deep reef mining from 1875, came the need for extensive capital investment through the formation of companies using foreign capital. During 1881, mines began yielding large amounts of gold, marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie as an intensive phase of underground reef mining began, facilitated by the injection of capital into mining companies for machinery and employees.
Mainly due to Queensland's three major gold mining centres - Gympie, Charters Towers and Mt Morgan - gold production contributed between 21.61 and 35.53 percent of Queensland's export income during the 1880s and 1890s. The value of gold output rose from £698,000 in 1883 to £2.75m in 1889, exceeding the value of exported wool. These enormous amounts of gold were purchased by banks such as the Royal Bank, which played a vital role in this process of wealth creation and distribution.
The influx of money and the resultant yield of gold at Gympie were reflected in the redevelopment of upper Mary Street during the 1880s and 1890s with substantial commercial buildings such as banks and company secretary and brokers' offices. Several fires - in 1877, 1881 and 1891 - razed the earlier timber buildings in upper Mary Street and accelerated this transformation. A fire in January 1891 destroyed all of the buildings between the Gympie Times offices and the Mining Exchange Hotel which lead to the construction of more permanent masonry buildings on the eastern side of upper Mary Street. The last of the new buildings erected was the Royal Bank of Queensland, located adjacent to the Gympie Times office.
Designed by Hugh Durietz in 1891, tenders were invited for the erection of the bank premises in December 1891; closing on 24 December. The bank was completed in 1892.
Hugo Durietz (1831-1908) dominated Gympie architecture and its society. He was reported as having trained as an architect in Sweden before migrating to Victoria in 1852, attracted by its gold discoveries. He joined the gold rush to Canoona (Queensland) in 1858 but by 1862 had commenced business as a builder in Brisbane. He was contracted to build the Bank of New South Wales, supervised by James Cowlishaw, in 1864-65. In 1866 he was elected as an alderman for Kangaroo Point in Brisbane's municipal election but bankrupted during the 1867 depression. After finalisation of his insolvency case in December 1867 he joined the rush to the Gympie goldfield where he became involved in many innovative business enterprises and joined community committees including those of the School of Arts; hospital; Mutual Improvement Association; Agricultural, Mining and Pastoral Society; and the Gympie Primary School. He is also attributed with introducing the mechanical cream separator to Queensland, a vital factor in the growth of the Queensland dairy industry.
By 1871 Durietz had begun his practise as an architect in Gympie and for more than 30 years he was commissioned by institutions on whose committees he served, many religious denominations and by business leaders and professionals, often on an ongoing basis. He tendered for 113 buildings during his career; projects ranging from numerous hotels, shops and cottages to public buildings like the Surface Hill Wesleyan Church, Gympie [QHR 601529], the Gympie School of Arts [QHR 601910] and the Royal Bank building, Gympie.
The Royal Bank of Queensland, established in 1885 by local investors who were finding it hard to obtain loans from sources outside Queensland, was intended as an alternative to its rival the Queensland National Bank. It was one of only three Queensland-based banks established during the 19th century. The head office opened in Brisbane in February 1886 and although it established three branches in the mining towns of Gympie, Charters Towers and Croydon, it generally avoided mining towns because they were too risky. Instead the Royal Bank concentrated on mercantile and agricultural interests near the coast, opening branches in sound agricultural districts and ports. By 1889 it had 20 branches and agencies including branches in London and Edinburgh. In 1890 the Royal Bank occupied fifth place amongst the ten banks trading in Queensland. The Royal Bank, in contrast to the Queensland National Bank, generally contented itself with timber and iron premises rather than occupying extravagant masonry buildings in the larger towns; established a more cautious lending policy instead of erratic lending due to fluctuating government deposits; and was the bank of humbler men rather than of the elite.
Initially the Royal Bank had followed a cautious banking policy acquiring £1 million in deposits by the end of 1888. This forced the bank to increasingly lend to people and industries that could not easily repay on demand, thereby following the custom of Queensland banking. Subsequently, in May 1893 the Royal Bank became one of the many banks that temporarily ceased trading at the height of the 1893 banking crisis in Queensland. By the end of May a reconstruction scheme for the Royal Bank had been announced and in early August 1893 the bank re-opened for trading.
The 20th century brought a series of mergers for the Royal Bank of Queensland. In 1917 the bank merged with the Bank of North Queensland, which had opened in Townsville in 1888, to become the Bank of Queensland. In 1922 this bank was absorbed by the National Bank of Australasia. Following the amalgamation of the Queensland National Bank with the National Bank of Australasia to form the National Bank of Australia in 1948 there were two branches of the bank in Gympie - at 33 and 199 Mary Street.
In January 1980 the National Bank amalgamated its branches at 33 Mary Street and 199 Mary Street to form a single bank of the National Bank in Gympie at 33 Mary Street, ending 87 years of banking at 199 Mary Street. The former Royal Bank of Queensland building was auctioned in March of the same year and became commercial premises.
Alterations to the bank have included the enclosure of most of the rear verandah and some of the side verandah, the addition of partition walls to form an office in the centre of the public space and removal of the banking counter. Doorways in two interior walls have been altered. A ramp has been added on the left hand side from Mary Street to the main entrance. Roofing iron has been replaced on the main roof and the rear and side verandahs.
The former Royal Bank building before 2011 was the headquarters of the Gympie Muster.
","criteria":"The former Royal Bank building has aesthetic significance for its architectural qualities expressed in the craftsmanship and detailing of the joinery and finishes, and for its streetscape value through its form, scale and design. These qualities complement other surviving 19th century buildings in the street, particularly other banks also entered in the Queensland Heritage Register including the nearby former Bank of New South Wales [QHR 602775].
Its balanced classical design, often associated with banks, projects the concept of stability that financial institutions of this era sought to convey through their buildings' architecture.
Set back from the property boundary and with a prominent portico addressing the Mary Street frontage, the former Royal Bank has a striking appearance, giving it enormous streetscape presence among the upper Mary Street gold-era buildings. This important and substantially intact gold-era precinct comprises a harmonious streetscape of late Victorian commercial buildings dating from the 1880s and 1890s.
|The former Royal Bank building is a fine example of the work of architect Hugo Durietz who dominated Gympie architecture between 1871 and at least 1902 and was a highly regarded community leader. Other extant significant buildings designed by Durietz, include the Surface Hill Wesleyan Church [QHR 601529], School of Arts [QHR 601910], the organ loft of the Roman Catholic Church [QHR 601503] and the upper floor and façade of the Crawford & Co Building (former) at 216 Mary Street, Gympie.
|The former Royal Bank of Queensland (Royal Bank) building (1892)-and the important gold-era precinct of which it is a part-is physical evidence of the evolution of gold mining at Gympie, a major contributor to the wealth of Queensland for approximately 60 years from 1867. As Gympie gold production continued and evolved from alluvial to shallow reef mining to deep reef mining from 1875, this change was reflected in the erection of more permanent and elaborate buildings in the town centre. The Royal Bank, built during the third stage of Gympie mining, symbolised the wealth and permanence of the town.
The former Royal Bank building is important in demonstrating the vital role of financial institutions in the process of wealth creation and distribution on Queensland goldfields as it converted enormous amounts of gold into cash.
The longest serving of all the Gympie bank buildings, the Royal Bank building functioned as a bank branch from 1892 to 1979.
|The former Royal Bank of Queensland building is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a regional bank of its era, being a good example of a masonry structure in a classical style combining a banking chamber and offices.
Its siting with other gold-related buildings in upper Mary Street above the gold diggings, illustrates the prominence of banks in the gold mining town of Gympie.
Its intactness is demonstrated on its exterior and in its room volumes, joinery and fittings and extant strongroom.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion E | Criterion H | Criterion A | Criterion D","criteria_definitions":"The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":20097,"place_ref":602780,"name":"Crawford and Co. Building (former)","alternate_name":"Sym and Jackson Building | Caston and Davidson Building | Goldsworthy Building","street_address":"216 Mary Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-07-15","description":"The former Crawford and Co. Building is a two storey building with basement built to the front and side alignments of a narrow allotment that extends between Mary and Reef Streets. The building is one of a group of Gympie gold-mining buildings dating from the late nineteenth century on the southern side of the upper slope of Mary Street in Gympie's central business district. It has load bearing masonry walls supporting a timber-framed roof and floors. Its gabled roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting is concealed behind parapet walls. An elevated timber framed and clad single storey addition is located at the rear of the building and has access to Reef Street.
The former Crawford and Co. Building has an ornamental and eclectic Victorian façade featuring many characteristics of the Renaissance style of architecture including pediments, balustraded parapets and low-relief pilasters symmetrically composed around its vertical axis. Each floor space of the building is clearly articulated in the layout of the façade. The impression of strength and solidity is given by a decorative rendered finish. Rusticated quoining has been applied to each end of the building's upper floor and the lower floor has been lined out in imitation of stone ashlar. The entrance door and window opening on the ground floor are arched and feature casts of the heads (of Burns and Scott) on the key stones. A decorative string course with low-relief scrolls interspersed with rosette motifs spans the building between the upper and lower windows.
Window openings on the upper floor containing double hung timber framed sashes are rectangular and crested with pediments supported on decorative scroll brackets. A single winged acroteria remains on the corner of the eastern-most pediment. Deep reveals are created with moulded architraves and Scotch thistle motifs are etched below each window sill and framed by short low relief pilasters.
The parapet features a deep ornamental cornice supported with scroll-shaped brackets and short balusters set between moulded rails. Surmounting the parapet are raised plinths supporting symbolic statues of a kangaroo (north-western end) and an emu (north-eastern end) with shields housing Australia's coat of arms. A centrally placed monumental pediment, which may once have housed a clockface, is decorated with the British lion, scrolls, low relief pilasters, rosettes and features a carved Scotch thistle at its peak.
The rear parapet wall has a thin rendered finish through which brickwork courses are visible. Within the masonry wall are a triangular window located at the apex of the gabled section and a door and window opening at first floor level contain a sealed timber paneled and glazed door and a tall, rectangular, timber framed, double-hung window with multi-paned sashes.
From Mary Street, a pair of painted, timber paneled doors provides access into a small timber framed and lined entry vestibule which is recessed into and provides access to the building's large foyer space via another pair of timber and glazed paneled swing doors. A tall, arched window with double-hung sashes to the west of the entrance provides natural light to the foyer. The foyer contains a timber staircase to the first floor on the south-eastern wall and south-western wall contains doors to the two rear offices. The rear timber framed addition containing an office, kitchen, bathroom and access to the rear stair is accessed from the former rear door to the building located in the south-eastern office. The first floor level, accessed via a timber staircase, has a similar layout with a small former kitchen and former bedroom at the rear and a larger former living space facing Mary Street.
The internal walls on the upper two levels are lined with plaster while ceilings on both levels are lined with double-beaded tongue and groove pine boards with elaborate cornices using plaster to walls and timber to ceilings. The floors on both levels are covered with carpet. Ceiling roses remain in the upper living room (timber) and in the front foyer (plaster). Internal openings are generous in height and consist of timber-paneled doors with glazed pivoting fanlights above. The original rear door leading into the 1930s addition has patterned and obscure glass panels. The former lower level rear window is still in place and is a multi-paned double-hung timber-framed window. Generous cedar skirting boards, skirting blocks and architraves are located in many areas and the majority of the interior timber work and joinery is clear finished. Original window and door furniture generally survives.
The internal staircase consists of closed risers and treads with elaborate turned balusters and newel posts. The handrail follows the turn of the stairs and the skirting board is also carefully shaped to follow the incline. The underside of the stair is enclosed with timber paneling.
The basement level has an asphalt floor and the perimeter rock, brick and sandstone foundations are visible to the north, east and west walls. Steel posts and a new central beam have recently been added to support the existing bearers spanning the building. Herringbone struts brace the hardwood framing.
The 1930s addition is supported on brick piers and its roof is clad with corrugated metal sheeting. A short flight of timber framed stairs provides access to the rear yard and is covered by a timber framed awning. The rear door is timber paneled with a paint finish and adjacent windows are casements with multi-paned coloured glass. A small louvred window is located to the west. Internal walls are lined with double-beaded tongue and groove board and side walls abut immediately to adjoining buildings. This addition is not considered to be of cultural heritage significance.
","history":"The former Crawford and Co. Building located at 216 Mary Street, Gympie is a two storey, masonry building with basement that was erected in two stages during the 1880s. The second storey was designed by Hugo Durietz in 1885 for James Crawford, who in partnership with Ernest Rohda, conducted his mining, commission agent and share broking business from this building until 1889. Thereafter, the building continued to be occupied by mining secretaries until circa 1924 when the mining industry in Gympie was in serious decline.
Gympie was settled after the discovery of gold in the Mary River district in October 1867. The new goldfield established Queensland as a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. Thousands of people arrived at the Gympie goldfield in the months after the discovery and a fledgling settlement emerged. In a year the alluvial gold had been exhausted and shallow reef mining commenced. Deep reef mining commenced in 1875 requiring extensive capital investment achieved through the formation of companies. During 1881, mines began yielding large amounts of gold, marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie as an intensive phase of underground reef mining began, facilitated by the injection of capital into mining companies for machinery and employees.
As Gympie evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, the early makeshift structures of the 1860s gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings from the mid 1870s. The success of deep reef mining from 1875 was reflected in the redevelopment of upper Mary Street during the 1880s and 1890s with substantial commercial buildings such as banks and company secretary and brokers' offices. Several fires - in 1877, 1881 and 1891 - razed the earlier timber buildings and accelerated this transformation.
A fire in August 1881 destroyed all of the buildings between Patterson's brick store and the Bank of New South Wales (242 Mary Street) on the south-western side of Mary Street, Gympie. This included the timber building that had stood on the site of the present-day Crawford and Co. Building and which may have been occupied by Samuel Caston, sharebroker, mining secretary and commission agent. Sometime between August 1881 and 1885 a one-storey masonry building was erected.
In October 1885 the property was purchased for £650 by James Crawford, mining secretary, who commissioned architect Hugo Durietz to make additions to the building. The resultant two storey facade is in a Victorian classical style. On 2 March 1889 The Queenslander's Travelling Correspondent described the building of Messrs James Crawford and Co. as 'most conspicuous, not merely on account of its height, but principally owing to its very elegant and attractive proportions'. To him it was:
the most attractive building on the field. Two stories [sic] high with stone front, and tastily ornamented.... the keystones of the main door and window are ornamented with splendidly executed casts of two of Scotland's most popular bards, Burns and Scott; between the lower and upper windows there is a beautifully-worked scroll, the tracery of which interlaces representations of Scotch thistles; and the whole is surmounted by a parapet of bold and attractive designs. On each side of the parapet the British lion, rampant-while rising from the top are models of the emu and kangaroo with shields showing Australia's coat-of arms.
This exterior decoration of the Crawford and Co. Building represented several cultural influences - the British Empire (lions), Scotland (thistle) the nascent movement towards federation of the Australian colonies which was gaining momentum during the 1880s (kangaroo and emu) and the literary tastes of the owner (Burns and Scott).
The same Queenslander correspondent also described the interior of the building as well planned with ample room for Messrs J Crawford and Co's large broking business.
Extensive deep reef mining in Gympie during the 1880s and 1890s made Gympie Queensland's second and then third biggest gold producer (after Mt Morgan gold production overtook it in 1887). During this period gold production contributed between 21.61 and 35.53 percent of Queensland's export income.
However, the development of deep reef mining required enormous capital. The gold mining industry was the major capital-using sector of the colonial economy. This necessitated company formation to raise capital through sale of shares. The increase in production led to an upsurge in company formation on a massive scale. This growth in gold-mining shares led to the formation of the Gympie Stock Exchange, which specialised completely in trading mining shares.
The presence of sharebrokers engaged in share trading at the Gympie Stock Exchange and of mining secretaries involved in the administration of mines were the natural consequence. Mining secretaries, like company secretaries, ensured that the mining company they represented complied with relevant legislation and regulation, and they kept board members informed of their legal responsibilities. Mining secretaries were the company's named representative on legal documents, and it was their responsibility to ensure that the company and its directors operated within the law. It was also their responsibility to register and communicate with shareholders, to ensure that dividends were paid and company records maintained, such as lists of directors and shareholders, and annual accounts. Sharebrokers were necessary for every transaction on the Gympie Stock Exchange as transactions must be made between two members of the exchange.
James Crawford, mining secretary and sharebroker, arrived in Gympie in 1879 and quickly won the confidence and respect of investors. He was elected to the Gympie Municipal Council in 1887 and held a number of other public positions such as membership of the Gympie Hospital Committee.
However, in August 1889 James Crawford was arrested on a charge of forgery brought by William Davies, who was the director of several mining companies, and to whom Crawford was related by marriage. A Welshman, William Davies was one of the most successful investors on the Gympie goldfield. He arrived in Gympie in the early 1870s and invested in the Lady Mary line of reef, which proved successful. Thereafter he was involved in almost every mine of importance, with his chief interests being in 1 North Glanmire, 4 North Phoenix, Great Eastern and North Smithfield mines. He served on many directorates, was a member of the Widgee Divisional Board, was one of the first directors of the Gympie Gas Company and was also one of the founders of the Royal Bank of Queensland. After James Crawford fled to South Africa in 1889 to escape his trial the building at 216 Mary Street passed to William Davies to whom Crawford had mortgaged it in 1887. Thereafter, the building was rented to other mining secretaries and stockbrokers viz Caston and Davidson (circa1890-circa1914) and then Sym and Jackson (circa1914-circa1919).
Substantial changes in the Queensland mining sector occurred between 1900 and 1913. Gold production in Queensland peaked in 1903, due largely to a final burst of production at Gympie, which was followed by a 60 percent decrease in production between 1903 and 1913 as Gympie (and the other two major Queensland goldfields Charters Towers and Mt Morgan) declined simultaneously. The Gympie field passed through its most profitable period from 1901 to 1906 and in 1903 it recorded an output of 146,000 fine ounces (surpassing Mt Morgan that year). After 1906 the decline that had set in at Gympie in 1904 accelerated.
This downturn in gold production forced the closure of the Stock Exchange circa 1922. Sharebrokers and mining secretaries declined in number as gold mining companies ceased operations. Thomas H Sym whose name, with that of his partner, Jackson, appeared on the parapet of the building was a mining secretary and sharebroker who died during 1925. Thereafter, the building was occupied by optometrists, commencing with William John Hodson who purchased the building in 1924, then Joseph Tilley, followed by Arthur Carvosso (from 1933) and then Peter Goldsworthy who purchased the property in 1973. It continues in this usage.
Additions to the rear were constructed in the 1930s and the upper storey was converted from offices to living space. Also during the 1930s a partition wall between the two rear offices of the 1880s building was removed and some partition walls installed. These partitions were removed in the mid-1970s. In the late 1970s the upper storey reverted to office space with the removal of its kitchen and it has since been used for storage. In 1985 posts were added under the floor as the joists that spanned the full width of the building had sagged. During 1986-87 rotten floorboards on the ground level were replaced and loose plasterwork was repaired or replaced. Other repairs have included: reinstatement of the partition wall between the two offices; replacement of a window in the original rear wall with a reproduction; replacement of step treads in the cedar staircase; replacement of damaged and missing plaster cornice with replica cornice and replacement of the iron roof with zincalume. The building's address to Reef Street, which gave the only means of accessing the rear of the building, has been retained.
","criteria":"The former Crawford and Co. Building erected during the 1880s is important in demonstrating the evolution of Gympie gold mining, a major contributor to the wealth of Queensland for nearly 60 years from 1867. As Gympie gold production continued and evolved from alluvial to shallow reef mining to deep reef mining from 1875, this change was reflected in the erection of more permanent and elaborate buildings in the town centre. Erected during the third stage of Gympie mining, the former Crawford and Co. Building is indicative of the wealth and permanence of the town.
Its siting near Commissioners Hill in the vicinity of important government and gold-related buildings also illustrates the growth and evolution of Gympie's development. It forms part of the upper Mary Street gold era precinct.
For almost four of the six decades during which Gympie gold helped sustain the Queensland economy the former Crawford and Co. Building provided office accommodation for mining secretaries and sharebrokers, who played a critical role in the gold industry after capital-intense deep reef mining became the predominant method of extracting gold deposits.
|The building has aesthetic significance for its architectural qualities expressed in the interior craftsmanship and detailing of the joinery and finishes, and for its streetscape value through its form, scale and design which complement other surviving 19th century buildings in the street. The unique façade of the former Crawford and Co. Building evokes astonishment and surprise. It comprises uncommon features and combinations of these features to create unusual compositional qualities.
Located on the south-western side of Mary Street, the former Crawford and Co. Building forms part of the pleasing upper Mary Street streetscape dating from the Gympie gold-mining era.
|The former Crawford and Co. Building is a good example of Victorian-era commercial offices. The original 1880s structure comprises a foyer, handsome cedar staircase to the first floor rooms, a ground floor office and a basement. The interior contains fine finishes such as plaster walls, decorative plaster cornices, pine ceilings, and handsome original red cedar joinery including windows, fanlights, architraves, skirtings and substantial doors.
|The former Crawford and Co. Building possesses a façade design that, in its individual elements and their composition, is uncommon and has always been uncommon. The use of skyline decoration - emu and kangaroo statues bearing shields, picks and shovels; an ornamental central pediment featuring lion's heads, acanthus leaves and egg; and dart mouldings upon a balustraded parapet - plus dissimilar and abundant enrichment to each storey including moulded faces on the keystones of the entrance and ground floor window arches is an idiosyncratic stylist combination.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion E | Criterion D | Criterion B","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":20098,"place_ref":602779,"name":"Tozer's Building","alternate_name":"Jeffery & Cuddihy Building | Tozers","street_address":"218 Mary Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-07-15","description":"Tozer's Building is a two storey building with basement built to the front and side alignments of a narrow allotment that extends between Mary and Reef Streets. The building is one of a group of Gympie gold-mining buildings dating from the late nineteenth century on the southern side of the upper slope of Mary Street in Gympie's central business district. It has load bearing masonry walls supporting a timber-framed roof and floors. Its roof, clad with corrugated metal sheeting, is concealed behind the parapet walls to the front and side alignments and its hipped end is visible from the rear.
Tozer's Building has a detailed, symmetrically composed facade with smooth-rendered masonry featuring elements arranged in careful proportion typical of the Neoclassical style. Openings are arched and of equal widths and are visually separated by square pilasters set in low relief and string courses. Pilasters on the lower level have capitals decorated with flower motifs while pilasters of the upper floor have Corinthian style capitals. Arches are finished with moulded architraves and keystones. The parapet comprises decorative balustrading and a deep moulded cornice.
The main entrance is located on the western side of the façade and is accessed from the street via two concrete steps with risers finished with tessellated tiles. A pair of painted timber paneled doors with an arched and glazed fanlight above provides access into a small entry vestibule which is lined with timber paneling to walls and ceilings and hardwood boards to the floor. The vestibule recesses into and provides access to the building's foyer space via another pair of timber paneled swing doors with two glazed and arched panels inset. A tall, arched window with double-hung sashes and a masonry sill is located to the east of the front entrance together with a basement window. Windows on the upper level are similar in design but are slightly shorter in height.
On the rear elevation, the upper level has two tall timber framed double-hung sash windows positioned either side of a four paneled timber door which opens onto a verandah which has been modified. The verandah has a bullnosed roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting and a dowel balustrade. A concrete blockwork addition to the ground floor and basement level extends toward Reef Street and the rear elevation houses exit doors on the eastern side to both levels.
The ground floor of the 1896 building contains three rooms: the foyer, a strongroom and a rear office. The foyer contains the original counter with robust detailing, part of which is stored in the basement and a grandfather clock on the southern wall. On the north-western wall, a half-turn stair provides access to the upper level. Paneling to the underside of the first flight houses an access door to a single flight of stairs leading to the basement. The stairs consist of closed risers and treads with turned balusters and newel posts, the basement stair is painted and the upper staircase is clear finished.
The strongroom with heavy metal door is also located on the north-western wall adjacent to a fire place to the rear office. Partial height timber framed partitions lined with plasterboard positioned parallel to the south-eastern wall, are later additions and separate the office and strongroom from a hall created to access the rear addition.
On the first floor, two offices are separated by the upper flight of stairs. The front office which has a fireplace on its south-western wall has been divided into two offices and an entrance vestibule by timber framed partial height partitions lined with plasterboard. The rear office which has access to the rear verandah has a fireplace on its north-western wall and safes set into masonry in the northern corner.
The basement of the 1896 building, has painted brickwork walls lined throughout with storage shelves. A strongroom is located beneath the ground floor strongroom adjacent to a fireplace. The ceilings are lined with tongue and groove boards and the floor is formed with concrete. The rear wall contains a central door and two full height windows with double hung sashes secured with metal grilles.
Original internal walls on the upper two levels are finished with plaster lined to imitate stone ashlar while ceilings on all levels are lined with double beaded tongue and groove boards with timber cornices. Internal openings are generous in height and consist of timber-paneled doors with glazed pivoting fanlights above. Generous timber skirting boards, skirting blocks and architraves are located in many areas. The majority of the interior timber work and joinery is clear finished though the skirting in the rear office of the ground floor has been has been painted. Original door and window furniture survives and some light fittings including gas jets above the staircase and in the rear office on the first floor.
The two storey rear concrete block extension is not of cultural heritage significance.
","history":"Tozer's Building was designed in 1895 by noted Brisbane architect Richard Gailey as solicitors' offices for Horace Tozer (later knighted) and his partner Anthony Conwell. Practising as a solicitor in Gympie from 1868 until 1898, Tozer was noted as an authority on mining law and as a Queensland parliamentarian, minister and Agent- General. These two storey purpose-built offices with basement, designed in a classical style have been used as solicitors' offices from 1896 until the present day.
Gympie was established after the discovery of gold in the Mary River district in October 1867. The new goldfield established Queensland as a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. Thousands of people arrived at the Gympie goldfield in the months after the discovery and a fledgling settlement emerged. In a year the alluvial gold had been exhausted and shallow reef mining commenced. During 1881, mines began yielding large amounts of gold, marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie as an intensive phase of underground reef mining began, facilitated by the injection of capital into mining companies for machinery and employees.
As Gympie evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, the early makeshift structures of the 1860s gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings from the mid 1870s. With the change to deep reef mining during the 1880s came the need for extensive capital investment. Gympie was Queensland's second and then third biggest gold producer during the 1880s and 1890s (after Mt Morgan gold production overtook it in 1887). In this period gold production contributed between 21.61 and 35.53 percent of Queensland export income. Gympie's part in the production was reflected in the redevelopment of upper Mary Street during the 1880s and 1890s with substantial commercial buildings such as banks and mining secretaries' and brokers' offices. Several fires - in 1877, 1881 and 1891 - razed the earlier timber buildings and accelerated this transformation.
A fire in August 1881 destroyed all of the buildings between Patterson's brick store and the Bank of New South Wales (242 Mary Street) on the south-western side of Mary Street, Gympie. This included the earlier building that had stood on the site of the present-day Tozer's Building (originally Allotment 10, Section A).
Horace Tozer established a legal practice in Gympie in 1868 following his admission as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland on 7 December 1867. In 1871 he purchased, under the Goldfields Town Land Act 1869, the town lot on the north-eastern side of upper Mary Street on which he had built his business premises in the early days of the town. The Brisbane Courier reported in February 1881 that Gympie property had increased in value as a consequence of a very marked improvement in mining. Subsequently in August 1881 Horace Tozer sold his upper Mary Street property and moved to leased premises on the same side of upper Mary Street. In 1886 he went into partnership with Anthony Conwell (d 1897) as Tozer and Conwell, solicitors.
In 1891 the premises leased by Tozer and Conwell were burnt down when the north-eastern side of Mary Street, between the Gympie Times office and the Mining Exchange Hotel was razed, and the partnership suffered a loss of £5,000 in uninsured property. The solicitors moved temporarily into a building next to the Australian Joint Stock Bank (236 Mary Street) on the opposite side of upper Mary Street from January to March 1891. They then moved to offices next to Caston and Davidson, Mining Secretaries, (Crawford and Co Building, 216 Mary Street), possibly in a building that occupied the site of the current Tozer's Building (218 Mary Street).
At the time, this property was owned by Charles Campion Bunworth, a Gympie businessman, who owned a number of Mary Street properties. The property had been mortgaged to Gympie MLA and community leader, William Smyth, for £3,200 in February 1890. By April 1894 Bunworth was insolvent and the property passed to Robert Jones who sold it to Ellen Jane Smyth, the wife of William Smyth, in August 1894.
In October 1895 tenders for contractors to erect offices and strongrooms in Mary Street, Gympie were invited by architect Richard Gailey with plans available for inspection at the offices of Tozer and Conwell, Gympie. Upon its completion, the building formed part of the gold era streetscape of upper Mary Street created in the 1880s and 1890s.
Richard Gailey (1834-1924) was a Londonderry architect who had settled in Brisbane in 1864. He established his own practice here in 1865, and over the next 60 years built up a thriving business, working until his death in 1924. He designed Baptist churches including the Baptist Tabernacle, Brisbane [QHR 600175], former Ipswich Baptist Church, Ipswich [QHR 602573]; commercial buildings such as banks including the Westpac Bank, Normanton (former bank of NSW) [QHR 600394]; and many hotels including the Jubilee Hotel, Brisbane [QHR 600211], Orient Hotel, Brisbane [QHR 602122], Regatta Hotel, Toowong [QHR 600331] and Wickham Hotel, Fortitude Valley [QHR 600213]. Many commercial buildings in Brisbane designed by Gailey during the 1880s were characterised by classical idioms and details. He designed the Commercial Hotel and the Bank of New South Wales Building located in Mary Street, Gympie [QHR 602775].
Building owner Ellen Smyth was the second wife of self-made man, William Smyth, who rose from gold miner to mining speculator, making his fortune through investment in mine shares, particularly from the highly profitable Phoenix No 1 Mine. He became the largest mine owner on the Gympie field. Elected as an alderman for Gympie in 1883, Smyth was mayor from 1883 to 1884 when he resigned after election as the Member for Gympie in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, in which he served from 7 September 1883 to 11 March 1899. He was a Director of the Royal Bank of Queensland, Gympie Gas Company and One Mile Sawmill. Smyth died in 1899. His widow was involved in a number of community organisations including the National Council of Women of Queensland (NCWQ), first as a delegate and later as Honorary Vice-President.
Her lessee, Sir Horace Tozer, born on 23 April 1844 at Port Macquarie, New South Wales, was both solicitor and politician. Practising law in Gympie from 1868 and as a joint owner of mining leases, Tozer became an authority on mining law, was a member of the Gympie Mining Court and conducted two mining appeals before the Privy Council in London. He was elected as member for Wide Bay in 1871 but stood down a few months later for H E King to contest the seat in a by-election. He served as an alderman in the first Gympie Municipal Council from 1880. In 1888 Tozer again nominated for Wide Bay and won the seat, which he held until 5 March 1898. From 12 August 1890 until his retirement from parliament Tozer held ministerial offices. He served as Colonial Secretary and Secretary for Public Works until March 1893, Colonial Secretary from March 1893 to August 1896 and as Home Secretary from 1896 until 2 March 1898. From March to November 1897 he acted as Premier in the absence of Sir Hugh Nelson and in that year was appointed K.C.M.G. In London, Tozer acted as Queensland's Agent-General from 1898 to 1909 when he retired because of ill-health. During his public life he introduced significant legislation including the Public Service Act 1896, the Factories and Shops Act 1896 to regulate hours and conditions, the Election Act 1897 and the controversial Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897. In his ministerial capacity Tozer was responsible for establishing the Free Public Library in 1895 and the National Art Gallery of Queensland circa 1896. He died on 20 August 1916.
The solicitors firm established by Horace Tozer in 1868 was continued in Tozer's Building by his descendants for another 94 years, perpetuating his name, his connection with the site and his community involvement. Sir Horace Tozer's son, Vivian Hoyles Tozer, who had entered the firm, leased the building until he purchased the property in 1949 after the death of its owner, Ellen Jane Smyth. Vivian Tozer qualified as a solicitor in 1892, later was elected MLA, and served as a citizen soldier in the Queensland Defence Force. Following his death, Tozer's Building passed to descendents, Seymour Darvall Tozer and Horace Vivian Tozer in 1959, quickly passing to Horace Vivian Tozer solely in October 1959. In 1990 the property transferred to the firm of solicitors, Jeffery Cuddihy and Joyce, which currently occupies the building.
Some changes have been made to the original building. The rear upper storey verandah has been altered, a fireplace on the rear, right-hand-side wall of the ground floor has been boarded up and wall partitions have been added to create office space at the rear of the original building on the ground floor. The interior staircase to the basement, which was accessed from behind the staircase to the upper floor, has been closed off from access from the ground floor. The original strongrooms on the ground floor and in the basement are extant. In 2009 the upper floor offices were unchanged as was the staircase leading to the first floor from the foyer. The original counter in the foyer is in place but the clerk's grill with writing slope has been removed, although it remains stored in the building. An extension has been added to the rear of the original building for offices on the ground floor, with a new opening through the rear wall of the 1896 building, and staff facilities in the basement area are accessed by a new staircase. The basement retains its strongrooms, fireplace, staircase and windows, including their security bars.
","criteria":"Tozer's Building (1896) is important in demonstrating the evolution of gold mining at Gympie, a major contributor to the wealth of Queensland for approximately 60 years from 1867. As Gympie gold production evolved from alluvial to shallow reef mining to deep reef mining from 1875, the changes were reflected in the erection of more permanent and elaborate buildings in the town centre.
As the offices of solicitor and politician Sir Horace Tozer, a leading authority on mining law during Queensland's gold era, the building is the product of Gympie's importance as the third largest goldfield in Queensland during the 1890s and illustrates the importance of gold mining in Queensland history.
Its siting near Commissioners Hill in the vicinity of important government and gold-related buildings also illustrates the growth and evolution of Gympie's development. It forms part of the upper Mary Street gold era precinct.
|The building has aesthetic significance for its architectural qualities expressed in the interior craftsmanship and detailing of the joinery and finishes, and for its streetscape value through its form, scale and design which complement other surviving 19th century buildings in the street.
Located on the south-western side of Mary Street, the former Tozer's Building forms part of the harmonious upper Mary Street gold era streetscape of late Victorian commercial buildings dating from the 1880s and 1890s.
|Tozer's Building is a good example of commercial offices designed by Richard Gailey. The original 1896 structure is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of Victorian-era commercial offices. It comprises a foyer, handsome cedar staircase to the first floor rooms, a ground floor office, strongroom and a basement with its own strongrooms. The interior contains fine finishes such as plaster walls, decorative plaster cornices, pine ceilings, and handsome original cedar joinery including counter, windows, fanlights, architraves, skirtings and substantial doors.
|Tozer's Building has a special association with the life and work of Sir Horace Tozer, solicitor, member of the Queensland parliament from 1890, Queensland minister from 1893 to 1898, and Queensland's Agent-General from 1898 to 1909. Resident in Gympie from the first year of the Gympie goldfield, Sir Horace Tozer became an authority on mining law, introduced significant legislation into Queensland parliament and held influential public offices during the course of his career, thereby helping to shape the future of the Colony, and later State, of Queensland and its people.
Tozer's Building was built for [Sir] Horace Tozer and is still known by his name. The legal firm that he established in 1868 and his descendants continued was conducted from Tozer's Building for 94 years, perpetuating his name and connection with the site.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion E | Criterion D | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":20102,"place_ref":602777,"name":"Smithfield Chambers","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"235 Mary Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-07-15","description":"An austere, two storey, rendered brick building in a classical idiom, Smithfield Chambers stands prominently on a sloping site to the northeast side of upper Mary Street, Gympie. Stables and a row of earth closets stand to the rear of the property.
The rendered and painted front elevation is symmetrical about a central bay which at street level comprises a recessed main entrance with splayed reveals forming a shallow porch opening into the offices beyond. The entrance, now housing a set of modern steel framed doors, is flanked by sash windows with projecting moulded sills and chamfered surrounds enriched with roll mouldings. Pairs of narrow, cricket bat panelled timber doors are to each side of the sash windows and the former shop fronts to the outer bays are now infilled with fixed glass lights to the uphill side and glazed sliding doors to the downhill. At the upper level the five bays, defined by pilasters, are punctuated by window openings to the offices and stairwells beyond. Unified by the depressed arched window heads running level, the four larger openings each housing three hopper windows mark the offices and two smaller full pane sash windows mark the stairwells. A heavy projecting cornice crowns the pilasters below a blank parapet screen bearing the wording 'erected / & co. / Smithfield Chambers / Ltd / A.D. 1896'. This is topped by a central decorative gable panel bearing the wording 'W.E. Thomas' below a floral enrichment. A suspended metal awning extends over the footpath.
At the rear the building sits within the excavated hillside retained by a rendered masonry wall framing narrow passageways to the sides and rear of the building. The stepped rear elevation is dominated by the projecting, curved roof steel framed balcony to the middle of the upper level. The upper and lower levels are punctuated by timber doors with fanlights and full pane sash windows. The blank southeast and northwest elevations, step back at the rear accommodating a narrowing of the building footprint.
Rectangular in plan, the building is laid out around a small two storey light well, accommodating office suites around the light well and shops to the outer edges. The light well is now enclosed but perimeter walls survive with elements including sash windows to the northwest and an arched opening to the northeast at the ground floor and sash windows opening from the boardroom and front and side offices on the first floor.
The ground floor accommodates offices to the middle separated from the former shop spaces by stairwells rising to the upper level. The light well separates the front offices, now open plan, from the rear offices which are partitioned off a central corridor. A substantial strong room, notable for its heavy metal door and concrete floor, stands to the east corner and a smaller strong room is accommodated beneath the southeast stairwell. The two roomed shop spaces are rectangular in plan, the northwest now partitioned into offices. Both shops have rear doors exiting to the narrow passageways to the sides of the building. An acoustic tile ceiling has been inserted throughout the ground floor. A recent concrete block extension accommodating toilets stands to the rear on the ground floor.
The first floor accommodates two suites of offices. The suite to the southeast is comprised of two offices and strong room working off a corridor accessed from the dedicated stair from Mary Street. This strong room is also notable for its heavy metal door and concrete floor. The office suite to the northwest comprises two rooms to Mary Street and three rooms along the northwest side working off the corridor arrived at from the stair from Mary Street. This corridor runs to the boardroom extending across the rear with a small room opening off to the west corner. On the first floor, internal masonry walls are plastered and room partitions are timber framed and lined, some also have panels of opaque textured glazing. Ceilings are lined with tongue and groove timber boards, have moulded timber cornices and decorative ceiling roses. Original cedar door and window joinery, skirtings and architraves survive throughout. The boardroom is notable for its joinery including the painted French windows with fanlight to the balcony flanked by large full pane varnished cedar sash windows and full pane sash windows to the former light well to the southwest. This room now has a lower plain plaster ceiling and a three-quarter height partition to the southeast. The hopper windows to the Mary Street side offices do not have internal sills, reflecting the removal of earlier French windows to these openings.
A small metal framed bridge travels from the rear balcony over the retaining wall to a grassed rear yard which accommodates stables to the northwest side and a row of earth closets to the northeast.
Open to the front, the stables have perimeter brick walls to three sides, rendered to the exterior and face brick to the interior. Semi-circular fixed timber louvred openings run along the northeast wall and a line of rectangular fixed timber louvres runs along the upper northwest wall. The timber framing and cladding of the four bay structure are generally in a state of collapse. The end bays have timber floors supported by timber stumps, the middle bays have timber framed and lined partitions to an earth floor, some roof framing and corrugated iron roof cladding remain.
Built on sloping ground with the cubicles stepping down, the eight earth closets are enclosed by three perimeter brick walls with rendered brick exteriors and painted brick interiors. The cubicles are sheltered by a skillion roof clad with corrugated iron and have rectangular fixed timber louvred windows with sills to the upper part of the northeast wall. The lower openings to this wall have small timber doors providing access to the pans. Some cubicles retain timber boxes and all retain timber doors.
The easement from Nash Street gives access to the rear of the earth closets and stables. There are a number of self sown trees and the ground to the easement path and yard is uneven.
","history":"Smithfield Chambers, a two storey rendered brick building in Upper Mary Street Gympie, was built in 1895 for William Evan Thomas, mining secretary and sharebroker.
\nGympie (initially called Nashville) was established after the discovery of gold in October 1867 by James Nash in the Upper Mary River district. The new goldfield put Queensland on the map as a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. By Christmas of 1867, according to the Gold Commissioner, the Gympie field had a population of 4,000 (or over 15,000 according to James Nash). Alluvial deposits were quickly exhausted and from 1868 shallow reef mining occurred.
\nAs it evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, Gympie developed a distinctive character with an irregular street pattern amid a series of valleys and ridges. Development of roads within the township followed the terrain rather than adopting the standard grid pattern that was applied to townships surveyed for settlement, and consequently many roads run along ridgelines with linking roads across valleys and hillsides. Existing buildings and mining homestead leases were accommodated in the first survey of the township in April 1868. By the mid 1870s, the vicinity of Upper Mary Street and Channon St was dominated by government and financial institutions. The early makeshift structures of Gympie gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings.
\nBy the end of the 1870s, an intensive phase of underground reef mining was underway, facilitated by the injection of share-holding capital into mining companies for machinery and employees. During the early 1880s, mines began yielding large amounts of gold, marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie. The increase in production led to an upsurge in company formation on a massive scale. This growth led to the 1884 formation of the Gympie Stock Exchange, specialising completely in providing facilities for the transfer of shares of mining companies. The presence of sharebrokers engaged in share trading at the Gympie Stock Exchange and of mining secretaries involved in the administration of mines were the natural consequence.
\nMining secretaries ensured that the mining company they represented complied with relevant legislation and regulation, and they kept board members informed of their legal responsibilities. Mining secretaries were the company's named representative on legal documents, and it was their responsibility to ensure that the company and its directors operated within the law. It was also their responsibility to register and communicate with shareholders, to ensure that dividends were paid and company records maintained, such as lists of directors and shareholders, and annual accounts.
\nDuring the 1880s and 1890s Gympie was Queensland's second and then third biggest gold producer (after Mt Morgan overtook it in 1887). During this period gold production contributed between 21.61 and 35.53 percent of Queensland export income. The influx of money and the resultant yield of gold at Gympie were reflected in the redevelopment of upper Mary Street during the 1880s and 1890s with substantial commercial buildings such as banks and company secretary and brokers' offices. Several fires - in 1877, 1881 and 1891 - razed most of the earlier timber buildings in upper Mary Street and accelerated this transformation.
\nWhile major floods and the economic depression affected the Gympie goldfield in the early 1890s, a rapid expansion in mining activity occurred during 1894. At the end of 1893, 58 leases embraced an area of 892 acres (361ha) and 78,978 ounces (2.24 tonnes) of gold bullion was produced. By the end of 1894 there were 80 leases covering 1,354 acres (548ha) and 111,168 ounces of gold bullion (3.15 tonnes) was produced, the biggest year of production of the 1890s.
\nIt was within this context of growth and prosperity that Smithfield Chambers was built in 1895 by William Evan Thomas, mining secretary and sharebroker. Thomas was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1854. A builder by trade, Thomas arrived in Brisbane in 1885, where he started business as a building contractor before eventually working for Hall's Mercantile Agency. After visiting Gympie in the early 1890s, Thomas moved to the township and commenced business as a mining secretary and sharebroker. Although Thomas had no experience in gold mining he soon became a very successful operator, floating a number of new mines in the eastern portion of the goldfield, attracting investors from Australia and abroad. By the end of 1895 WE Thomas and Co. acted as secretaries for 28 of the 100 mining companies of Gympie, the largest provider of these services.
\nIn November 1894 Thomas purchased freehold land adjoining Gympie's Stock Exchange from Matthew Mellor for £1,000 cash. At this time the site featured timber buildings occupied by a chemist and fruiterer, and mining brokers. Thomas engaged Brisbane architect Leslie Gordon Corrie to design a block of offices and shops. Born in Hobart in 1859, Corrie trained as an architect in Tasmania and worked in private practice and for government. In 1886 he established a private practice in Brisbane and was appointed architect to the Queensland Deposit Bank and Building Society. In 1888-1892 he was in partnership with his former master Henry Hunter. From 1898 to 1905 he was in partnership with GHM Addison as Addison and Corrie. Corrie was a foundation member and long-time councillor of the Queensland Institute of Architects, elected a fellow in 1889 and President from 1906-08.
\nBefore construction Thomas had already decided on the name of the building - 'Smithfield Chambers', in honour of one of Gympie's most successful early mines, the Smithfield which began operating in 1867. Corrie advertised for tenders to erect the building during February 1895. By early March, William Anthony, of Brisbane (builder of the 1888 Smellie and Co Warehouse in Brisbane [QHR 600092]) was awarded the building contract for £2,500, exclusive of the strong room and doors, with a requirement to have the work completed by July.
\nThomas' proposed internal layout for Smithfield Chambers was described in the Gympie Times in late 1894. On the ground floor there were two shops, one at either side, and the centre had a suite of offices facing the street on each side of the hall, with clerks' rooms and a boardroom at the rear. On the first floor there was a suite of three offices on the eastern side, accessed by a separate staircase. The other side of the first floor was divided into five offices and a large boardroom. Each suite of offices was provided with a strong room (of the four strongrooms, three are still extant).
\nWhen completed, Smithfield Chambers, a two storey rendered brick building designed in a classical idiom was one of the largest and most prominent buildings on upper Mary Street. Thomas reinforced his commercial presence on the streetscape by prominently wording the parapet with 'Smithfield Chambers' and 'W.E. Thomas & Co., mining secretary'. The building also included a first floor verandah and street awning. Among the earliest occupiers of the building were Mr J Nicholson, who operated as a tobacconist and hairdresser in one of the shop spaces, consulting engineer Brunel Kay and mining secretaries and agents Maxey and Moodie.
\nIn 1899 Thomas sold Smithfield Chambers to JB Charlton, a stockbroker and in 1902 ownership passed to John Donovan, a mining speculator. Gold production in Queensland peaked in 1903, due largely to a final burst of production at Gympie, which was followed by a 60 percent decrease in production between 1903 and 1913 as the three major Queensland goldfields (Charters Towers, Gympie and Mt Morgan) declined simultaneously. The Gympie field passed through its most profitable period from 1901 to 1906 and in 1903 produced its peak annual output of 146,000 fine ounces (surpassing Mt Morgan that year). After 1906 the decline that began in 1904 accelerated and by 1925 the last of the big mines had ceased production, ending a 50 year phase of deep reef mining in Gympie.
\nIn 1930 Charles Bright became owner of Smithfield Chambers. The building's association with gold mining continued through its occupation by Gympie's Stock Exchange Club. The Club had moved into Smithfield Chambers from the AJS Bank building opposite in 1923, which had been used as the Stock Exchange from 1902-1922. The club initially used the ground floor, and their premises consisted of a bar, reading room, three card rooms and two offices in 1937. During the early 1930s the Gympie branch of the CWA held their meetings at the chambers. The top floor was occupied by Spirit merchants in 1957, and in 1958 the Stock Exchange Club took over three rooms on the first floor for a library, reading room and dinette. The club closed in 1963, and in 1964 Jack Cartwright, of Power and Cartwright solicitors, purchased the building. Power and Power, the firm predating Power and Cartwright, may have operated from the building from the 1950s. A photo from 1973 shows that the verandah had been removed by this time and John McCarthy Real Estate occupied the shop space to the left of the building. The current office fit-out dates from the 1970s, when an internal light well at the centre of the building was enclosed, and an awning replaced the verandah (post-1973).
\nThe rear yard of the building, which is level with the rear of first floor, contains the remains of a brick stable on the northwest side, and a rendered brick earth closet block, with eight cubicles and an access lane to the rear. While no documentary evidence has confirmed LG Corrie as the architect of the block, Corrie is known to have had a particular interest in sanitation, as Mayor of Brisbane in 1901 and as a lecturer in sanitary engineering in 1906.
\nThe Gympie Municipal Council first introduced by-laws relating to the erection and maintenance of earth closets in 1883. Initially only certain areas of the municipality (including Mary St) were required to conform to provisions. In areas where earth closets were made mandatory, pit systems were filled in and existing toilets were required to be rebuilt or altered. Each earth closet was fitted with a box or other vessel 'for the reception of nightsoil or other filth' and placed conveniently for removal. Earth closets were also required to be furnished with 'a suitable receptacle for the storage of a quantity of dry earth for deodorising purposes'. People engaged in the removal of nightsoil were required to pay an annual license fee and could only operate between eleven at night to five in the morning. From 1885 the council operated its own nightsoil service. By 1894 the whole of the municipality was under the provisions of the by-laws. In 1895, the by-laws were further extended and every nightman was required to keep a register of all premises visited, to be submitted monthly to the council inspector. Nightsoil service charges at this time were one shilling and six pence for a single pan and one shilling and three pence for additional pans.
\nSmithfield Chambers is still used by Power and Cartwright. The ground floor, including the former shop spaces, is used as offices, and the first floor is only partially utilised. The two staircases from the street level to the first floor still exist, although only the northwest one is in use. A large space at the centre rear of the first floor has been partitioned. There are still two strong rooms on the ground floor, and one on the first floor.
","criteria":"Smithfield Chambers is important in demonstrating the evolution of gold mining at Gympie, a major contributor to the wealth of Queensland for approximately 60 years from 1867. As Gympie gold production shifted from shallow to deep reef mining from the mid-1870s, this change was reflected in the erection of more permanent and elaborate buildings in the town centre. The building illustrates the growth, wealth and confidence of the Gympie goldfield in the 1890s. For nearly 70 years the building was intimately associated with the mining industry - from its earliest function of accommodating mining secretaries to the housing of the Gympie Stock Exchange Club from 1923 to 1963.
|Designed to stand prominently in the commercial district of a booming gold mining town and retaining major design elements, including discreet office suites, boardroom, strong rooms, stables and earth closets, Smithfield Chambers is important in illustrating the layout and operation of a mining secretaries' building.
The row of earth closets to Smithfield Chambers is a fine example of this type of sanitary facility, demonstrated by its layout and siting, and in its retention of major design elements including discreet cubicles with pan service doors, boxes and a service easement.
|The row of earth closets to the rear of Smithfield Chambers is important as a rare surviving example of an early sanitary system that was once common but is now obsolete.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion B","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":20103,"place_ref":602772,"name":"Australian Joint Stock Bank (former)/Gympie Stock Exchange Offices and Club (former)","alternate_name":"Neilson, Stanton and Parkinson Building | Australian Joint Stock Bank | Gympie Stock Exchange Offices and Club","street_address":"236 Mary Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-04-15","description":"The former Gympie Stock Exchange, a single storey (with basement) masonry building with an elegant temple front, stands in upper Mary Street in Gympie's central business area. The early part of the building stands to the front of the site and a latter addition to the rear is not considered to be of cultural heritage significance and is not included in this description. The building is built to the front property boundary.
The building is sheltered by a hipped roof clad with metal sheeting which is screened by a decorative balustraded parapet. A brick chimney with cornice banding rises through the roof on the western side of the building. The temple front comprises moulded square columns in an implied Doric order forming a timber floored entrance colonnade running across the front elevation. The columns support a plain entablature with a heavy moulded cornice. The projecting central entrance is flanked by twinned round and square columns supporting a plain entablature and crowned with a plain pediment. Decorative wrought iron balustrading runs between the square columns and a two-leaf decorative wrought iron gate marks the entrance. The front elevation is defined by square pilasters to the corners and is smooth-rendered masonry with a paint finish. The elevation is composed of three arched openings comprising a central entrance flanked by large double hung timber sash windows. A moulded cornice gives unity to the elevation.
The side elevations of the building are red facebrick and the building is separated from the adjacent buildings by narrow pedestrian lanes.
The central front entrance comprises a draft lobby consisting of a pair of exterior timber paneled doors with an arched fanlight and a pair of interior glazed timber doors on pivoting hinges. These swing doors are notable for the decorative brass, timber and glass handles. The flanking arched openings accommodate large double-hung timber sash windows.
The draft lobby opens into the banking chamber with the manager's office and the bank vault opening off this to the west. The rear section is organized off a central corridor with two rooms opening to the west and a single room to the east.
Internal openings are generous with wide timber paneled doors some with glazed pivoting fanlights. The south opening to the manager's office accommodates a glazed timber paneled door. Generous timber skirting boards, skirting blocks and architraves are throughout. Walls are lined with plaster and ceilings with fibrous cement sheeting with timber cornice and cover strips. Much early door and window hardware survives including brass door handles and plates, porcelain fingerplates, doorknobs, key plates, hinges and locks. Floors are generally lined with recent carpet but the early pine floor boards are intact below. The original rear doors are intact and consist of a pair of timber paneled doors to the east side and a single timber paneled door to the west. The foyer accommodates part of the ornate carved and paneled front counter. The thick vault door has a fine timber paneled door with original hardware including brass handle to the chamber face and is lined with a heavy brown metal plate to the inner face. The vault comprises an arch concrete roof supported by thick brick walls. The manager's office has an early fireplace with a decorated timber mantelpiece and cast iron grate and side cheeks.
The basement accommodates a storage vault where brick piers, brick foundation walls and the sandstone foundations of the vault above are visible. The timber-framed floor above is unlined. Facebrick arched brick lintels are above internal openings which accommodate pairs of timber paneled doors. Early metal bars are located on the inner face of the timber sash windows which have been sealed.
","history":"The former Australian Joint Stock Bank (AJSB)/Gympie Stock Exchange building is a single storey rendered brick building in the classical style, plus a basement. Located in upper Mary Street, Gympie, it was designed by leading Queensland colonial architect Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built in 1881-82 for the AJSB as its permanent Gympie branch. Between 1902 and circa1922 it functioned as the Gympie Stock Exchange Offices and Club.
Gympie (initially known as Nashville) was established after the discovery of gold in the Mary River district in October 1867. The new goldfield turned Queensland into a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. Thousands of people arrived at the Gympie goldfield in the months after the discovery and a fledgling settlement emerged. In a year the alluvial gold had been exhausted and shallow reef mining commenced.
As Gympie evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, the early makeshift structures of the 1860s gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings from the mid 1870s. With the change to deep reef mining from 1875, came the need for extensive capital investment through the formation of companies using foreign as well as local capital. During 1881, mines began yielding large amounts of gold, marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie as an intensive phase of underground reef mining began, facilitated by the injection of capital into mining companies for machinery and employees. The influx of money and the resultant yield of gold were reflected in the redevelopment of upper Mary Street during the 1880s and 1890s with substantial commercial buildings such as banks and company secretary and brokers' offices. Several fires - in 1877, 1881 and 1891 - razed the earlier timber buildings and accelerated this transformation. A fire in August 1881 destroyed all of the buildings between Patterson's brick store and the Bank of New South Wales (242 Mary Street), leading to construction of more permanent masonry buildings in western side of upper Mary Street. One new building was that of the Australian Joint Stock Bank constructed during 1881 and 1882.
The Australian Joint Stock Bank was established with the discovery of gold in southern colonies in 1852 and opened branches on Queensland goldfields as they were discovered, including a branch at the Gympie goldfield on 10 March 1868. By 1878 the AJSB wished to establish a permanent branch in the town and purchased two adjacent town allotments (allotments 5 and 6, Section A) for this purpose in late October and early November 1878. The building designed for this site by architect FDG Stanley is in the neo-classical style befitting an organisation wishing to project stability, reliability and longevity. After seeing the plans, the building was described by the Gympie Times as 'a very handsome brick building of two - or more correctly speaking - of one storey and a basement. The lower portion will be used as a record room, and the upper floor adapted for offices etc, the front being adorned with a handsome portico'. Andrew Collins was contracted as the builder and the building cost approximately £1,400.
The bank's architect, FDG Stanley, arrived to Queensland in 1861 and was employed by the Lands and Works Department in the Colonial Architect's office from 1863 until 1881. The last eight years of his service were as Colonial Architect and as such he was the longest-serving of all Queensland's Colonial Architects. His principal building in this capacity was the Supreme Court Building in Brisbane (demolished). Thereafter Stanley worked in private practice until his death in 1897. His work was prolific and he produced many important buildings including the Queensland National Bank, Brisbane [QHR 600153], Holy Trinity Church and Rectory, Fortitude Valley [QHR 600201], the Queensland Club, Brisbane [QHR 600113] and the Brisbane GPO [QHR 600148]. Among his regular clients were the Queensland National Bank, Australian Joint Stock Bank, the Union Bank, the Anglican Church and the merchants DL Brown and Co, for whom he designed substantial buildings throughout the colony. His buildings in Gympie include the Gympie Post Office [QHR 600534] and St Patrick's Catholic Church [QHR 600503]. Watson and McKay in Queensland Architects of the Nineteenth Century concluded that Stanley 'is the best known of all Queensland's early architects because of the quality, diversity and extent of his work'.
Although bank architecture projected stability and reliability, these could not be provided in 1893 when Queensland suffered its worst banking collapse and eight of its eleven banks temporarily ceased trading, including the AJSB. It suspended trading from April to July when it reopened as a limited liability bank, namely, the Australian Joint Stock Bank Limited (AJSB Ltd). The property at 236 Mary Street was transferred to this institution and the bank continued to operate from this building in Mary Street until its closure on 17 January 1902.
Shortly thereafter the premises were sold to the Gympie Stock Exchange which retained the premises until 1923. From its inception on 10 July 1884, with 127 members and 60 companies listed, the Gympie Stock Exchange had occupied a building on the opposite side of upper Mary Street adjacent to the Mining Exchange Hotel (now the RSL Club). At its meeting on 25 February 1902 the Committee of the Gympie Stock Exchange resolved to offer £1,600 for the AJSB Ltd premises on the following terms: £400 cash, the balance in instalments of £150 pa with 5% added for interest. The purchasers were to have the right to pay larger instalments and the Bank was to retain the deeds of the property until it was fully paid for. At its next meeting on 5 March 1902, the offer having been accepted, the Chairman of the Committee was empowered to complete the purchase of the AJSB Ltd premises. The Committee met again on 12 March to consult with architect Hugo Durietz regarding alterations to the premises.
These additions and alterations were undertaken in May and June 1902. They included the Stock Exchange call room, a separate timber building, erected by Pointer and Stewart for £229 at the rear of the former bank and accessed by a laneway on the lower (left-hand-side) of the building. The Stock Exchange offices and its newly formed club were housed in the former bank building.
The formation of the Gympie Stock Exchange had resulted from the increase in the production of gold at Gympie through deep reef mining. During the 1880s and 1890s Gympie was Queensland's second and then third biggest gold producer (after Mt Morgan gold production overtook it in 1887). During this period gold production contributed between 21.61 and 35.53 percent of Queensland's export income. The increase in production led to an upsurge in company formation because the industry was also the major capital-using sector of the colonial economy and so adopted company formation on a massive scale. This growth in gold-mining shares led to the formation of the Gympie Stock Exchange for their trading. Other goldfield stock exchanges were established at Charters Towers and Ravenswood. The Gympie Stock Exchange specialised completely in mining. During its existence it competed with its Brisbane counterpart (also established in July 1884) - providing facilities for the transfer of shares of Gympie mining companies. The existence of the Stock Exchange in Gympie, in the heart of the goldfield, kept many shares away from Brisbane and, in addition, aided the development of company formation in Gympie. The volume of sales of Gympie shares on the Brisbane Stock Exchange rarely exceeded that on the Gympie Exchange.
Substantial changes in the Queensland mining sector occurred between 1899 and 1913. Gold production in Queensland peaked in 1903, due largely to a final burst of production at Gympie, which was followed by a 60% decrease in production between 1903 and 1913 as the three major Queensland goldfields (Charters Towers, Gympie and Mt Morgan) declined simultaneously. A treatment process for mine tailings that used cyanide had provided Gympie a record yield in 1899. The Gympie field passed through its most profitable period from 1901 to 1906 and in 1903 recorded an output of 146,000 fine ounces (surpassing Mt Morgan that year). After 1906 the decline that had set in at Gympie in 1904 began to accelerate.
This downturn in gold production forced the eventual closure of the Stock Exchange circa 1922. Despite this closure the Stock Exchange Club continued in this location at 236 Mary Street until 1923 when the premises were sold.
On 5 July 1923 Gympie solicitor Frederick Barker Sykes purchased the Gympie Stock Exchange site for £1,000. The Gympie Stock Exchange call room was removed circa 1923. It was divided into two sections. One of these was moved to Mothar Mountain where it became the home of Professor Edward Sykes (son of FB Sykes; Professor of Law at the University of Queensland and later at the University of Melbourne) and was later destroyed by fire. The other portion was relocated to the north-west of the Cooroy railway station goods' shed, where it remains. After the sale, the Gympie Stock Exchange Club moved to Smithfield Chambers on the opposite side of Mary Street, where the Club remained until circa 1963 when its closure occurred due to a declining active membership.
The former bank and stock exchange building continued in the ownership of the Sykes family until 1976 when it was sold to Neilson, Stanton and Parkinson - another firm of solicitors. These owners report that only minor changes have been made to accommodate their firm's operations in the original building, although additions have been made to the rear of the building.
","criteria":"The former Australian Joint Stock Bank (AJSB) building (1882)-and the important gold-era precinct of which it is a part-is physical evidence of the evolution of Gympie gold mining, which was a major economic contributor to the wealth of Queensland for nearly 60 years from 1867. As Gympie gold production continued and evolved from alluvial to shallow reef mining to deep reef mining from 1875, this change was reflected in the erection of more permanent and elaborate buildings in the town centre. The former AJSB building was one of these permanent commercial buildings.
The former AJSB building is important in demonstrating the vital role of financial institutions in the process of wealth creation and distribution on Queensland goldfields when as a bank branch (1882-1902) it converted enormous amounts of gold into cash and later in its role as the Gympie Stock Exchange Offices and Club (1902-circa1922).
|The former AJSB building has aesthetic significance for its architectural qualities, expressed in the craftsmanship and detailing of the joinery and finishes, and for its streetscape value through its form, scale and design. These qualities complement other surviving 19th century buildings in the street, particularly other banks also entered in the Queensland Heritage Register including the nearby former Bank of New South Wales [QHR 602775]. The important and substantially intact gold-era precinct, of which this building is a valuable part, comprises a harmonious streetscape of late Victorian commercial buildings dating from the 1880s and 1890s.
Its balanced classical design, often associated with banks, projects the concept of stability that financial institutions of this era sought to convey through their buildings' architecture.
|The former AJSB building is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a regional bank of its era, being a good example of a masonry structure in the classical style combining a banking chamber and office. Its siting with other important gold-related buildings in upper Mary Street, high above the gold diggings, illustrates the prominence of banks in the gold mining town of Gympie.
Its intactness is demonstrated in its planning, room volumes, joinery, and strong room.
Designed by the respected and prolific architect, FDG Stanley in 1881-82, the former AJSB building is a good example of Stanley's regional bank architecture.
|As the premises of the Gympie Stock Exchange Offices and Club from 1902 to circa1922, the former AJSB building demonstrates a building type that has always been uncommon in Queensland and remains so. It is a rare surviving remnant of one of the four stock exchanges (in Brisbane, Gympie, Charters Towers and Ravenswood) that operated during the 19th century while Queensland was a significant gold-producer.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion E | Criterion D | Criterion B","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":20104,"place_ref":602775,"name":"Bank of New South Wales (former)","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"242 Mary Street","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-04-15","description":"A compact but grand, three storey, rendered brick building in a classical idiom, the former Bank of New South Wales stands prominently to upper Mary Street, Gympie.
Built on a sloping site with frontages to Mary and Reef streets, the three bay main elevation to Mary Street is defined by the corner banded pilasters and articulated by two implied orders of pilasters, Corinthian to the upper level and Doric within a rusticated treatment to the ground level. Projecting cornices and continuous window sills to each level together with a balustraded parapet and a blind balustrade below the upper level windows give horizontal unity. Projecting banded pilasters frame the central bay which accommodates a rusticated portal entrance below a serlian inspired window. The upper level outer bays accommodate pedimented full pane sash windows framed by plain projecting architraves with base ears. The street level accommodates two full pane sash windows to the south bay and a sash window and six panel timber door with large fanlight to the north.
The Reef Street elevation is comprised of the west wing, each level of which is punctuated by a central full pane sash window, and the enclosed extension beyond the upper level verandah. The northwest and southeast elevations are partly obscured by adjacent buildings. The northwest elevation of the west wing is notable for the decorative metal awning to the upper sash window. The southeast elevation is divided into four bays by plain pilasters, is crowned by a blind parapet concealing the hipped roof beyond and is punctuated by full pane sash windows to each level. The entablature and cornice of the upper level of the front elevation continues around in the southeast elevation. A lower curved parapet screens the rear upper level verandah roof and the elevation houses a narrow rectangular louvred window. There is evidence of the removal of French windows and replacement with the sash windows to the upper level of the southeast elevation. The earlier verandah has been replaced by a suspended awning.
The building is sheltered by hipped roofs clad with corrugated metal sheeting and three rendered masonry chimneys project through the roof.
Square in plan with a projecting west wing, the building is organised over three levels. The former banking chamber is accommodated at the Mary Street level, the bank vaults and storage are housed in the basement and the former bank manager's residence occupies the upper level.
The ground floor retains the major spaces of the former bank including the main banking chamber, manager's office and strong room and accountant/clerks office and the entrance to the residence above. The banking chamber is accessed from the central main entrance off Mary Street and is notable for its decorative pressed metal ceiling. The manager's office, opening off the chamber to the northwest, has a pressed metal ceiling, granite surround fireplace and a substantial strong room to the southwest. The strong room, a painted brick rectangular space with a barrel vaulted ceiling, has a heavy metal door with the maker's plate "Milners' 212 Patent Thief-Resisting". The strong room houses a small safe with the maker's plate "John Tann's Reliance Safe". The accountant/clerks office, a large rectangular room to the southwest of the banking chamber is notable for its decorative plaster ceiling in an art deco style. The interior walls of the former banking floor spaces, except the strong room, are plaster finished and are distinguished by timber veneer wall panelling. The office in the west wing retains its fireplace cavity now housing a cupboard.
The basement, level with Reef Street, has a concrete floor and concrete and brick walls and accommodates a number of vaults and storage rooms below the banking floor. In some spaces the timber frame of the floor above is unlined. The rear office has a painted off form concrete finish to the walls and fireplace and the ceiling is lined with fibre cement sheeting.
A handsome cedar staircase with finely turned balustrades and carved newel posts rises from the corridor extending from the northern entrance off Mary Street. The upper level is organised around a central corridor incorporating a hall at the top of the stairs with two rooms to the Mary Street side and two to Reef Street. French windows to the rooms on the Reef Street side open onto a verandah, now enclosed with weatherboard cladding and casement windows, running along the Reef Street side. All interior walls are plastered and this level is notable for decorative pressed metal ceilings to rooms, hall, corridor and staircase soffits and the retention of much original cedar joinery including skirtings, architraves, doors and windows. The front rooms have back to back fireplaces with marble surrounds. Decorative arches with prominent keystones at the top of the stairs and part way along the corridor define the hall. Accessed from the rear verandah, the single room west wing is lit by full pane sash windows on three sides and has a recent plain plaster ceiling.
A concrete parking area runs to the rear of the building accessed from Reef Street.
Recent partitioning and extensions to the southwest of the building at all levels and a new wing to the southeast are not considered to be of heritage significance.
","history":"The former Bank of New South Wales building located in upper Mary Street Gympie was designed by Richard Gailey and built in 1890-91. This two storey neo-classical building was purpose-built as the Gympie branch of the Bank of New South Wales, which had been operating at the Gympie goldfield since March 1868. It comprised ground floor banking facilities, upper floor manager's residence and a basement.
Gympie (initially known as Nashville) was established after the discovery of gold in the Mary River district in October 1867. The new goldfield turned Queensland into a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. Thousands of people arrived at the Gympie goldfield in the months after the discovery and a fledgling settlement emerged. In a year the alluvial gold had been exhausted and shallow reef mining commenced.
As Gympie evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, the early makeshift structures of the 1860s gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings from the mid 1870s. With the change to deep reef mining from 1875, came the need for extensive capital investment through the formation of companies using foreign as well as local capital. During 1881, mines began yielding large amounts of gold, marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie as an intensive phase of underground reef mining began, facilitated by the injection of capital into mining companies for machinery and employees. The influx of money and the resultant yield of gold was reflected in the redevelopment of upper Mary Street during the 1880s and 1890s with substantial commercial buildings such as banks, company secretaries' and brokers' offices. One of these was the Bank of New South Bank building, which opened in 1891.
The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW) was the first bank established in Australia (February 1817) but it was restricted to trading in Sydney until 1850. After restructure in that year it opened its first branch outside Sydney, at Brisbane, on 14 November 1850. It expanded rapidly thereafter with the rush of gold discoveries in New South Wales and Victoria. The bank set up agencies and gold-buying agents at every new diggings in order to spread its network and consolidate its position. Bank officers were urged on by their superiors to be the first to a new location to set up a gold-buying agency. By 1861 the BNSW had grown from a single Sydney office in 1850 to a network of 37 branches in Australia and New Zealand.
Subsequently, with the discovery of gold at Gympie the Bank opened an agency on the goldfield on 21 March 1868, less than six months after the goldfield's establishment. In the same year the bank transferred to a building owned by Merry and Davis. An 1868 photograph of lower Mary Street, Gympie shows the Bank of New South Wales operating from a weatherboard-clad building with a shingle roof.
Over the ensuing years as it became increasingly clear that the Gympie goldfield was a long-term proposition, a series of steps towards permanency were taken by the bank reflecting this longevity. Firstly, in 1872 the BNSW agency converted to a branch with the increased banking services that entailed.
Secondly, in 1879 the bank purchased the 22 perch allotment on which the current building stands and occupied the timber and tin building on the site until selling it prior to the building of the current structure. Thirdly, the decision at the end of the 1880s to build a masonry building followed the growth of deep reef mining on the goldfield and the rise in Gympie's gold output throughout the decade.
The 1880s were a decade of rapid growth and development and rising land prices in Queensland. Mainly due to Queensland's three major gold mining centres - Gympie, Charters Towers and Mt Morgan - the value of gold output rose from £698,000 in 1883 to £2.75m in 1889, exceeding the value of exported wool. Gold production contributed between 21.61 and 35.53 percent of Queensland's export income during the 1880s and 1890s. These enormous amounts of gold were purchased by banks such as the BNSW, which played a vital role in this process of wealth creation and distribution.
In February 1890 Brisbane architect Richard Gailey advertised for tenders to build a brick building for the Bank of New South Wales Gympie. On 24 March the old bank building on the site was sold and building of the new premises commenced.
These were opened in 1891. The two storey building comprised rendered brick walls and an iron roof. At the rear was a two-stall stable with harness room. The second storey of the building comprised the manager's residence and an early photograph shows a verandah on the lower (eastern) side of the first floor.
The building's architect, Richard Gailey (1834-1924) was a Londonderry man who had settled in Brisbane in 1864. He established his own practice there in 1865, and over the next 60 years built up a thriving business; working until his death in 1924. He designed Baptist churches including the Baptist Tabernacle, Brisbane [QHR 600175], former Ipswich Baptist Church, Ipswich [QHR 602573]; commercial buildings such as banks including the Westpac Bank, Normanton (former BNSW) [QHR 600394]; and many hotels including the Jubilee Hotel, Brisbane [QHR 600211], Orient Hotel, Brisbane [QHR 602122], Regatta Hotel, Toowong [QHR 600331] and Wickham Hotel, Fortitude Valley [QHR 600213]. Many commercial buildings in Brisbane designed by Gailey during the 1880s were characterised by classical idioms and details.
Substantial changes in the Queensland mining sector occurred after 1900. A treatment process for mine tailings that used cyanide had provided Gympie a record yield in 1899. Gold production in Queensland peaked in 1903, due largely to a final burst of production at Gympie, which was followed by a 60% decrease in production between 1903 and 1913 as the three major Queensland goldfields (Charters Towers, Gympie and Mt Morgan) declined simultaneously. The Gympie field passed through its most profitable period from 1901 to 1906 and in 1903 recorded an output of 146,000 fine ounces (surpassing Mt Morgan that year). After 1906 the decline that had set in at Gympie in 1904 accelerated, finally resulting in the closure of the last mine circa 1927.
In conjunction with this downturn Gympie evolved into a service town for the region's growing dairy and agricultural industries. Over time the commercial centre of the town moved eastward down Mary Street in response to the commercial activity centring upon the railway station. The BNSW continued to operate from its location in upper Mary Street until June 1940 when the Bank purchased a block of land closer to the commercial centre of the town at the corner of Mary and Smithfield Streets and new premises were erected. The BNSW building at 242 Mary Street was sold to the Council of the Shire of Widgee in the same year.
Alterations to the former BNSW building were made on several occasions. In 1902 'steel' [metal] ceilings were fitted in the BNSW building by Messrs Crane and son. In 1938 the BNSW made alterations and additions to the bank premises and installed a septic system. After purchase by the Widgee Shire Council in 1940 the building was used as shire chambers and office space after some changes were made for this purpose by architects Addison and McDonald who called tenders in June 1940. In February 1981, extension and alterations to the south-east of the building to provide offices facing Mary Street took place.
","criteria":"The former BNSW building, designed by Richard Gailey, is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a regional bank of its era. This two-storey masonry structure in the classical style retains its banking chamber, offices, strong room, vaults and manager's residence. Its siting with other important gold-related buildings, high above the gold diggings, illustrates the significance of banks in the gold mining town of Gympie.
Its intactness is demonstrated in its planning, room volumes, joinery, strong room and pressed metal ceilings. The former manager's residence, including its ground floor entry, retains its floor plan, decorative plaster cornices, windows, doors and joinery.
|The former BNSW building has aesthetic significance for its architectural qualities expressed in the craftsmanship and detailing of the joinery and finishes, and for its streetscape value through its form, scale and design. These qualities complement other surviving 19th century buildings in the street, particularly other banks also entered in the Queensland Heritage Register including the nearby Australian Joint Stock Bank (former) / Gympie Stock Exchange Offices and Club (former) [QHR 602772].
Its balanced classical design, often associated with banks, projects the concept of stability that financial institutions of this era sought to convey through their buildings' architecture.
|The former Bank of New South Wales (BNSW) building (1891)-and the important gold-era precinct of which it is a part-is physical evidence of the evolution of Gympie gold mining, a major contributor to the wealth of Queensland for approximately 60 years from 1867. As Gympie gold production continued and evolved from alluvial to shallow reef mining to deep reef mining from 1875, this change was reflected in the erection of more permanent and elaborate buildings in the town centre.
The BNSW building, erected during the third stage of Gympie mining, symbolised the wealth and permanence of the town. For almost fifty years the building served as a Bank of New South Wales branch and manager's residence.
Its siting near Commissioner's Hill in the vicinity of important government and gold-related buildings, and its later sale when the centre of the town moved eastwards after gold production ceased also illustrate the evolution of Gympie's development.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion A","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":20277,"place_ref":602783,"name":"Traveston Powder Magazine (former) (incorporated in Traveston Soldiers' Memorial Hall)","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"7 Traveston Road","suburb":"TRAVESTON","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-06-10","description":"A modest rectangular brick building, screened to the north and east by the Traveston Soldiers' Memorial Hall extension, the former Traveston Powder Magazine stands on a sloping, grassed reserve on Traveston Road south of the Traveston railway siding.
The powder magazine stands on concrete foundations and is sheltered by a hipped roof clad with early short sheets of corrugated iron sheets. The roof of the building's eastern end, including the memorial hall extension, is largely clad in recent metal sheeting. Constructed of cavity brick walls 14 inches (355.6mm) thick, the former magazine measures 30 x 20 feet (9.1m x 6.1m) internally with a floor to ceiling height of 10 feet 3 inches (3124.2mm). The three narrow rectangular openings to each long side each measure 42 inches x 18 inches (1066.8mm x 457.2mm) and house solid timber plank and rail windows. The building has a polished timber floor and a coved ceiling lined with painted, beaded tongue and groove timber boards and accommodates a decorative ceiling rose. An opening in the west wall accommodates an escape door. The exterior south and west walls have a cement slurry finish; the north exterior and the interior walls are painted.
The stage end of the hall extends from the line of the demolished exterior east wall of the powder magazine. The original door housed to the centre of this wall now hangs to the opening in the north wall at the stage end. The kitchen wing extension runs along the north side. The hall extensions are timber framed, clad with narrow chamferboards and fibre cement sheeting and are lined with fibre cement sheeting. This part of the building has a flat ceiling lined with similar sheeting, which extends over part of the magazine.
Three honour boards commemorating soldiers from the Traveston district who fought in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War hang on the wall at the stage end of the hall. Soldiers' portraits and commemorative inscriptions and plaques also line the walls around the stage.
A water tank, toilets and a covered, open carport space stand to the east beyond the stage end of the hall, and these elements are not of cultural heritage significance.
","history":"An 1887 brick powder magazine, with post World War II timber extensions, is located on Traveston Road south of the Traveston railway station. The magazine was relocated from Gympie to Traveston in 1898 and became a Soldiers' Memorial Hall in 1923. The former magazine is rare surviving evidence of the infrastructure associated with Gympie's mining heyday, specifically the use of explosives in deep-reef mining. It is also evidence of the Australian practice of commemorating the sacrifices of World War I and World War II with memorial halls and honour boards.
The magazine at Traveston was initially located in the town of Gympie, which was established after the discovery of gold by James Nash, announced in October 1867. The new gold field established Queensland as a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. Although the alluvial deposits were quickly exhausted, from 1868 shallow reef mining occurred. From 1875 a third phase of mining began, based on deep reef mining, which marked a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie. Peak gold production occurred in 1903 but by 1927 production at Gympie had almost ceased.
Reef mining led to the need for explosives to break up rock. For over a century control of all explosives and gunpowder imported into Queensland was the province of the Harbour Master's Department (1860-62), the Department of Ports & Harbours (1862-93), the Marine Department (1894-1928), and the Department of Harbours and Marine (1929-63). In 1964, responsibility was shifted to the Queensland Department of Health. Under The Navigation Act 1876 the master of any ship entering a Queensland port with gunpowder to be unloaded had to ensure that it was placed in a government magazine. The various harbour departments therefore were responsible for the provision of magazines and for the safe storage of explosives at Queensland ports of entry. The Act further regulated the conveyance and storage of gunpowder in any place in Queensland, not just in the ports. On the goldfields, magazines were initially administered by the Mines Department, as control of magazines outside ports was not vested in the Marine Department until 1907.
Some common magazine design features include sturdy construction, small windows and solid doors, ventilation and overhanging eaves, timber floors with copper nails or timber pegs instead of iron nails, and the provision of lightning conductors and copper earthing straps. Magazines were generally located away from population centres and were sometimes surrounded by earthworks to deflect any blast. In addition, magazine complexes were often surrounded by walls or fences to keep people out. Traveston once possessed all of the above properties except the earthworks.
The Queensland Department of Public Works built powder magazines during the 1860s at Brisbane, Maryborough and Gympie; and during the 1870s at Townsville, Ravenswood, Mount Perry [QHR 602782], Millchester, Cooktown [QHR 600425], Eagle Farm, Thornborough and Maytown. The first government magazines at Cairns (on a floating barge), Charters Towers, Croydon, Georgetown, Herberton, Normanton, Port Douglas and Rockhampton were all built in the 1880s.
Magazines were also upgraded and replaced when necessary, and several were built at Gympie, in two different locations. Gympie's first magazine was built in 1868 by the Department of Public Works, at a cost of £191, on the west side of Commissioner's Gully (just west of today's Queens Park). The Gympie Times of 27 October 1868 suggested that people use it, 'as there is as much powder stored in Mary Street as would blow Gympie out of existence. Rather a pleasant fact to dream about'.
However, the brick building proved inadequate by 1878. There was insufficient space and a timber skillion section had been added to store excess explosives. A powder explosion in a Mary Street store in 1877 made townsfolk nervous, and tenders for a new magazine were called in May 1878.
A new magazine site was chosen on Rifle Range Road, and the new powder magazine was finished, except for painting, by late November 1878. About £496 was spent on construction, and an August 1878 plan shows a timber building set on stumps, with internal dimensions of 25 feet by 18 feet (7.62m by 5.49m), sited within a cutting into a hillside and surrounded by a fence. JG Glover was appointed as magazine keeper in 1880, and in early 1885 James Nash, who had lost most of his money in poor business dealings, was appointed as the magazine keeper at a salary of £100 per annum. His daughter, Miss Amy Nash, eventually became the effective keeper of the magazine on behalf of her father.
A dynamite magazine of a similar design to the powder magazine was added to the site at a cost of £217 over 1885-86. An additional powder magazine was built at a cost of £402 over 1887-88, tenders being invited in September 1887. This third magazine was made of brick, with internal dimensions of 30 feet by 20 feet (9.1m by 6.1m) with 14 inch (355.6mm) thick walls. There were three narrow windows on each side, with a door at one end, and the roof ridge was capped with a round ventilator, on which sat a lightning conductor which was earthed by copper straps which dropped from the hipped roof to the ground and trailed away from the building.
Despite these precautions, the magazine's location was still not distant enough from the town for some people, and agitation to move it accelerated after a loud explosion in November 1897, when some old explosives from the magazine were destroyed in an amateurish manner by an explosives company representative, some 700m from the magazine.
The locality of Traveston, south of Gympie and on the North Coast railway line, was selected as the site of a new magazine, against the wishes of its residents and the Mines Department. In June 1898 the Mayor of Gympie urged the Premier to speed up the process of moving the magazines, and tenders to remove the magazine complex and keeper's cottage from Gympie and re-erect them at Traveston were called in July 1898. JC Thompson's tender for £659 was accepted in August, and the move was completed by the end of January 1899. When the magazine buildings were moved to Traveston, James Nash and his daughter went with them. When Nash retired in 1912 he was granted a government pension of £100 per annum, in honour of his services to Queensland, and Amy's husband, Joseph Moore, was appointed keeper of the magazine. James Nash died in October 1913, aged 79.
A 29.5 acre (11.94 hectare) Reserve for an Explosives Magazine (Portion 877A), located to the south of the Traveston railway station, was gazetted in April 1900. The magazine keeper's cottage was located at the northern point of the reserve. An undated plan shows the three magazines arranged in a row, facing the railway line, with the brick magazine in the centre between the two timber magazines. However, locals contend that both timber magazines were located to the north of the brick magazine, and this seems to be supported by 1914 correspondence which refers to the centre building being on stumps. After the move from Gympie, new timber loading stages were added outside the door of each magazine, to face a railway siding from the railway station, and an iron sheeted fence was constructed around the site.
In 1913 Mr Moore reported to the Portmaster of the Marine Department that the gate to the magazines had been broken by the engine during shunting operations, and in 1915 he reported that the floor of the brick magazine was subsiding. Some flooring and the timber joists under it had to be replaced, due to rot and white ants, and reference is made in 1918 to the use of copper nails in the floor.
In 1921 the magazine reserve consisted of about 29 acres (11.74 hectares), and the magazine complex is described in April 1921 as having 'three magazines, two of iron and one of brick, all in a line, with a siding and loading platform in front. Each of the two iron buildings measures 25'3" by 17'2", with 10' walls sheeted outside with iron and pine inside, pine cove ceiling and hardwood floor. Both floor and ceiling are plentifully perforated for ventilation purposes...both buildings are very old...the brick magazine measures 31' by 21', and is a thoroughly sound building...a 7' G.I. fence surrounds the three magazines.'
The Moores were evicted from the magazine keeper's cottage at the end of March 1921, and it was transferred to the Railway Department. In August 1921 tenders were invited for the purchase and removal of the magazine buildings and iron fencing and in September the tenders of LJ Macpherson (£5 for the brick magazine) and MJ Griffin (£94 7s 3d for the fence and the two iron magazines) were accepted. However, other parties were showing an interest in the brick magazine building. World War I (1914-1918), although fought in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, had a profound impact on Australia. Over 300,000 Australians out of a population of 4 million volunteered for service overseas, with approximately 60,000 of these making the supreme sacrifice. Most Australian communities, including that of Traveston, lost young men in this war. Following the war, most communities wished to erect a memorial for those who served, and particularly those who had not returned.
The Traveston and District Progress Association was formed in June 1914, but the township of Traveston was not surveyed until after the powder magazine closed in 1921. Dairying boomed in the district between the two World Wars, and there was also a thriving local timber industry, shipping out from the railway station. At a meeting of the Traveston district's residents on 13 May 1922, it was resolved to apply to the Minister of Works for the land on which the (brick) magazine building stood in order to transform the building into a Soldiers' Memorial Hall, for the use of the citizens of the growing locality. A petition was lodged that month by Harry F Walker, MLA, and the 33 signatories included E Toomey (Hon Secretary), MJ Griffin and William McVicar. In July 1922 the Department of Public Lands, which was responsible for leasing the magazine reserve for farming, agreed to survey one acre (0.405 of a hectare) for a Soldiers' Memorial Hall. Residential lots were also surveyed on part of the old magazine reserve at the same time.
At a public meeting at Traveston on 9 September 1922 John Dickson Kenman, Jens Kristian Hansen, Michael John Griffin, Walter Charles Francis, and William McVicar were nominated as trustees for the Soldiers' Memorial Hall Reserve. The residents of Traveston purchased the brick magazine from Walker by December 1922, as the latter had taken over the magazine from LJ Macpherson prior to July 1922. Local knowledge states that the magazine was purchased by five local farmers who each paid £5 and these were probably the five trustees. On 1 February 1923 an Order in Council granted a 1 acre Reserve for a Soldiers' Memorial Hall (R.767) to the trustees.
The brick magazine was used as a hall by the local community between the wars, and a photograph, possibly from this period or post World War II, shows a timber skillion extension to the east side of the magazine building. At this time the ridge ventilator, lightning rods and copper earthing straps were still in place. The lightening rod assembly reportedly survived on a local farm for some time, and consisted of a copper cylinder about 4 inches in diameter, which had holes for three copper spikes (1/2 inch thick by 2 feet long, or 12.7mm by 609.6mm) to jut out at angles, so that the tips were 2 feet apart. Two 2 inch (50.8mm) copper straps at least ¼ inch (6.35mm) thick led down the sides of the building to be earthed. In the photograph double timber doors are shown in the west end of the magazine, and these may have existed before the building became a hall. These doors are not on the 1887 plans for the magazine. Lead sheeting from under the roofing iron (of either the two timber and iron magazines or the brick magazine) were recycled by locals for stump caps and guttering.
After World War II the former magazine was extended, possibly in 1948, the year of the dedication of the World War II Honour Board. The extension involved knocking down the east wall of the magazine, and adding a timber section on stumps, with the front door being reused in the north elevation of the extension. A narrow timber dining room was also added along the north elevation of the brick magazine, so that from the road the original brick structure is not visible. However the 1887 brick magazine building is still intact, complete with its original six narrow windows and their timber shutters. A timber coved ceiling, probably original, still exists in the old magazine section, along with a decorative ventilation grille, although a new ceiling extends partway into the old magazine section from the 1940s timber extension. During the 1950s the old floor and its square copper nails was replaced.
Trusteeship of R.767 was transferred to the Widgee Shire Council in July 1989, as all of the original trustees were long deceased. In 1990 the Traveston Tennis Club sought to use part of the reserve for a tennis court, and to enable this use the reserve was redesignated in 1992 as a Reserve for Recreation and Soldiers' Memorial Hall (R.1809).
","criteria":"The former Traveston Powder Magazine, built in Gympie in 1887 and moved to Traveston in 1898, is important surviving evidence of the deep-reef mining phase of gold mining in Gympie, the site of Queensland's first major productive goldfield.
The use of the magazine as a Soldiers' Memorial Hall from 1923 is evidence of the Australian practice of commemorating the sacrifices of World War I and World War II with memorial halls and honour boards.
|As an 1880s brick powder magazine of standard proportions, retaining most of its sturdy perimeter walls and all of its narrow solid timber windows, Traveston Powder Magazine remains a good example of its type.
Its location next to a railway line, about 18km south of Gympie, demonstrates the government practice of moving explosives by rail, and keeping explosive hazards at a distance from heavily populated areas.
|The former Traveston Powder Magazine is rare as one of three known surviving 19th century government powder magazines in Queensland. It is also rare surviving mining-related infrastructure from the heyday of deep-reef mining in Gympie.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion B","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":25779,"place_ref":602762,"name":"Elgin Vale Sawmill","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Manumbar Road","suburb":"ELGIN VALE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2010-09-17","description":"The Elgin Vale sawmill complex stands at the end of a short access road east of the intersection of the Manumbar-Nanango Road and the Goomeri-Elgin Vale Road, Elgin Vale (approximately 80 kilometres southwest of Gympie). The complex comprises a large open mill shed, detached office, remnants of the former mill township, two cottages and a toilet shed.
Mill shed
The milling operation is accommodated in a large, rectangular open sided timber framed shed standing on a site sloping down to the northeast. It is sheltered by a gabled roof clad with corrugated iron sheeting with the roof line notable for two small decorative projecting gable roofs to the southwest side. The milling operations are organised around the main floor of the shed which has narrow platforms running along the short sides, a workshop standing to the east corner and the boiler/engine room standing to the north. The northwest platform, workshop and boiler/engine room are sheltered by skillion roofs. A small rectangular enclosed office stands within the shed to the south.
An elevated hardwood timber floor supported on round timber stumps provides a platform for the milling plant with the drive shafts, belts and pulleys accommodated below connecting to the steam driven flywheel. A line of large round logs perpendicular to the mill floor is along the southwest side of the shed forming a log ramp feeding logs to the breakdown saw bench. The milling plant comprises benches, rollers, saws and other milling plant (all retain pulleys and belts), winches, a gantry crane and tramways (timber and steel rails) with trolleys. A winch stands in the yard to the southwest of the log ramp The traverser rails and trolley run along the southeast side on a narrow timber platform lower than the main floor. A set of timber stairs descends to the northwest from the timber floored walkway along the northwest side. Two boilers, a steam engine and a large flywheel stand at ground level to the north corner with a corrugated iron water tank on a tall timber standing further to the north. A tall metal stack projects from the boiler. Two timber framed and clad shutes between the workshop and boiler room discharge to the waste/sawdust and boiler/furnace areas to the northeast.
Office
The mill office is a small rectangular timber framed and weather board clad building supported on low timber stumps and sheltered by a corrugated iron clad gable roof standing up the slope to the southeast of the mill shed. An open rectangular entrance porch is accommodated to the east corner from which two solid timber doors (northwest and southwest) open into the office. Other openings include a solid timber door to the centre of the southwest side and small windows to the northwest and northeast sides.
Township
The remains of the township are on land that slopes up gently to the south of the mill shed. Approached along a dirt track south of the mill office, the remnants include timber stumps, concrete slabs, pieces of metal sheeting, small piles of debris, timber and barbed-wire fencing and three electrical poles, most lying to the west side of the track. The area is now grassed and has a scatter of vegetation.
Cottages and toilet shed
Two timber cottages and a small timber shed accommodating toilets stand to the southwest of the mill shed. The interiors of these cottages are not considered to be of cultural heritage significance.
","history":"The Elgin Vale sawmill, an open-air timber structure containing a steam operated mill, was built in 1944 by Wilson Hart Limited of Maryborough, replacing an earlier sawmill established in 1927.
Queensland's pastoral frontier and its associated disruption of traditional Aboriginal lifestyles spread throughout the Wide Bay-Burnett district during the 1840s. In 1847 John Mortimer selected Manumbar, a 64 000 acre (26 000 hectares) holding between Nanango and present day Goomeri, which included the site of the Elgin Vale sawmill.
When land was resumed from the Gallangowan run of Manumbar in 1878, 400 acres were set aside for a Camping and Water Reserve (R.81) at the confluence of the Gallangowan and Moonda-Waamba Creeks. It was on Mortimer's recommendation that this area was gazetted, as it was the only permanent source of water in the locality. The following year Messrs J & A Porter took up much of the surrounding land, constructing a homestead 'Elgin Vale' in close proximity to the reserve.
By the 1870s, timbergetters were working in the South Burnett, servicing the small local markets of Nanango and Kilkivan and hauling logs to Queensland's 'timberopolis', Maryborough. The construction of the branch railway to Kilkivan from Theebine in 1886 enabled logs and sawn timber to be sent to Maryborough and Brisbane more efficiently, creating conditions for a viable and larger scale timber industry in the South Burnett. Timber revenue provided the chief justification for the extension of the Kilkivan branch line and after extending through to Goomeri (1902), Murgon (1904) and Kingaroy (1904), the timber industry was a major contributor to the initial growth of these settlements. In townships and in close proximity to forested areas, numerous steam operated sawmills were established to process timber.
The first sawmill located on Camping and Water Reserve 81, (also known as Scrubby Paddock), was established by Ross and Company in 1908. This operation is thought to have moved to Goomeri in 1914.
While the softwood vine forests of the South Burnett contained a variety of millable trees, it was the abundance of hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), in towering stands on the ridges and ranges, that provided much of the district's timber. Easily worked, with a fine, uniform grain, the pale cream to light yellow-brown wood of the hoop pine was widely used in the construction of timber buildings throughout Queensland, as well as for decorative and other purposes. The hilly terrain immediately south of Camping and Water Reserve 81 was dense with hoop pine and in 1914 an area of 7660 acres was gazetted as State Forest R.154. Just outside of Kilkivan, about 77 km north of the Elgin Vale site, Mudlo National Park currently protects one of the area's few remaining stands of native hoop pine vine forest, which illustrates its attraction for the timber industry.
In 1926, TH (Harry) Spencer began negotiations to establish a new mill at Elgin Vale, with the intent of shifting his sawmill at Sefton (north of Kilkivan) to the reserve. Spencer had previous involvement in timber industry of the Wide Bay-Burnett and came to play a prominent role in civic and business interests in the (former) Kilkivan Shire.
In March 1926, the year Queensland began to formally regulate the amount of timber that could be cut in State Forests and Timber Reserves, Spencer negotiated with the Queensland Provisional Forestry Board to procure 10 million super feet of hoop pine timber from State Forest Reserve 154, adjacent to Reserve 81. In conjunction with this agreement, Spencer received permission from the Lands Department and Kilkivan Shire Council to establish a large sawmill at an estimated cost of £12 000, with a special lease of five years. In September 1926, Spencer's lease was extended to seven years, while the area of land under lease was enlarged to encompass the whole of the reserve.
The need to extend the area of land under lease was determined by the need to provide accommodation for employees. The development of small self-contained 'timber towns' in relatively remote locations occurred throughout the Wide-Bay Burnett. Other examples existed at Wengenville, Manumbar and Eel Creek. At Elgin Vale, two houses for the manager and tally clerk, a number of smaller family cottages, a boarding house, and barracks for single men were constructed. A small school was also built on the reserve, which remained in operation until 1977 (later adapted to a QCWA meeting room and regazetted to form a separate reserve). When a new set of barracks were later built (circa 1930s), the earlier building was converted into a community hall, which became an important social space for the settlement. In 1961 two houses, seven cottages, a set of barrack's and community hall (in addition to the sawmill and detached office) were recorded on-site.
During 1926-27, Spencer moved all of the machinery and building materials from the mill from Sefton to Elgin Vale, with commercial processing of timber underway by late 1927. After expending considerable effort to establish the milling operations and provision for workers, Spencer owned the mill for a very short period. At the end of 1927, Wilson Hart Company Limited, a long established timber company of Maryborough (1866), had taken over operations. After relinquishing ownership, Spencer operated the mill on behalf of Wilson Hart, maintaining the logging contract to provide timber and to haul milled timber to Goomeri railway station into the 1940s. During his operations at Elgin Vale, Spencer was responsible for introducing modern forms of transport in the district to obtain and transport timber, in the form of Linn caterpillar tractors (the first in Queensland) and motorised trucks.
During operations between 1927 and 1930, the mill's output included 150 000 butter boxes for the Maryborough Co-operative Dairy Association, linking what were then two of the region's most important industries. The effect of the Depression caused periods of closure at the mill during the 1930s, a common occurrence at this time at sawmills across the state. The 1934 burning of Wilson Hart's sawmill at Maryborough saw the relocation of a large number of staff to Elgin Vale. This was a particularly active period at the mill, with three shifts worked over a 24 hour day and the timber town's small population temporarily swelling to accommodate the extra workers.
During World War II, the heavy demand for timbers, for defence and other 'essential uses' made Queensland's timber industry a protected trade. In this period, the Elgin Vale mill was sending sawn timber to Wilson Hart's Maryborough mill for the production of ammunition boxes. A fire in May 1944 completely destroyed the 1927 Elgin Vale sawmill, with only the sawn timber in the yard saved. By October of that year, Wilson Hart had constructed a new mill, probably in the same position as the previous structure.
The position and internal layout of the Elgin Vale mill followed the basic design principles for steam powered softwood sawmills of the era, to maximise efficient movement of logs through the mill. The sloping foreground on the southern side of the mill, inset with a series of large logs ramp-assisted the movement of large logs onto the rolling (Canadian) bench, where they were split by the breaking down saw. From here the flitches (long lengths of timber), were transported across wooden skids to the 'number one bench', to be cut into boards. If required, boards and off-cuts were then resized at the 'number two bench'. Both the 'one' and 'two' saws had docking benches for further cutting of required lengths. Waste timber, used for the boiler's furnace and for fruit cases was sent down a chute close to the number two bench.
Narrower logs were also processed through the frame saw. Vertical saws contained within the frame cut a number of boards simultaneously, with the feed grips of the frame adjusting automatically to the taper of the log. A planing machine for further processing was originally located in the north-eastern corner of the mill, but was later removed. Once cut to the desired specification, the sawn timber was transported on trolleys aligned to rail lines into the holding yard at the eastern end of the mill to season.
The mill was positioned close to the banks of Moonda-Waamba Creek to procure water for the boiler. Situated below the main floor, in the north-west corner were the boiler, engine and drive equipment. The engine, manufactured by T Robinson and Son of England, is thought to have been originally used at a sawmill in Drayton in the early 1900s before being moved to Elgin Vale. Water (which required chemical treatment because of 'hardness') was pumped up to a water tank from Moonda-Waamba Creek and heated by the boiler's furnace, fed on the mill's by-products of sawdust and off-cuts. The steam generated from the boiler powered the engine. A drive belt set over the engine's flywheel was attached to the main drive shaft, and pulleys attached to the shaft drove the various saws on the main floor. Also below the main floor was a workspace for maintenance and sharpening saws, situated near the main engine. Another area was set aside to cut waste timber into fruit cases, which would then be parcelled up and sent away for assembly, with two men generally working at this task.
By the end of the 1940s, the State Forests and Timber Reserves of the South Burnett provided just over 20 percent of Queensland's pine. There were around forty sawmills in the district and during 1947-48, nearly 50 000 tons of timber was loaded at South Burnett railway stations. At this time, the Elgin Vale sawmill was thought to be one of the state's largest.
Although electricity became available at Elgin Vale in 1965, the steam driven operations of the mill were maintained, with electricity only used for lighting. Between 1968 and 1979, the mill's daily operations varied from 5000 to 23 000 superfeet a day, dependent on various factors such as availability of timber, weather and machinery problems. In 1971, Elgin Vale's licence allowed for the production of 642 000 superfeet of timber a year.
While Elgin Vale may not have been the most modern mill in its latter decades, it continued to be a viable operation into the 1970s. The quality of the hoop pine sawn at Elgin Vale ensured a constant demand and a ready market for its product. Because of the relative remoteness of Elgin Vale from its parent company in Maryborough, the mill was largely self-contained, with the staff largely responsible for maintaining and conducting necessary repairs to the steam operations and other components of the mill.
In 1978 Wilson Hart was brought out by the Carrick's Group. Following the acquisition, Carrick's disposed of a significant portion of Wilson Hart's assets and the Elgin Vale mill was placed in the Wood Product's division, separate from other former Wilson Hart operations.
By 1986, the Elgin Vale sawmill had exhausted its allocation of timber in the district. Elgin Vale's use of superseded steam-driven technology, in an era when sawmills throughout the Wide Bay-Burnett region were becoming increasingly larger and modernised, coupled with a downturn in the building industry, increased its vulnerability to demise. During its final year, the mill resorted to purchasing timber from elsewhere to supplement its operations. At this time, an average of 20 cubic metres was processed daily, with 11 men employed on-site. The Elgin Vale sawmill ceased operating as a commercial venture on 16 March 1987, with manager Bob Mercer running the last log through the mill.
Following the closure of the sawmill, the Kilkivan and Nanango Shire Councils purchased the mill and remaining buildings, with the intent of maintaining the site as a museum. The original boiler was replaced with one formerly located at Kingaroy Hospital. A large store room, 2 six-roomed dwellings, 3 five-roomed dwellings and other miscellaneous items were all sold for removal from the site. The manager's and tally clerk's houses were retained, renovated and a caretaker was established on-site.
In 1993, Nanango Shire Council ended their involvement with the Elgin Vale sawmill. Kilkivan Shire Council retained responsibility for the mill, publishing a book on its history in 1997. Following council amalgamations in 2008, ownership of the mill was transferred to Gympie Regional Council. As recently as 2006 the steam driven operations of the Elgin Vale sawmill were operated for visitors, offering an insight into a now rare, but once common practice throughout the Wide Bay-Burnett/Queensland region.
","criteria":"The remains of the Elgin Vale township, established in 1927 to accommodate workers and their families associated with the sawmill, have the potential to contribute to our understanding of the organisation and domestic life of timber settlements that existed in twentieth century Queensland.
|The Elgin Vale sawmill is important in demonstrating the development and subsequent decline of steam driven sawmilling operations in the Wide-Bay Burnett region, an important region associated with Queensland's timber industry. Built in 1944 to replace an earlier mill established in 1927, it was thought to have been one of the state's largest sawmills by the late 1940s.
The Elgin Vale sawmill, in its retention of original fabric and layout, is exceptional for its ability to demonstrate the process of using steam technology to mill the natural resource of hoop pine, historically one of Queensland's principal building materials.
The Elgin Vale sawmill is important in demonstrating the pattern of establishing softwood sawmills in close proximity to naturally occurring stands of hoop pine, while the remains of the township, constructed from 1927, demonstrate the associated provision of accommodation for workers and their families in relatively remote timber milling locations in Queensland.
|The Elgin Vale sawmill is a rare example in Queensland of a steam driven softwood sawmill in operating condition, demonstrated in its substantial level of intactness and high degree of integrity. Steam driven sawmills were once common throughout Queensland with around 40 operating in the Wide Bay-Burnett district alone in the 1940s. There are no known sawmills in Queensland comparable to the Elgin Vale sawmill in terms of retention of original layout, fabric and operating ability.
|The Elgin Vale sawmill site is important because of its aesthetic significance. The place possesses evocative qualities, generated by the strong visual impact of a tough industrial aesthetic of weathered timber and corrugated galvanised iron, juxtaposed with its quiet rural setting. The remains of the township evoke a sense of isolation and decline of a self contained way of life that has largely vanished in Queensland.
|The substantially intact Elgin Vale sawmill is an exceptional example of a steam driven softwood sawmill, and is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of its type. Located adjacent to a creek for water and in close proximity to well timbered areas, the mill is positioned below sloping ground to assist the movement of logs. Internally, the layout and the sequence designed to maximise the efficient movement and cutting of logs within the sawmill remain: the long open-sided tin and timber shed, log ramp, breakdown saw, number one and two saw, frame saw, docking benches, waste chute, rails and trolleys. Below the main floor are the boiler, engine and attached drive equipment that provide the power for the operations on the main floor.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion C | Criterion A | Criterion B | Criterion E | Criterion D","criteria_definitions":"The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":25912,"place_ref":602819,"name":"Pettigrew's Cooloola Timber Tramway Complex","alternate_name":"Pettigrew's Tramway | Pettigrew's Railway | SEQ-5N 22 | Cooloola Railway | Pettigrews Tramway","street_address":"Cooloola Recreation Area Great Sandy National Park","suburb":"COOLOOLA","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2013-07-12","description":"Pettigrew's Cooloola Timber Tramway Complex is located within the Cooloola Recreation Area, of the Great Sandy National Park, which lies between the coastal towns of Noosa Heads and Rainbow Beach. The first section of the tramway ran from the entrance of Cooloola Creek to a site near the former Forestry Department's Camp Milo. It was later extended into Broutha Scrub and the coastal terminus was changed from Cooloola Creek to Poverty Point.
\nTramway route
\nThe complete route of the tramway is currently unconfirmed.
\nThe tramway route is aligned with the Poverty Point firebreak, located on a slightly elevated ridge, for at least a portion of the firebreak. The site of the sawmill and windmill referred to in an article of Maryborough Chronicle[135] may be located at a depression in the firebreak, just over 1 mile (1.61km) from the Cooloola Creek terminus site. It is believed the windmill was located near the low-lying swampy area north of the Poverty Point firebreak, and the sawmill on the high ground south of the firebreak. Several stumps (possibly building stumps) have previously been located to the south-west of the firebreak, potentially marking the sawmill site.
\nA route thought to be the continuance of the tramway begins east of the termination of the Poverty Point firebreak at Rainbow Beach Road and continues through vegetation to the entrance of the Eastern Firebreak (Pettigrew's Road). The route is particularly discernible in certain sections due to a clearly visible depression along the firebreak; the absence of regrowth along the track, and the way in which surrounding trees have arched over the track. Other portions of the route are harder to identify, with heavy regrowth and fallen branches. This route provides a smooth and direct line for the tramway from where it would have crossed Rainbow Beach Road to the Camp Milo area, the location of the first inland tramway terminus prior to its extension into the Broutha Scrub.
\nFollowing the eastern firebreak past the site of Camp Milo, a series of cuttings and an embankment are evident. The presence of these features indicates that this portion of the firebreak aligns with Pettigrew's tramway route. It has been used as a road since the tramway closed and the engineering features are still very recognisable. Along the cuttings, the firebreak track is 3.3m wide. The portion of embankment is 4.9m wide with a slope of 9.5m at an angle of 45 degrees. The height of the embankment is approximately 5m. Beyond the cuttings and an embankment, the firebreak heads down into a more densely forested area.
\nThe tramway line is believed to have deviated from the Eastern firebreak at some point after the cuttings, as the firebreak becomes winding and steep and not suitable for the course of a tramway. A likely deviation of the tramway from the firebreak is located approximately half-way between Camp Milo and the site of the stationary winding engine. This route would have continued through the scrub, eventually climbing the incline and crossing the eastern firebreak to stationary winding engine. A route is clearly visible through the scrub with trees having grown around the track.
\nAt the top of the ridge above Broutha Scrub is the original site of the stationary winding engine. It is marked by a sign with the words \"Site of steam engine and winch\". The remains of this operation, including large bedlogs and metal fittings, are buried here.
\nBroutha Scrub
\nFrom the site of the stationary winding engine, the tramway descended south-east into Broutha Scrub. The tramway route into the scrub is still visible as an embankment approximately 4m wide. This continues into Broutha Scrub to the tramway's second inland terminus.
\nInvestigations in Broutha Scrub have identified some wooden rails of the line still intact and in-situ, used to identify where the route of the tramway through the scrub ran. Other artefacts previously found within this area include bolts, a broken wheel, a grease tin and a knife.
\nPoverty Point
\nAt Poverty Point, the site of the second coastal terminus, are the remains of a set of timber skids. Sawn logs were offloaded from the trams and rolled along these skids out into the bay for rafting. These skids are likely to relate to the later Hyne and Son timber-getting operation but may also overlay Pettigrew's use of the site. The eastern section of the skids is located on higher land towards the scrub. Substantially submerged, the lengths of three sizable logs are still visible, orientated from south-west to north-east. The south-western extent of the skids is the most exposed due to grading of this area by a 4WD track. The log lengths vary the northern log is 26m long; the middle log is 23.3m; and the southern one is 3.6m. The visible extent of the southern log is much shorter than the other two and is almost completely submerged under vegetation. The logs run almost parallel to each other with a variation of less than 5 degrees. The distance between the northern and middle logs is 2.4m and 2.69m between the middle and southern ones. The mean diameter of the logs is 33cm.
\nThe western section of the skids is located within the intertidal zone. Nine logs, predominantly orientated at 230 degrees towards the bay, were visible at low tide. Only a small portion of these intertidal logs are visible above the sand and it is likely they extend even further into Tin Can Bay.
\nCooloola Creek
\nA timber bridge is located at the point where the Poverty Point firebreak crosses Cooloola Creek. The bridge has been constructed with 4 layers of logs. The top layer has 6 longitudinal log beams; the second layer consists of 2; the third layer consists of 2 cross beams; and the fourth layer consists of 2 longitudinal log beams. The bridge measures 8.6m x 3.7m. No bolts have been used in its construction; it appears to have been repaired over time. While this bridge would have been used by bullock teams post-dating Pettigrew's operation, the lower layers of the bridge, earthworks and inlaid timber on either side of the crossing may comprise part of a crossing used by Pettigrew and Sim.
\nJust north of the Cooloola Creek timber bridge, a likely deviation of the tramway leading to Poverty Point has previously been identified, evident as a distinct cutting that follows an orientation of 280 degrees.
\nThe first tramway terminus site is located on the northern bank of Cooloola Creek. One cross beam, positioned against the bank, with 2 logs running perpendicular to it, relates to the use of this site as a terminus. A narrow strip of higher ground which extends to the east of the bank has previously been identified as a possible route for the tramway from the terminus site.
\nTin Can Bay Inlet (between North Cooloola Point and Cameron Point)
\nA corduroy crossing is located within a north facing inlet of Tin Can Bay. Its location and orientation suggests it would have provided access to the Seary's Creek rafting ground. A series of logs have been laid parallel to each other, in a north-south orientation, each approximately 3m long, to create the crossing which is 90m in length. Some sections of the crossing remain intact with logs 10cm apart.
\nImmediately north of the corduroy crossing is a feature previously identified as a wagon. All that remains are 2 sawn pieces of timber, approximately 32cm at their widest point, partially submerged, with only 25cm of the feature exposed above the ground. The feature is 1.94m long. The western of the 2 pieces of timber has an iron bolt through it.
\nBeyond the purported \"wagon\" are 2 wheels (previously identified as wagon wheels). Both are submerged in the sand, however the diameter of the first wheel (the northern most of the two) could be discerned as 2.1m. The second wheel is located 60cm from the first.
\nThe corduroy crossing may have been re-laid over time and as such surviving remnants may relate to Pettigrew's operation or a later timber-getting operation.
\nSeary's Creek
\nThe feature identified previously as a rafting ground is located on the northern foreshore of Seary's Creek. Fourteen hardwood logs are laid out from the bank into the creek. Unlike the skids identified at Poverty Point, this ramp features logs running perpendicular to each other, orientated in either a north-east to south-west or north-west to south-east direction. The north-east to south-west logs run perpendicular to the shore, towards the creek. The north-west to south-east logs have been positioned under the more inland set of north-east to south-west logs. It appears that this has been done to add height to the inland section of the ramp, enabling sawn logs to better slide down into Seary's Creek.
\nAlong the north-western extent of this feature, the timber orientated north-west to south-east terminates with a stepped cut, allowing a log to sit securely underneath.
\nThe rafting ground may have been re-laid over time and surviving remnants may relate to Pettigrew's operation or a later timber-getting operation.
","history":"Pettigrew's Cooloola timber operation began in the 1860s with the extraction of timber from Woolann (the area around Lake Poona). Bullock teams were used to drag Kauri pine logs to the mouth of Seary's Creek. The sandy nature of the terrain and lack of feed for horses and bullocks made traditional forms of timber transport unfeasible and Pettigrew had to find a solution to access the rich timber of inland Cooloola. The answer was the construction of a tramway: Cooloola Tramway opening in October 1873 as Queensland's first major private railway.[1]
Of all Queensland's natural resources ‘timber was the most visible and abundant to the first Europeans'.[2] Early European accounts of Queensland frequently refer to the extensive stands of timber which lined the coast and river banks. In south-east Queensland the dominant timber species were softwoods such as Hoop (Araucaria cunninghamii) and Kauri pine (Araucaria robusta).[3] When Moreton Bay was opened up to free settlement in 1842 the colony did not have a sawmill and logged timber was either pit sawn and used locally, or sent south for milling and/or export.[4]
The timber industry played a vital role in the economic development of Queensland and William Pettigrew was instrumental in this process.[5] He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1825 and came to Moreton Bay in 1849 as one of Dr Lang's immigrants on board the ‘Fortitude'.[6] Pettigrew was engaged as a surveyor and land agent by Lang. When Lang's immigration scheme collapsed, Pettigrew worked with Assistant Government Surveyor, James Warner.[7] In this role he gained ‘first-hand knowledge of the local timber resources and the need for a sawmill to facilitate the expansion following the transformation of Brisbane from convict settlement to free society'.[8]
Pettigrew established Queensland's first steam sawmill on land adjacent to the Brisbane River, at the western corner of William and Margaret streets, in 1853.[9] According to Kerr,[10] Pettigrew's sawmill was arguably Queensland's first major industrial enterprise. With the establishment of this sawmill, Brisbane became the key local market for timber.[11] William Sim, an experienced timber worker from Nairn, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, began working at the Brisbane Saw Mills in August 1854. With Sim in charge, the quality of product improved and production increased.[12]
The first sawmill to be opened in Maryborough was Gladwell and Greathead's Union Sawmill in 1861, which established the city as a timber-getting town. Pettigrew was anxious to retain his monopoly in Queensland and began to explore the Maryborough area, looking for new sources of timber and a site for a sawmill to supply the northern ports of Gladstone, Rockhampton and Bowen.[13] In August 1862, Pettigrew explored the Mary River with Tom Petrie[14] and in October decided on the site for his sawmill - 10 miles (16.09km) downriver from Maryborough.[15] On Pettigrew's return to Brisbane, he established a partnership agreement with Sim, who paid £200 for a quarter share in the new firm of Pettigrew and Sim.[16] The new sawmill was called Dundathu and began operating in August 1863.[17]
The Maryborough timber industry industrialised and grew rapidly during the 1860s. In 1876 more timber (mainly sawn pine) was produced in Maryborough than had been exported from Queensland in the preceding 10 years.[18] A number of firms were established including Wilson, Hart and Bartholomew; and James Fairlie.[19] Despite early competition from Gladwell and Greathead's Union Sawmill, Dundathu Sawmill quickly proved profitable, shipping timber to Sydney, Gladstone, Rockhampton and Bowen.[20]
Pettigrew continued to seek out timber resources which could be milled at Dundathu. In September 1863, he set off in the paddle steamer Gneering to search for stands of timber that were reported to exist in the Noosa area.[21] On his return Pettigrew concluded that the timber was disappointing and inaccessible.[22] However, others did not agree and by the end of 1863, timber-getters were operating in the lower Noosa area.[23] Pettigrew turned his attention to the north, and in late June 1865 Pettigrew landed at the head of Tin Can Bay to examine the area further.[24]
His discovery of Kauri pine in the Woolann area of north Cooloola provided the main source of timber for the Dundathu Sawmill.[25] By 1865, Pettigrew's men were using bullock teams to drag Kauri pine logs from Woolann (the area around Lake Poona).[26] Early timber-getters are recorded as using a corduroy crossing of tea-tree branches and saplings to cross the tidal flats in the northern Cooloola area.[27] Pettigrew's men dragged the logs to the mouth of Seary's Creek, tied them into large rafts and towed them through the Tin Can Bay Inlet, Great Sandy Strait and up the Mary River.[28] Tugs were then used to haul the rafts of timber to Dundathu.[29]
The sandy nature of the terrain and lack of feed for horses and bullocks made the use of draught animals for transport very difficult.[30] Pettigrew needed to develop a more expedient alterative. In July 1865 Pettigrew noted in his diary that 5½ or 6 miles (8.85km or 9.66km) of railway, the majority of which would cross flat, ‘barren' sandy country, would enable the timber to be taken out of inland Cooloola to Tin Can Bay.[31] Pettigrew had previously written to Arthur Macalister-the Minister for Lands and Works-about a railway between his operations on the Maroochy and Mooloolah rivers, and was told that the government would not fund railways, and therefore they must be private.[32] In 1863 Pettigrew had begun to experiment with horse-drawn wagons on timber tramlines in the yard of Dundathu[33] and installed wooden-railed lines and turntables to transport the timber around the large sawmill.[34]
By 1864 Pettigrew had become concerned that the ‘unbridled competition' permitted by the Timber Regulations was causing quarrels among timber-getters and encouraged over-cutting and waste. Pettigrew wrote to Macalister in April 1864, ‘setting out arguments for protecting timber-getters who made improvements such as roads for the extraction of timber, but could not then prevent others from using them'.[35] In response, Macalister introduced special timber licences in 1864 which gave their holders exclusive rights to cut and remove timber from specified areas where ordinary timber licences did not apply.[36] The Crown Lands Alienation Act 1868 opened up the Noosa area for selection.[37] By April 1869, Pettigrew was concerned that the new selection laws might override his Special Timber Licences and allow selectors to take over his Kauri pine forests in northern Cooloola.[38] As a result, he sent Surveyor Byrne to survey his land at Woolann, which became Portions 1 and 2, Parish of Cooloola.[39] On 3 May 1869, Pettigrew applied for the selections in the name of his partner William Sim.[40] By this time, Pettigrew had lost the best timber at Noosa, the Kin Kin Creek timber, to merchants and sawmillers McGhie, Luya and Co.[41]
The forests of Cooloola were physically difficult to exploit and remote from the settlements at Brisbane, Maryborough and Gympie,[42] however, the extent and quality of the resource first attracted independent cutters and later sawmillers to the area.[43] Sawmillers operating in the area included Wilson, Hart and Co. of Maryborough; Hyne and Son of Maryborough; Ramsay and Co. of Mungar, Ferguson and Co. of Gympie; and Dath, Henderon and Co. of Tewantin.[44] However, the 2 firms that dominated the trade in Cooloola were Pettigrew and Sim at Tin Can Inlet in the north, and McGhie, Luya and Co. on the Noosa River in the south.[45] After the Gympie gold rush of 1867, demand for timber increased exponentially and the timber industries of Maryborough and Cooloola boomed.[46]
In October 1872, Pettigrew and Sim arrived at Cooloola and began surveying a route for a tramway.[47] By this time their men were extracting timber from Thannae Scrub (located to the south of Woolann), and taking it out through Cooloola Creek.[48] Pettigrew located a suitable terminus on Cooloola Creek and commenced surveying a tramway towards Thannae Scrub.[49] Its construction was underway by January 1873.[50] Pettigrew planned the technical details of the line and ordered materials, and Sim supervised the laying of the track.[51] Sim contributed some of the funds for the tramway by purchasing a further quarter-share in Pettigrew and Sim for £3,750 in September 1871.[52]
The locomotive for the tramway was built especially for the line by John Walker and Co. of Maryborough.[53] According to Pettigrew, it was ‘the first locomotive built in Queensland'.[54] The locomotive was named ‘Mary Ann' after the daughters of Sim and Pettigrew: Mary Ann Sim, born 21 February 1856, and Mary Ann Pettigrew, born 25 December 1865.[55] The design of the engine was described as:
... a compact little affair, of peculiar make, the cylinder, boiler, and working parts being upright, not horizontal, as in most ordinary locomotives. The reason for this arrangement is found in the necessity for placing the wheels at as short a distance from each other as possible in order to admit of the locomotive working smoothly round the sharp curves that must necessarily occur on a line rudely laid down in an unsettled and often rough country.[56]
The locomotive made a test run on wooden rails laid down Bowen Street on 30 June 1873.[57] According to the Maryborough Chronicle[58] ‘many of the inhabitants, both old and young, spent a pleasant hour in riding to and fro on the novel conveyance'. Pettigrew was proud of their accomplishment and ordered 7 copies of a photograph of the engine, sending them with explanatory letters to: Governor Normanby, the Minister for Works; the editor of The Courier; politician Charles Lilley; journalist TP Pugh; architect FGD. Stanley and engineer John Sinclair.[59] After the trials the ‘Mary Ann' was immediately shipped to Tin Can Bay.[60]
In July 1873 Pettigrew joined Sim to inspect progress and try out the ‘Mary Ann' on the tramway.[61] The rails were sawn at Maryborough, and taken by steamer to the tramway.[62] The ‘Mary Ann' itself was used to saw the Cypress pine sleepers for the tramway as the line progressed.[63] Pettigrew explained the process in his letter to the Governor dated 5 August 1873[64]:
It is now at work preparing its line from Thannae to Tin Can Bay. On side of framing is seen a pulley. This is for driving a circular saw bench for cutting up the sleepers. The bench is mounted on two trucks, and is taken along the line as required...The country is barren sandy ground, and the line...is over pretty even ground, requiring no cutting or banking at least as far as yet made. Steepest gradient is about 1 in 18. Gauge 3 ft 3 in; rails are off spotted gum 4" x 3" but are found to be rather light for weight of engine which is about 6 tons. They are now being made of 4 ½" x 3". The cross sleepers are of Cypress pine 7" x 4 ½" and are notched to receive the rails, and are fastened together by wedges....The ends of the rails require to be bolted or pegged to sleepers but has not yet been done. We estimate that the engine will be able to bring 400 cubic feet of Dundathu pine logs at a trip and at a speed of from 6 to 8 miles per house. The two miles already laid has cost about £200 per mile.
The line was opened on 29 October 1873[65] after 3½ miles (5.63km) had been laid.[66] An official opening and celebratory picnic hosted by the Sim family was held on 30 October with a number of Maryborough's leading citizens attending.[67] Guests travelled up and down the line and were given a parbuckling demonstration (the lifting of timber onto the train).[68] Pettigrew could not attend, but Sim told the gathering that ‘Mr Pettigrew was at one with him in all these works'.[69]
Pettigrew's tramway was Queensland's first major private railway.[70] According to Kerr[71] ‘the early adoption of tramways for hauling logs, and its influence on the development on the railways system in Queensland, centres on one man, William Pettigrew'.[72] The success of the Cooloola Tramway in drawing logs from inaccessible places and over difficult terrain encouraged other sawmillers to build light tramways.[73] For example, in the mid-1870s McGhie, Luya and Co. constructed a tramway system across their property on Lake Cootharaba to their sawmill at Mill Point to overcome swampy, low-lying and poorly drained ground conditions.[74] Pettigrew's influence on railways spread beyond the Cooloola area.[75] In 1874 and 1879, he provided advice on the construction and use of tramways.[76] He used his own tramway to demonstrate that a railway could be built for less that £1000 per mile; only a fraction of the cost of government railways, and critics began to condemn government extravagance.[77] ‘The fact that Pettigrew's and other private tramways were never designed to perform the haulage tasks required of government railways was not mentioned by the critics',[78] however the cheap construction of the former did force a reduction in Government standards.[79]
Less than 3 weeks after the opening of the Cooloola tramway, William Sim was killed. Sim and a man named Cooper were unloading a log 5 feet in diameter when the log fell off the truck before the men were ready and crushed Sim.[80] Cooper was injured but not killed.[81] According to the Maryborough Chronicle, William Sim was ‘one who has, in no small degree, contributed towards raising Maryborough to its present position of industrial and commercial prosperity'.[82] Pettigrew's close relationship with Sim is evident in a statement he made in 1900: ‘Till I got William Sim, nothing worth speaking of was done'.[83]
After the death of William Sim, Pettigrew continued an association with the Sim family, and the Maryborough firm became known as Pettigrew and Company.[84] During the late 1870s and early 1880s, Pettigrew's Maryborough interests were managed by William Menzies (the husband of Mary Ann Sim) and William Sim's sons; James Sim Tertius and William Simpson Sim.[85] As time passed, members of the Sim family increased their shareholdings in the firm Pettigrew and Co., until they owned more than two-thirds of the business.[86]
William Sim's death and the destruction of the Brisbane Saw Mill by fire for the second time in 1874 postponed extensions to the Cooloola Tramway.[87] At the time of Sim's death a little over half of the planned 7 mile (11.27km) tramway had been constructed,[88] however, on 25 May 1875 Pettigrew ordered 2 tons of 23lb (10.43kg) railway iron from Smellie and Co. which was enough for approximately 100 yards (91.44m) of rail.[89] The planned extension of the tramway was in 2 directions: from the inland terminus (near what later became the site of the Forestry Department's Camp Milo) to a new terminus in the Broutha Scrub; and 1 mile (1.61km) from Cooloola Creek (the original coastal terminus) north-west to a new coastal terminus at Poverty Point.
In late October 1875, Pettigrew began to survey the extension from the first inland terminus into the Broutha Scrub.[90] On a survey map dated 1876, timber-getter camps are recorded at the Broutha and Thannae waterholes with several structures relating to these camps.[91] The Broutha and Thannae scrubs lay within a 1000-acre selection, Portion 274, which was held in the name of William Sim.[92] Pettigrew carried out surveys and James Sim Tertius supervised the laying of the track. In November 1875, Pettigrew negotiated with Walker and Co. for a second locomotive for £550, and a boiler (6 x 3 ft) for £22 (which may have been used to operate the winding engine).[93] The new engine was called Dundathu and began running on 21 September 1876.[94] The design of the locomotive Dundathu differed to the Mary Ann in that it had a neat cab with iron stanchions and a corrugated roof which protected the driver from all weather. All the gearing for starting, braking and reversing the locomotive were connected so as to be immediately under the driver's hand.[95]
Pettigrew had to overcome a number of obstacles in the construction of the tramway extension. Blocking the planned route were 2 ridges to the east of the original inland terminus and a third ridge which led into "the hollow" (or Broutha Scrub). To overcome the first 2 ridges, Pettigrew cut 2 steep-sided passes through them and filled the gully between them with the sand removed from the cuts, to ensure a gentle gradient.[96] This formation was the only substantial earthworks carried out by Pettigrew on the route of the railway. The third ridge rose steeply over 200ft (60.96m) to a height of 484ft (147.52m), followed by a descent of 182ft (55.47m) into Thannae Scrub.[97] After persistent survey work, Pettigrew decided on 20 November 1876 to abandon the attempt to survey a conventional line down into the Broutha Scrub and opted for a balanced incline tramway.[98] This entailed positioning a stationary winding engine on the top of the ridge. The tramway track came up the ridge on a side cut, crossed it and ran down into the Broutha Scrub on an embankment.[99] A loaded wagon was kept on top of the ridge at all times so that ‘the effort of raising the loaded wagons, one at a time, was counter-balanced by the weight of the descending wagon', creating 2 isolated systems for locomotive purposes.[100] The ‘Mary Ann' was used within Broutha Scrub to haul loaded wagons to the foot of the ridge, and the ‘Dundathu' took them from the other side of the ridge to the coast.[101] The railway line was completed to its final inland terminus past Broutha Scrub in 1878.[102]
The residence of Robert Black, who managed Pettigrew and Sim's Cooloola operations, was located behind the Cooloola Creek landing place.[103] It is likely that other timber-getters or workers on the line may have had residences within this area.[104] A sawmill named ‘Kaloola' was constructed along the line.[105] It was erected for the purpose of sawing up hardwood, principally for renewing the rails,[106] consisted of a shed which measured 60ft (18.29m) by 30ft (9.14m), and was described as high and airy and roofed with sheet iron.[107] A windmill was installed at the site of the sawmill to water the engine.[108] The water used for this purpose was pumped from a waterhole.[109]
In July 1877, Pettigrew went with James Sim Tertius to the Cooloola Railway and surveyed the coastward extension.[110] The original terminus on the eastern bank of Cooloola Creek was proving unsatisfactory, and Sim decided to extend the line across the creek and north-west to Poverty Point.[111] The completed line was between 8 (12.86km) and 9 miles long (14.48km).[112]
In 1874, Pettigrew told the Tramways Select Committee that he expected his tramway to last at least 10 years.[113] Ten years later the operation did cease, and in March 1884, Pettigrew paid 2 final visits to the tramway and the timber-getters' camps at Broutha and Thannae waterholes.[114] With the closure of the Cooloola tramway and increased competition from the other Maryborough sawmills, Dundathu lost the pre-eminence it had held since the 1860s.[115] The locomotives ‘Mary Ann' and ‘Dundathu' and the stationary steam engine were sent back to Dundathu Sawmill and put up for sale.[116] Pettigrew notes in his diary in March 1884 that 2 locomotives of 3ft 3ins (99.06cm) gauge were up for sale, as well as truck wheels, axles, a windmill and pump, wheels and pinion.[117] The engines were not sold, possibly due to their unusual gauge[118], and in January 1885 it was reported that the engines were being held in a shed at Dundathu.[119]
During the 1890s the timber industry in Cooloola entered a period of decline.[120] As a result of the competitive and aggressive extraction of timber, the resource became depleted and most of the timber-getters and sawmillers were leaving the area.[121] In the late nineteenth century, William Pettigrew, Richard Hyne and Abraham Luya spoke in the Queensland Parliament about the need for forest conservation. Although parts of Cooloola had been gazetted as Timber Reserves from the mid-1880s, it was not until the State Forests and National Parks Act 1906 created the Queensland Forest Service that proper forest management was employed.[122]
The Dundathu Sawmill was damaged in the February floods of 1893 and then completely destroyed by fire in December the same year.[123] The combination of the Brisbane floods in 1893 and 1898, the destruction of the Brisbane Saw Mills in 1874 and the Dundathu Sawmill by fire in 1893, and the enveloping economic depression brought Pettigrew's sawmilling empire to an end.[124] On 26 July 1898 Pettigrew signed a petition of insolvency.[125] Pettigrew died in Bowen on 28 October 1906 owning few assets.[126] The obituaries described Pettigrew as ‘the pioneer sawmiller of Queensland'[127] and the ‘father of the Queensland timber industry'.[128]
Pettigrew's contribution to Queensland extended beyond his influence on the timber industry. He served as an Alderman on the Brisbane Municipal Council from 1863-66, 1868-73 and 1878-85 as Mayor in 1870-71; as a member of the first Caboolture Divisional Board from 1880-83 (being Chairman in 1881), and was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1877 (resigning in 1894). Pettigrew was also a member of various boards, including the North Brisbane School of Arts, the National (Agricultural and Industrial) Association and the Philosophical Society (Royal Society from 1883) of Queensland, and boards of health. He was a founder of the Caledonian Association, and a trustee of the Paddington and Toowong cemeteries. Pettigrew was an elder and trustee in Presbyterian congregations and helped to establish a theological college, Divinity Hall, and the Queensland Evangelical Standard newspaper.[129]
In 1912 and 1924 surveyors assessed Cooloola's remaining timber resources, and the extraction of timber (mainly hardwoods) continued.[130] Areas associated with Pettigrew's nineteenth century operations, including the Poverty Point terminus site and the former tramway route were utilized during the twentieth century. The Poverty Point firebreak which is believed to follow the tramway route in part was widened in the 1960s.
In the 1960s a conflict over sand mining, forestry and future development in the region began.[131] In 1970, environmental conservationists successfully fought to preserve Cooloola from sand mining.[132] Queensland Titanium Mines, a subsidiary of American National Lead, was the principal mining company involved in the Cooloola controversy.[133] In 1975, the Cooloola National Park was gazetted. The western catchment of the Noosa River and the high dunes of northern Cooloola were later added to it.[134]
","criteria":"Pettigrew's Cooloola Timber Tramway Complex is important in demonstrating the early expansion of Queensland's timber industry and the development of private railways in the State in the late nineteenth century.
The Wide Bay-Burnett region was historically one of Queensland's most important timber producing regions. The remains of the Seary's Creek rafting ground and related corduroy crossing, and the Cooloola tramway complex provide rare surviving evidence of the earliest period of the timber industry in this region.
The Cooloola tramway constructed by Pettigrew and Sim, in operation from 1873 to 1884, was the first major private railway in Queensland. Its success encouraged other timber-getting operations to utilise tramways to access remote timber resources and influenced the Queensland Government's construction of cheaper railways.
|Pettigrew's Cooloola Timber Tramway Complex has strong aesthetic values derived from a picturesque setting incorporating beaches, inlets, creeks, scrubs and forests. Remaining evidence of the tramway set against the otherwise natural environment, elicits an appreciation of the tenacity required to construct the tramway in such a remote area and across such inhospitable terrain.
|The ephemeral nature of extraction activities and regrowth of vegetation has left little apparent evidence of timber-getters' activities during the earliest period of the timber industry in Queensland. Archaeological investigation into Pettigrew's Cooloola Timber Tramway Complex has the potential to reveal important information that will contribute to our understanding of the development of Queensland's timber industry.
Further investigations into the tramway may help determine the exact route, construction and operation of the tramway. Sub-surface investigations have previously revealed artefacts relating to the operation of the line.
Archaeological investigation may also reveal material relating to the camps and settlement which were established in relation to the tramway. This material has the potential to contribute to our understanding of the organisation and domestic life of remote timber settlements that existed in late nineteenth century Queensland.
|The Cooloola Tramway has a special association with William Pettigrew. Under the business partnership of Pettigrew and Sim, the tramway was constructed to supply timber to their Maryborough sawmill Dundathu. While the influence of Sim occurred mainly in the Maryborough area, Pettigrew made an important contribution to the development of the state's timber industry, and in turn the economic development of Queensland.
Pettigrew, an important and influential pioneer of the Queensland timber industry, established Brisbane's first steam sawmill and conducted extensive timber-getting and processing operations between Brisbane and Maryborough during the colonial period.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion E | Criterion C | Criterion H","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history | The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":28821,"place_ref":602789,"name":"Gympie Town Hall Reserve Complex","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"2 Caledonian Hill","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-08-12","description":"The Gympie Town Hall Complex comprising Town Hall, Garage, former Maternal and Child Welfare Clinic and Men's Toilet Block is located at the top end of Nash's Gully on a large wedge-shaped site at the fiveways intersection of Caledonian Hill, Calton Hill, and Mary, Lawrence and Mellor Streets, and is bound to the north by Alma Street in Gympie's central business area.
\nTown Hall
\nThe Gympie Town Hall is a stately two storey masonry building with part basement and a grand bell tower. The building is prominently located on a busy intersection and has a two street frontage to Caledonian Hill and Mellor Street. Its elevated bell tower together with its high quality of design gives it considerable aesthetic appeal.
\nThe Town Hall, constructed in two stages, has an asymmetrically composed exterior form with Neo-classical characteristics which include the use of columns, a dominant pediment and decorative cornicing and quoins at the buildings corners to give the building a sense of solidity and robustness. Its exterior is carefully detailed and finished with smooth cement-render ruled to imitate ashlar. The bell tower is positioned over the main public entrance into the building and the surrounding roof, clad in corrugated metal sheeting is hipped over the circa 1890 portion and gabled over the circa 1938 portion.
\nThe building's south-facing Caledonian Hill façade has two major components reflecting its staged construction.
\nThe circa 1890 western end features a cantilevered street awning over the western entrance detailed with decorative cornicing and circular motifs. Horizontal banding visually distinguishes the building's two floor levels. Tall, rectangular windows puncture the western end of the elevation while a circular porthole style window is centrally located above the western entrance. From here the bell tower rises and features tall, rectangular windows and clock faces to all four sides. It is capped with a pyramidal roof and a scalloped parapet wall forms a solid balustrade allowing access to the bell chamber. Access into the circa 1890 end of the elevation is via timber paneled doors which open onto an octagonal-shaped and timber-lined entrance vestibule. A decorative leadlight fanlight is located above the entrance. Another pair of glazed and paneled swing doors on pivoting hinges provides access into the lower vestibule. Floors in the entrance vestibule are terrazzo with a central motif pattern.
\nThe circa 1939 eastern end is a symmetrical composition with large stucco quoins and capitals visually supporting the raked moulded cornice to the gable. The centrally placed entrance is framed by a projecting balcony with a wrought iron balustrade supported on Doric-style columns. A tall, arched doorway with ruled stucco keystone and reveals opens onto the balcony and is framed by tall rectangular windows with timber framed casements. Windows on the lower level are timber framed and recessed into the masonry façade and ornate wrought iron bars secure the openings. The entrance door has been replaced with an aluminum hinged door.
\nThe elevation facing west to Mellor Street has similar detailing to the main elevation. It is symmetrical in layout with stucco quoins emphasizing the corners while horizontal banding visually distinguishes the building's two floor levels. A false balcony runs along the upper floor level with decorative wrought iron balustrading and art nouveau style lights at each end. A large arched window framed with ruled stucco reveals, lintel and keystone rises from the lower level and is finished with a shallow awning formed from masonry supported on oversized decorative brackets. On the upper floor three tall rectangular windows with timber-framed double-hung sashes are sheltered by a timber framed window awning supported on pairs of carved timber brackets. Eaves gutters to the main roof and the upper window awning are formed from metal and are quad-profiled.
\nThe northern elevation where tall rectangular windows and a large arched leadlight window are located is simpler in detail. A lean-to roofed structure containing amenities is located on the lower level while a more substantial circa 1939 timber-framed verandah is located on the upper level accessed by timber-framed service stairs. The land is retained at the building line to allow access and light into a basement level and service yard. A lean-to structure has been recently constructed to the eastern end of the elevation.
\nThe symmetrical eastern elevation comprises stucco quoins at each corner. Large arched windows are located on the upper floor. A gable roofed side porch projects towards a service area on the lower floor and features a large arched window flanked by smaller timber-framed casement windows. Decorative square pilasters are located at the corners.
\nRectangular in plan with projecting wings to the east and northeast corner, the building is organised over two levels. The ground floor houses a foyer space, a former public office and clerk's office, a former post-office space, a former post-masters office together with several other offices to the north. Located on the first floor are the council chamber and vestibule, a former mayor's reception room and office, a kitchen and enclosed verandah.
\nThe ground floor foyer space has generous internal openings consisting of pairs of timber-paneled doors with lead-light glazed pivoting fanlights above. Walls and ceilings are plaster with decorative paneling formed by plaster cornicing with some areas lined with timber paneling. Timber joinery is intact throughout with varnished finish. At the base of the public staircase is a memorial board enclosure with decorative timber screens. Floors are lined with terrazzo. A single pendant light hangs centrally from the ceiling.
\nOther rooms on this level have similar though simpler detailing. In the former public office to the west, walls are hard plaster with elaborately moulded cornices. Timber joinery including architraves, window sashes and skirtings are painted though some timber joinery in the former public office has a varnished finish. Full-height partition walls have been erected in the former post office public space. Floors are lined with recent carpet. Door furniture has generally been replaced though some china and brass door handles remain.
\nAccess to the first floor is via an elegant timber staircase with walls and balustrades of paneled timber. A round handrail is fixed with brackets to the balustrade and follows the curve of the staircase. Treads and risers are lined with carpet. Natural light enters the stairwell through the large arched leadlight window which is framed by wall mounted Art Deco light fittings. The vaulted ceiling over the stair is simply detailed and forms an archway to the upper vestibule. The upper level vestibule has walls lined with hard plaster and timber-paneling. Plaster ceilings have moulded plaster cornices. Timber skirting boards, architraves architrave blocks are intact throughout the room and all interior timber work and joinery has a varnished finish. Internal openings are generous in height and doors feature tall glazed pivoting fanlights. The first floor offices have varnished joinery including doors, architraves and picture rails and unusual decorative pelmets. Skirtings in these rooms have been painted.
\nThe council chamber is a finely detailed room with timber-paneling to the perimeter of the room including columns. Early glass, wall-hung pendant lights remain. Floors are carpeted.
\nThe tower is accessed from the first floor via a narrow timber staircase and by timber ladders within the tower itself to the clock and bell chamber. The clock is in working order with faces, featuring Roman numerals, housed in each elevation. Above the clock, a bell chamber contains a bell and hammer. The bell is formed from cast metal and both the bell and the hammer are painted - the crown and yoke are hidden behind a fibrous cement soffit. The bell chamber is screened in each corner by louvred timber panels.
\nFew early furnishings remain in the building apart from honour boards, framed portraits and timber seating in the upper vestibule.
\nEarly brick foundations are visible in the basement along with the timber floor boards, joists, posts and beams. Rock formed retaining walls also remain. Walls to the eastern end of the basement are rendered and have concrete slab floor.
\nTo the east of the Town Hall is an asphalt carpark where a 1938-39 garage is located. The double garage with gabled roof clad in pre-painted corrugated metal sheeting is contemporary and sympathetic to the Town Hall addition. It has a masonry façade to Caledonian Hill with other walls timber framed and clad in fibrous cement sheet, all with a painted finish. Mown lawns and trimmed hedges address the fiveways intersection which is separated from the building by wrought iron picket fencing and a stand of palm trees. The setting to Caledonian Hill is more utilitarian with a wide paved footpath abutting the building at the boundary line.
\nThe building's bell tower can be seen from various hillside locations within the town and as such symbolises and reinforces the importance of civic leadership and is a significant landmark in Gympie. The building dominates its site and together with its tall bell tower has a powerful presence in the streetscape. It is a landmark within Gympie and forms part of a majestic group of late 19th century buildings in the town.
\nMaternal and Child Welfare Clinic
\nThe former Gympie Maternal and Child Welfare Clinic faces north-west onto Mellor Street and is flanked by the entry to the council car park on the northern side and the Town Hall on the southern side. With its symmetrical form and portico derived from a classical temple it displays elements of an Interwar Classical style. It is a single storey reinforced concrete structure with a painted roughcast finish, a multi-hipped roof clad in pre-painted square-fluted sheeting with battened eaves and an original fleche centred along its main ridge.
\nTwo concrete steps and a recessed concrete paved portico flanked by four Tuscan columns form the entrance to the building from Mellor Street. Original exterior joinery generally survives to all elevations with original obscure glazing to all fanlights and doors. Windows generally comprise single or paired six-light timber casements with two or four-light fanlights above respectively and timber sills. The bathroom in the south-east corner has a smaller pair of four-light casements. Original doors comprise a six-light french entrance door, a six-light high waist rear door and a four-light high waist female public toilet door, all with four-light fanlights above. Some fanlights have been removed to accommodate air conditioning units with fixed aluminium louvred awnings over and the single casement toilet window on the north-east elevation has been infilled.
\nThe building, which in 2011 is the office for Gympie Regional Council's Youth and Community Development, is generally square in plan and symmetrical in layout retaining its original partition walls with rooms opening off each side of the former waiting room and rear corridor. To the left, from front to back, are the former doctor's room and treatment rooms; and to the right are the former mother's retiring room, external female public toilet, nurse's bedroom/bathroom and kitchen. The former retiring room has been adapted as a store and the toilet remodelled. The nurse's bedroom incorporates a large storage cupboard. The kitchen retains its 1960s fitout and the former nurse's bathroom with raked ceiling is now used for storage. Most internal doors have been replaced with sliding doors but borrowed lights with obscure glazing remain. Ceiling are lined with fibrous cement sheeting.
\nThe ceilings are lined with fibrous cement sheeting and cover strips, decoratively placed. All ceilings retain lattice ventilation panels with some partially concealed by later fluorescent light fittings. Interior walls are a combination of rendered concrete and fibrous cement sheeting .with cover battens Ceilings are fibro with decorative placement of the cover strips, as defined by the original architect's plans.
\nThe former clinic is flanked at the front by a rendered concrete fence with metal balustrade and metal gate on Mellor Street. Entry to the female public toilet is via a timber ramp and landing, accessible through a timber gate from Mellor Street. This ramp is supported by timber posts. A privacy screen of lattice has been erected around the landing. An original enamelled cast iron sink is situated on the landing for hand washing. Under the landing there is access to a storage space under the building. The landing outside the back door also has a lattice screen. Four timber steps descend to a concrete slab. The building retains a cylindrical galvanised iron water tank on a concrete stumped tank stand, located external to the bathroom and kitchen area.
\nArt Deco Toilet Block
\nThe Art Deco Men's Toilet Block is located in the northern corner of the reserve and fronts Mellor Street amid an elevated garden bed of native shrubs to the rear and sides at the corner of Alma Street. To the rear of the building is the Town Hall public carpark, the entrance of which is west of the toilet block.
\nThe Art Deco Men's Toilet Block is a small masonry T-shaped building with a stepped parapet concealing gabled roofs clad in corrugated pre-painted metal sheeting. It is constructed of mid-brown face brick on a concrete base and with painted cement rendered banding at shoulder height extending across the parapet at the front and continuous around the building to the fascia board.
\nThe Mellor Street elevation comprises two simple entrances at each end beneath a continuous rendered masonry hood. Above the hood, three centrally located vertical fins extend to the top of the parapet between a simple string course above which a short stretcher course of brick is featured in the parapet on either side of the fins. A fluorescent light is located centrally on the horizontal hood below the decorative fins.
\nOpenings in the side elevations are limited to two high-level terracotta vents and the rear elevation has a projecting gable with a central vertically aligned window. Each side of the projecting gable is a window of the same dimensions but with a concrete block and breeze block infill. The gable to the main roof has flat sheet cladding with three vertical, decorative timber cover strips.
\nThe toilet block comprises two rooms, with both entrances opening into the larger which houses a stainless steel urinal fixed along the front wall of the building. On the opposite wall, to the left of stainless steel hand basin, is the entrance to a single lavatory stall. The lavatory window opening is fitted with a small profile steel window grille providing light and ventilation together with a ventilation screen located above the door head along the length of the stall wall. A box fluorescent light is sited above the hand basin. The interior has painted brickwork walls, a battened fibrous cement sheeted ceiling and a tiled floor. The interior fittings are not regarded as significant.
","history":"Gympie Town Hall
\nGympie Town Hall was opened in 1890 on land reserved for this purpose in 1883. It was designed by Clark Brothers, which won competitions for proposed town halls for Brisbane and Gympie in 1884 and Warwick in 1885. Of the Clark Brothers' prize-winning designs for Queensland town halls, only that for Gympie may have been realised, and its construction was supervised by H W Durietz in the late 1880s. It was extended in 1938-9 by Brisbane architect C H Griffin.
\nGympie (initially Nashville) arose after the discovery of gold in the Mary River district in October 1867. The new goldfield established Queensland as a significant gold producer and contributed much needed finances to the young colony. Thousands of people arrived at the Gympie goldfield in the months after the discovery and a fledgling settlement emerged. In a year the alluvial gold had been exhausted and shallow reef mining commenced, followed from 1875 by deep reef mining. During 1881 mines began yielding large amounts of gold marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie as an intensive phase of underground reef mining began, facilitated by the injection of capital into mining companies for machinery and employees.
\nAs Gympie evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, the early makeshift structures of the 1860s gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings from the mid 1870s. Gympie was gazetted as a town on 26 January 1880 and in 1883 a reserve for a town hall was created. A competition for the design of a Gympie Town Hall was conducted and in 1884 Clark Brothers (comprising John James Clark, architect and his brother George, an engineer) were named as the winners. Other buildings designed by Clark include the Treasury Building, Brisbane [QHR 600143], Central Railway Station Tower, Brisbane [QHR 600073] and Townsville Railway Station [QHR 600906]. Clark had a long career, won many design competitions and produced many other notable buildings in Victoria, New South Wales, West Australia and New Zealand.
\nGympie Town Council proposed to erect its town hall on land at Nash's Gully bounded by Mellor Street and Caledonian Hill which was to be reserved for this purpose. In July 1888 the Council requested that the Department of Public Lands grant them the Deed of Grant for the land as they proposed to erect a Town Hall upon it, but the Department of Public Lands agreed to issue the Deed of Grant only after the erection of a town hall on the site. In August 1888 a proposal that Gympie Town Council borrow £5,000 for the erection of a Town Hall was defeated by 40 votes. Subsequently the Municipal Council erected a portion of the Town Hall, namely the left wing and tower, built of brick at a cost of £1,266. Its construction was supervised by local architect, Hugo Du Rietz and its builder was Joseph Jew. The town hall was opened by William Smyth MLA on 4 March 1891 and the first council meeting held in the new chambers took place on the same day. In June 1891 a Deed of Grant to the Council of the Municipality of Gympie for 3 roods 22 perches 'as a site for a town hall and no other purposes whatsoever' was granted.
\nFollowing its continued growth, Gympie was declared a city in 1905. As gold production declined to cessation in circa 1927, Gympie transformed into the service centre for its highly productive agricultural district noted for dairy and fruit-growing. As part of this evolution, the town centre shifted from upper-Mary Street near Commissioners Hill to lower Mary Street closer to the railway station, butter factory and fruit cooperative.
\nBy the mid- to late-1930s the Gympie City Council was considering completion of its town hall. Concurrently, a post office located closer to the centre of town was sought. During 1937 the Gympie Chamber of Commerce called for a branch office in a central position in Gympie as the current post office located at the top of Commissioner's Hill was quite removed from the main business centre. The Gympie City Council wanted the branch located in the Town Hall where adequate accommodation for the purpose could be made available in the proposed extensions to the building. The federal member for the Gympie area, B H Corser made representations to the Commonwealth's Posts and Telegraphs Department. Additionally, the acting Prime Minister, the Right Hon Dr Earle Page, also discussed the establishment of a branch post office in Gympie with the Postmaster-General in June 1937. Subsequently tenders for the lease of a building for a branch post office were advertised in the Gympie Truth and Gympie Times. Two tenders were received that were regarded as unsatisfactory so approval was given for the lease from the Gympie Town Council of premises at Gympie for a period of 10 years with an option for renewal of five years.
\nConsequently, when additions to the Gympie Town Hall were designed by C H Griffin in 1938 the design incorporated a new post office for Gympie on the ground floor. The addition included a reception hall on the first floor and additional offices on the ground floor. An original drawing by J J Clark shows that Griffin used the Clark Brothers' plan as the starting point for his design of the town hall extension in 1938. Griffin's plan provided for new vestibules on both floors and a new staircase. The upper floor houses a reception hall to the east of the upper vestibule. The existing frontage was remodelled in harmony with the new section. Instead of the Victorian ornamentation originally specified he gave the building's exterior a more modern appearance. A garage located adjacent to the town hall on the Caledonian Hill frontage was also designed as part of the project. The tender to construct was won by Marberete Company Pty Ltd of Brisbane and the work took seven months to complete. In addition to the town hall building a free-standing garage was built to the east of it on the town hall reserve.
\nThe Gympie Town Hall's additions were officially opened by the State Treasurer (Mr F A Cooper) on 21 October 1939. The cost of the addition and renovation was £9,668. This amount was covered by a loan of £7,235 with a Government subsidy of £1,463 plus £970 advanced from general rate revenue.
\nThe completion of the Gympie Town Hall in 1939 was part of a wider pattern of civic building that took place during the second half of the 1930s when numerous town halls were constructed across Australia as an expression of civic pride when the economy was once again on a more secure foundation after the Great Depression. Many Queensland country towns erected or remodelled civic buildings. The Queensland government played an important role in facilitating many of these projects, by subsidising expenditure by shire councils on new buildings or remodelling their existing premises. As a result, more than 20 shire and town council buildings were erected during 1938-39 and six shire halls were remodelled. In the last two years of the 1930s, more than £177,000 was spent on new shire and council halls and nearly £20,000 was outlaid on alterations to existing buildings.
\nTown halls of varying design and dimension are landmarks of Australia's cities and suburbs, shires and towns. They have been important as social venues and focal points for their communities and also for the administration of local government. The Gympie Town Hall was such a venue. The accommodation of the Gympie East Post Office on the ground floor of the new section of the Gympie Town Hall between 9 May 1939 and 26 July 1967 gave it further important social function.
\nBetween 1977 and 1982 internal alterations to the Gympie Town Hall were undertaken with money obtained through a debenture loan approved by the Queensland Treasury. These included architectural work (probably new joinery); mechanical and electrical alterations to the auditorium; internal telephone extension relocation and switchboard installation; internal painting of the ground floor; reconstruction of the WWI remembrance alcove; new floor coverings; office equipment; and glass and timber panel partitions.
\nIn 2009 the Gympie Regional Council recommenced meeting in the Gympie Town Hall, after many years of meeting in the former Queensland National Bank building in Channon Street. The remainder of the building continues to be used as office accommodation for council staff.
\nMaternal and Child Welfare Clinic
\nThe former Gympie Maternal and Child Welfare Clinic is located in the Town Hall Reserve, facing Mellor Street in central Gympie. It is a concrete rendered building, with an entry portico flanked by four columns, with a rib and pan profile iron roof, including the original fleche. Designed and built by the Department of Public Works, and opened on 24 April 1926, the building is one of ten regional clinics built to a standardised design, of which, only nine remain.
\nThe establishment of baby clinics throughout Queensland following the introduction of the Maternity Act 1922 was part of a national and international movement to improve the health of mothers and babies. The Act also initiated the establishment of a network of free maternity hospitals throughout Queensland, managed under the Motherhood, Child Welfare and Hospital Fund. Financed through the profits of the state run lottery, the Golden Casket, established in 1920, the Act sought to decrease the death rate for mothers and babies; to increase the birth-rate; to expand outback settlement and to train mothers how to care for children and essentially develop a healthy population.
\nThe first baby clinic in Brisbane was established in 1908 and attended by paediatrician Dr Alfred Jefferis Turner, who saw up to 100 babies a week, free of charge. Dr Jefferis Turner was the first resident medical officer of the Brisbane Children's Hospital, appointed in 1889. He made a significant contribution to the development of a diphtheria antitoxin and identified lead in paint as a significant factor in lead poisoning in children. These advances impacted on the reduction of infant mortality rates, but Dr Jefferis Turner was aware that diarrhoeal disease was still a major factor the demise of many babies. There was a higher death rate during the summer months, which could be attributed to poor infant feeding and he embarked on a public health campaign to educate mothers in the hygienic preparation of food, particularly for those infants not breast fed.
\nFollowing a conference on child welfare in Sydney in 1916, representatives of women's organisations, benevolent societies and the Crèche and Kindergarten Association lobbied the Home Secretary, John Huxham to establish a network of baby clinics in Queensland. In August 1917 he announced that three clinics would be built, which was later expanded to four. At that time the first baby clinic had just been built in Victoria, while New South Wales already had eleven. All were based on the philosophy of New Zealand Doctor, Frederick Truby King, which promoted breast feeding, the training of nurses in maternal and infant welfare and the education of mothers in domestic hygiene.
\nA national agenda for public health and social reform was implicit in the growth of the town planning movement. The second Australian Town Planning Conference and Exhibition held in Brisbane in mid 1918 included a display illustrating the proper care of babies. The organiser of this conference was Charles Edward Chuter, an officer of the Home Secretary's Department, who was to have a significant impact on local government and on the health system in Queensland. He had managed the finances of the Brisbane General Hospital from 1917, and sought the means to implement the social policies of the recently elected Labour government of T J Ryan. Chuter established the Motherhood, Child Welfare and Hospital Fund, which was financed through the Golden Casket Lottery. He also had significant input into the drafting of the Maternity Act. The decision to operate a regular lottery from 1920, with the profits deposited into the Hospital Trust Account, financed a major building program in maternity hospitals and baby clinics.
\nThe first government baby clinic opened in a rented cottage in Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley on 8 March 1918, managed by Matron Florence Chatfield of the Diamantina Hospital. Three more clinics opened shortly after at Woolloongabba, Spring Hill and West End. Nurse Chatfield travelled north in October 1920, seeking suitable sites to build clinics in Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton, preferring a central location, close to the shopping areas and close to public transport. She also sought support from at least one doctor in each town to act as the Honorary Medical Officer, attached to the clinic.
\nBetween October 1923 and November 1924, new baby clinics were erected at Rockhampton, Townsville, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Cairns, Maryborough and Bundaberg. The Fortitude Valley Clinic, which opened in 1924, included a training school for nurses. The training centre staff had been educated in both New Zealand and Sydney and the centre produced eight graduates in 1924 and eleven in 1925. Thirty-five maternity wards were built in hospitals across the state at this time. Between 1926 and 1930 clinics were erected at Gympie, Mackay, Charters Towers and Warwick, with new substantial brick clinics built at Woolloongabba and Herschel Street in the city. Another large clinic was planned for South Brisbane but was never built.
\nTen regional clinics were based on a standard plan produced by the Department of Works. These included: Rockhampton, Townsville, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Maryborough, Bundaberg, Gympie, Mackay, Charters Towers and Warwick. The Rockhampton clinic was the first to be opened on Saturday 27 October 1923. It was described in the 1924 Queensland Parliamentary Papers Report of the Department of Public Works as:
\nA compact tile-roofed one-storey reinforced cement plaster building of attractive design, containing waiting hall 16 ft by 16 ft; a doctor's room 12 ft by 11 ft; treatment room 13 ft by 11 ft; retiring and nurses rooms 11ft by 10 ft with water closet, lavatories, store, press etc. Modern fittings and furnishings have been installed throughout and a septic system provided for conveniences.
\nThe Cairns clinic which opened in January 1924 was not of the standard design, being a larger high set timber structure, built on part of a railway reserve fronting Martyn Street.
\nThe selection of a site for a baby clinic for Gympie occurred during the early part of 1925 with regular correspondence between the local MLA, Tom Dunstan, the Assistant Minister for Works and the Home Secretary James Stoppard. The Under Secretary George Chuter and the Mayor Alderman George Thomas undertook a site inspection on 7 March and agreed that part of the Town Hall Reserve facing Mellor Street was the best location. The council agreed to allocate a site within the Town Hall reserve, because the clinic would be of benefit to the district. It passed the resolution on 19 March 1925, and verbal agreement was made by the council that it would provide fill for the site. The architect William Ewart visited in April and assured the Town Clerk that the plans and specifications were in hand and the building would be completed as soon as possible. The proposed building was specified as a concrete one storey structure with a Marseilles tiled roof and Doric pillared entrance, including a waiting room for mothers, infant's treatment room, kitchen, bathroom, ladies' retiring room and day room for the nurses. The standard design baby clinics were all founded on the same plan drawn up in January 1923, with some amendments to suit each individual site. The Gympie Clinic was built with two toilets; one accessible from within the clinic, and one with an external door, adjacent to the Town Hall, accessible to the public. (A separate men's toilet was located nearby.) Two nurses were appointed to the clinic, with one stationed at the clinic and the other largely devoted to visiting mothers in their own homes within the district.
\nThe building, which cost £2,355, was opened on Saturday 24 April 1926 by the Minister for Works, James Kirwan. He referred to the clinic as the 'Temple of the Babe', an analogy first used by the Assistant Home Secretary Mr Brennan at the opening of the Toowoomba Baby Clinic in December 1923. Kirwan reiterated the government policy promoting motherhood and child welfare, indicating that the clinic had already begun operation prior to the official opening. Nurse McGrath had already begun her rounds of the district, visiting 83 babies, and 25 mothers had consulted the clinic. He said the building, was a beautiful structure which was an architectural adornment to the city of Gympie. When the Director of Infant Welfare, Dr Jefferis Turner wrote his first annual report in June 1927, he indicated that the Gympie Clinic had a good relationship with the local maternity nurses, and it had outperformed some older ones in the state, in terms of the numbers of new born babies visited by the clinic sisters.
\nIn 1933, the Gympie Town Clerk advised the Department of Works that a large amount of spoil had been generated in the process of excavating for a new sewer. This had been used to fill the Town Hall Reserve, but had in fact filled part of the lower flight of steps at the rear of the baby clinic. It advised that the landing would be extended to provide easier access to the clinic and the remainder of the lower steps would lead to the yard. During the early 1930s the clinic sister experienced difficulties sleeping because of the constant noise from the public toilet in the clinic building adjacent to her bedroom. At that time it was agreed to lock the female toilet at 11.00pm.
\nThe back landing was enclosed with lattice in 1936. By 1941, heavy rain had caused subsidence of this and earlier fill, causing damage to the back steps and requiring the installation of a 6 foot (1.8m) square concrete slab at the foot of the stairs.
\nThe Gympie Town Council wrote to the Department of Public Works in June 1950, indicating that the town hall was being repainted and suggested that the baby clinic be painted at the same time. Tenders were called in September and the exterior painting proceeded. Some interior painting was also carried out at this time with repairs to the front stairs and front gate, and painting of exterior Venetian blinds. In 1956 the interior walls and furniture was painted.
\nThe connection of sewerage in May 1964 led to further alterations and additions to the interior including a complete internal and external repaint, in pastel shades. The bathroom was upgraded with a new bath and hand basins. New cupboards were built in the kitchen and new linoleum was laid throughout. The furniture was also repainted.
\nPlans for further additions to provide living accommodation were drawn up in April 1964. The proposed 22' by 21' (6.7m by 6.4m) extension was to comprise two bedrooms, a bathroom, laundry, WC, dining room and new street access. However the Gympie City Council was in opposition to any extensions to the clinic because it would partly encroach on recent improvements to the car park, and new access roadways within Town Hall Reserve. The council wrote to the Secretary of Lands Administration enquiring as to the original agreement reached in relation to land allocated prior to the construction of the baby clinic. The Land Administration was unable to present any formal documentation of the initial allocation of the site, as it had been the product of a verbal agreement between the MLA at the time, the Hon T Dunstan, the Mayor, Aldermen and Town Clerk of Gympie. While the council passed a motion approving the erection of the baby clinic on the Town Hall Reserve, it appears that no formal agreement was made on land allocation for the clinic. The planned extensions did not proceed.
\nIt is unclear when the tile roof was replaced with iron, but a number of clinics had experienced problems with the tiled roof, with the Townsville clinic's replaced by 1927.
\nThe Maternal and Child Health Clinic services were transferred to the Gympie Hospital in 1992. The former baby clinic building was then occupied by the State Emergency Service (later the Gympie Regional Emergency Management Team) for fifteen years. This team was transferred to Caloundra in 2007. The Cooloola Family and Community Development Workers then mounted a petition to request a lease of the building to re-establish a clinic providing maternal and child health services, collaboratively run by the Cooloola Community Hub staff and the Gympie Child Health Services. It appears that no action was taken on this proposal. The Gympie Regional Council's Youth Development Unit now occupies the building.
\nArt Deco Men's Toilet Block
\nThe Art Deco Men's Toilet Block in Mellor Street and sited on Gympie's Town Hall Reserve was erected circa 1920s. It is one of only two known toilet blocks in this architectural style in Queensland, the other reported to be at Mareeba.
\nPublic toilets in Mellor Street were in existence in 1925 as Council minutes reveal that the Chamber of Commerce requested the provision of a light at the public lavatory in Mellor Street. However, the toilet block does not appear on a partial site plan for the reserve drawn in 1925 when the Gympie Maternal and Child Welfare Clinic was being planned for the site. The Art Deco toilet block does not reflect the architectural style of the nearby Gympie Town Hall (designed 1938), which leads to the conclusion that the toilet block was constructed before 1938.
","criteria":"As the product of Gympie's gold mining and later agricultural settlement, the Gympie Town Hall Complex is important in demonstrating the evolution of Queensland's history. The Town Hall, designed in the mid-1880s and opened in 1890, represents the endurance and continued importance of Gympie to Queensland as a highly profitable gold mining town. The Gympie Town Hall's extension in the late 1930s reflects Gympie's evolution into the major service town of an economically important dairy and agricultural district for Queensland.
The former Gympie Maternal and Child Welfare Clinic (1926) is important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland history concerned with improving maternal health, which was part of the Australia-wide movement to educate mothers in infant and domestic hygiene. It is one of ten standard design baby clinics constructed in regional Queensland that resulted from implementation of the Maternity Act 1922, which used funding from the state-operated lottery, the Golden Casket.
The Gympie Maternal and Child Welfare Clinic, which served the Gympie district for 66 years, is representative of Queensland's response to the Australia-wide endeavour to reduce infant mortality and improve maternal health during the 1920s.
|The Gympie Town Hall Reserve Complex forms a harmonious group around the Gympie Town Hall with the smaller classically inspired Maternal and Child Welfare Building and Art Deco Toilet Block adding visual interest as the group extends along Mellor Street and Caledonian Hill.
The elegant, classically inspired Gympie Town Hall stands prominently at the five-ways that terminates Mary Street and the main business district of Gympie. In Gympie's hilly terrain and irregular road layout, towers such as those of the Gympie Town Hall and Gympie Court House [QHR 600533] stand as important navigation aids around the city centre. The Gympie Town Hall has aesthetic significance for its classical composition and detailing and for its fine interiors including extensive timber joinery; and decorative plaster work, glazing and terrazzo floors.
The Gympie Maternal and Child Welfare building has aesthetic significance as a well-designed building with a domestic scale and character appropriate to its function. Notable for its classical temple front, the building makes a pleasing contribution to the streetscape.
|The Gympie Town Hall demonstrates the principal characteristics of a regional town hall. Located in a prominent position near the centre of the town, the Gympie Town Hall is a substantial two-storey building with a dominant clock tower. Its interior includes the council chamber, meeting room, staircase, honour roll and original offices.
The original design of the Gympie Town Hall was by Clark Brothers and it is specifically the work of noted architect John James Clark.
The former Gympie Maternal and Child Welfare Clinic demonstrates the principal characteristics of the Queensland Department of Works standard design for regional baby clinic buildings in the 1920s. These include a spacious waiting room, doctor's room, treatment room, nurse's room, bathroom and toilet. Also, the building's central location in Gympie is typical of the siting of early regional clinics. The integrity of the building has been retained including the original room layout, along with most of the interwar features of the building.
|As one of only two known examples, the Art Deco Men's Toilet Block built in Mellor Street on the Town Hall reserve in the 1920s is a rare example of Art Deco design used for a public toilet block in Queensland.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion E | Criterion D | Criterion B","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":31071,"place_ref":602729,"name":"Memorial Park","alternate_name":"Gympie Memorial Park","street_address":"River Road","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2009-09-18","description":"Gympie's Memorial Park is located just south of the central business district along Mary Street, on a low-lying triangle of ground that occupies the whole of the block bounded by Reef Street to the north, Young Street to the south-east and River Road to the south-west. Linked with Mary Street via a walkway that contains the State heritage-listed Gympie and Widgee War Memorial Gates (QHR 600535), the park is an attractive green space in the heart of town. Consisting of lawns, circular and oval rose garden beds, paved walkways and a wide variety of mature trees, it retains much of its original form and continues to accommodate many of the functions carried out there since its establishment. A 1920 memorial timber bandstand in the centre of the park is the most visually dominant structure on the site. More discretely placed is a 1950s brick fernery building, built into the steep bank along the Young Street boundary, which appears to contain elements of an earlier brick structure. A number of other memorials have been placed throughout the park, including a large sandstone monument dedicated to James Nash, which occupies a prominent position near the corner of Reef Street and River Road. Recent signage, bench seating, picnic tables, garbage bins and two children's playgrounds are not considered to be of cultural heritage significance.
The park retains much of its original layout design, the key elements of which are the bandstand, walkways, garden beds and trees. The bandstand is located close to the centre of the park and orientated to the north-west. From this central feature, walkways branch out to the south, east and north-west, the latter connecting to the Memorial Gates walkway from Mary Street. At least two of these walkways, those branching to the north-west and south, were part of the 1920 design and have avenues of trees on either side. The walkway to the east also may be part of the original design, and is lined with trees. A later walkway crosses the park north to south, linking the Memorial Gates walkway with River Road. All the walkways through the park are paved.
Despite their recent concrete and block edging, four garden beds in the park (one elliptical shaped, three circular) appear to be of the same dimensions and in the same positions as the garden beds established in 1920. Three are placed in a line parallel to the River Street boundary in the western half of the park, with circular beds at either end and the elliptical bed in the centre. The fourth and largest circular garden bed sits to the north of the bandstand near the Reef Street boundary. All four beds are planted with roses in 2009.
The variety and number of planted mature trees is a distinctive characteristic of the park. These include trees planted around the park perimeter, creating a green screen that varies in density depending on the tree species used. Some, such as several Hoop Pines (Araucaria cunninghamii) appear, by their size, to be very mature and may date from the earliest planting schemes. Apart from Hoop Pines, perimeter plantings consist mainly of Jacarandas (Jacaranda mimosifolia), Brown Pines (Podocarpus elatus), Crows Ash (Flindersia australis) and Kauri Pine (Agathis robusta). Early trees can also be found in the avenues planted along walkways that exist from the original park layout. The avenue linking the bandstand to the Memorial Gates walkway has Queen Palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana), Cabbage Palms (Livistona australis) and Chinese Fan Palms (Livistona chinensis), some of which appear to be evident in early photographs. The avenue running south from the bandstand to the corner of River Road and Young Street contains paired Bumpy Ash (Flindersia schottiana) trees, alternated with various species of palm. Lining the walkway heading east from the bandstand are paired Jacarandas and other trees including a large Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina). Other individual and grouped specimen trees are found throughout the park. Some notable examples are a large Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii (P.caribaea)) west of the bandstand, a line of Silky Oaks (Grevillea robusta) through the eastern lawn area and a mature Illawarra Flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius) in the north-west corner of the park.
The 1920 bandstand is a free-standing, elevated, timber-framed pavilion. The square, broken-back hipped roof has small gable projections on all four sides and is clad in concrete tiles. Each gablet has a bargeboard and decorative timber screens. The roof is supported by square timber posts that have decorated tops and ornamental brackets. A timber frieze (featuring a harp and a crossed horns motif) sits under the roof, running between each post. The timber board-lined ceiling, consisting of four triangular panels joined with cover strips, falls gently towards the centre of the pavilion. The bandstand plan is essentially square, with fixed timber corner benches and narrow, rectangular bays projecting out from all four sides. A timber balustrade encompasses the whole, in-filled with a combination of timber balusters and some metal replacement sections. The platform floor is timber board-lined and accessed by concrete steps to the north-west and south-east. The steps on the main (north-west) façade are narrower and have a marble memorial plaque attached to the concrete piers on either side. The one on the left states 'In Memory of F. T. Percival, Bandmaster, 1902 - 1907' while the other is inscribed 'In Memory of Fallen Comrades, The Great War, 1914 - 1918'. The structure stands on concrete piers that are connected by panels of honeycombed brickwork. The ground immediately around the bandstand is paved and linked to the three paved walkways that branch out from here.
The 1950s fernery building is constructed from orange bricks and consists of an enclosed storage room at the south-east end and a long, open air enclosure used for growing ferns and other plants. The storage shed at the south-west end has a timber framed gable roof, clad in corrugated iron. The walls are brick and appear to encase remnants of an earlier brick-on-edge structure with decorative lintels above the north-west-facing openings, made of bricks standing on end and angled. The fernery enclosure has a skillion roof with steel truss framing, clad primarily with steel caging panels and shade cloth. The fernery walls are solid brickwork up to waist height with brick piers supporting the roof structure. Window openings between the piers are in-filled with steel caging panels. Two doorways open onto the park, one at either end. The north-east end of the fernery has small, flat roofed, block work extension.
Of the other memorials positioned around the park, the sandstone and marble monument to James Nash is the most prominent. It stands in the north-west corner of the park, facing the intersection of Reef Street, River Road and Monkland Street. Designed in a classical style, it has a square base, Corinthian-order pilasters at each corner, a wide cornice, and is topped by a sandstone block ornamented with a carved wreath. Marble panels are fixed between each pilaster; two have projecting marble basins and one is inscribed with the words 'Erected to the Memory of James Nash, who discovered the Gympie goldfield, 16th October 1867. Born at Beanacre, Wiltshire, England, 5th September 1834. Died at Gympie 5th October 1913.' West of the bandstand is a 'Peace Pole' memorial that has one plaque attached to a decorated timber pole and another on a rock at its base. Aligned with the bandstand to the south-west is a 1988 War Memorial, which consists of a large sandstone boulder with a small cross carved in relief, a large granite plaque and a small brass plaque below it. A low, semi-circular concrete masonry wall surrounds the boulder and has two brass plaques on its inner face, commemorating the deaths of individual soldiers. A nearby flagpole associated with this memorial stands to the north-west.
The low-lying position of the park and the density of trees planted around its edge focus views within and through the park, rather than out from it. Glimpses of the park in its treed setting can be obtained from a number of surrounding streets to the north and from Calton Hill adjacent to the south-east.
","history":"Gympie's Memorial Park was established in 1919-1921 as the Gympie and Widgee District Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Park, with a landscape design prepared by Brisbane's Parks Superintendent Henry (Harry) Moore and a focal timber bandstand designed by Brisbane City Council's architect Alfred Herbert Foster. The park was opened on 20 April 1921 but the first official function in the park was an address to His Royal Highness Edward, Prince of Wales, during the Prince's visit to Gympie on 3 August 1920. Funded largely by community subscription and built on land donated by the Henderson family, owners of Ferguson & Co.'s Union Sawmills, the memorial park was intended as a lasting tribute to the citizens of the city and its district who had died for their country during the Great War of 1914-1918 and the Boer War of 1899-1902. The bandstand erected in the park in 1919-1920 is also a memorial to a former and much-respected local bandmaster, Mr Frederick Thomas Percival.
The park is located in Nash's Gully in central Gympie, on the northern side of the Mary River. A little further up the gully, near the later Gympie Town Hall, James Nash had found alluvial gold in 1867, sparking Queensland's first major gold rush in October that year. The Nashville Goldfield was proclaimed and a township was established on the field to support the miners. By mid-1868 the name of the field had been changed to Gympie, reputedly an Aboriginal word for the stinging trees found in the district. The alluvial gold was worked out within 12 months, but reefs on Caledonian Hill, the Hilton, One Mile, Monkland and Two Mile were being worked from early 1868 and by the mid-1870s the township of Gympie had become the centre of one of the richest goldfields in Queensland. About 50 mining companies were still operating at Gympie in 1909, but by the 1920s output was waning. The town of Gympie acquired city status in 1905 and at the outbreak of war in 1914 was the centre of a well-populated timber-getting, sawmilling, dairying and agricultural district.
Although fought in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the Great War had a profound impact on Australia. In 1914 the nation retained strong ties to the 'motherland' and had no hesitation in entering the war in support of Britain. Over 300,000 Australians from a population of four million volunteered for service overseas, and approximately 60,000 of these died. Almost every community in every Australian state lost young men in this war. No previous or subsequent war has had such an impact on the nation in terms of loss of life.
Even before the end of hostilities, memorials were being erected by Australian communities to honour local people who had served and died during this international conflict. These memorials were a spontaneous and highly visible expression of national grief. To those who erected them, they were as sacred as grave sites. With British policy decreeing that the Empire war dead were to be buried where they fell, war memorials became substitute graves for the Australians whose bodies lay in battlefield cemeteries overseas. Great War memorials took a variety of forms in Australia, including honour boards, stone monuments, tree-line memorial avenues, memorial parks, and utilitarian structures such as gates, halls and clocks. In Queensland the soldier statue was a popular choice of monument, while the obelisk predominated in southern states.
On 9 January 1919 a group of prominent citizens met to establish the Gympie and Widgee District Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Fund and to discuss how best to honour the community's war dead. Several alternatives were proposed, including a garden, a park, a scholarship and a stone 'digger' monument. On behalf of his family - and as a tribute to his father William Henderson, who was one of the founders of Ferguson & Co.'s Union Sawmills in Gympie in 1868 - Mr Arthur Henderson offered as a site for a memorial park, a triangular parcel of land bounded by River Road and Reef and Young streets in Nash's Gully, in the heart of Gympie. This was Machine Area 12, occupied by the Union Sawmills until they moved to Nashville on the outskirts of Gympie in 1917.
There were two main difficulties with the site offered by Mr Henderson: there was no direct access from Mary Street (Gympie's principal commercial thoroughfare); and it lay below the flood mark. Gympie had a long history of severe inundation from the Mary River, with flood levels having reached 25.45m in 1893 and 22m in 1898. The meeting suggested that Brisbane City Council's Parks Superintendent, Mr Harry Moore be asked to advise. A horticulturalist and landscape gardener, Moore had been appointed as Brisbane's first Parks Superintendent in September 1912, a position he held until the early 1940s, and in 1914 had created the much-admired New Farm Park in Brisbane. In annual Mayor reports, Moore was thanked for his work in beautifying the parks and gardens of Brisbane, and his services were lent to Stephens Shire in 1916 to prepare a design for the Yeronga Memorial Park (constructed 1917-1921).
By early February 1919 Moore had visited Gympie and reported on a number of proposed sites for a park or garden. He favoured the former sawmill site if access from Mary Street could be arranged, and if he could be assured that no serious damage from flooding would result.
Public debate over the nature of the memorial to be established, and whether to accept the Henderson family's offer, continued in the local press and at public meetings for well over two months. The Gympie Sub-Branch of the Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League of Australia (RSSILA) supported the sawmill site, if access from Mary Street could be obtained. After the Henderson family made available an additional strip of land between Mary and Reef streets, with a 31ft (9.45m) frontage to Mary Street, their offer was accepted at a public meeting held on 26 March 1919. A park in the centre of the city would be a permanent memorial to the district's fallen soldiers; of benefit to the community; and an attraction to visitors.
By mid-July 1919 work on clearing and levelling the site had commenced. Over the next months buildings and fences associated with the former sawmill were dismantled and money received from the sale of the timber in these structures was put toward forming and improving the park. Over the following year open concrete drains at either end of the site (along Young Street and near the intersection of Reef Street and River Road) were domed, and a perimeter fence of iron-bark timber and fabric wire was constructed. The Memorial Committee employed local returned servicemen for the ground works whenever possible.
Harry Moore's services were also made available to prepare a design for the park, which he had completed by mid-July 1919. Moore had a distinctive style of layout and planting choices. He rarely used straight paths and formal, classical designs, preferring the fluidity of gently curving gravelled pedestrian walkways radiating from a few entrance points. He favoured the use of raised, dry-stone walled rockery beds with dramatic displays of flowering annuals, perennials and shrubs (roses were a particular favourite of his) in bold, massed-planting arrangements. Moore would use rockeries to line walkways, or as distinctive circular or elliptical features in open grassed lawns. For shade trees, he favoured a bold mix of palms, pines and dramatic flowering species such as poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) and jacarandas (Jacaranda mimosifolia).
In laying out the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Park at Gympie, Moore provided a pedestrian link from Mary Street through to the southern corner of the park and River Road: "Mr Moore's idea is to continue the entrance roadway from Mary street right through to River road on the one grade, the entrance from Mary Street to the Park to be flanked by ornamental rockeries ..." (Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette 15 July 1919:3). The gravelled access lane off Mary Street formed the official entrance drive to the park, with memorial gates at the Mary Street end. Vehicles could pass through the Mary Street entrance gates along the lane to Reef Street on official occasions, but at other times access to the laneway was restricted to pedestrian traffic. At the park, Moore laid out a scheme of gently curving gravel walkways leading from perimeter gates toward a central bandstand. There were at least three perimeter gates: in Reef Street opposite the laneway leading from Mary Street; at the corner of Reef Street and River Road; and at the corner of Young Street and River Road. There may have been a fourth gate toward the eastern end of Reef Street. Access through the park to River Road was restricted to pedestrian traffic.
A 1922 photograph shows that early park plantings included an avenue of Cabbage Palms (Livistona australis) along the main walkway leading from the Reef Street entrance opposite the laneway off Mary Street, to the bandstand. The walkway leading from the bandstand to the corner of Young Street and River Road appears to be lined with an avenue of possibly Cabbage Palms alternating with pines (Conifer spp.); and the walkway from the gate at the intersection of Reef Street and River Road, which followed the River Road boundary before turning east toward the bandstand, was lined with what appear to be pine trees. Four raised, circular or elliptical garden beds were set out within open grassed areas of the park - three along the River Road side and one north of the walkway leading from Reef Street to the bandstand. Unlike the laneway rockeries, they do not appear to have been edged with stone. A few perimeter shade trees had been planted, but much of the area east of the bandstand remained an open grassy space, where seats were set out when band concerts were being performed.
In August 1919 Gympie City Council rescinded a 1917 resolution to endow the construction of a bandstand in the city's Queen's Park as a memorial to local band master FT Percival (who died in 1907), and resolved instead to provide a similar endowment for the construction of a bandstand in the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Park. The stand was built to the same design as that prepared by AH Foster for New Farm Park, but modified to accommodate a second set of steps. Foster, an architect who joined the Brisbane City Council in 1913 as assistant to the City Engineer, was appointed City Architect in 1925 and held this position until his untimely death in 1932. His park works included bandstands at Bowen Park (1914), New Farm Park (1915), Wickham Park (1917) and Newstead Park and kiosks at Moora Park (Sandgate) and at New Farm Park (1915). The park structures he designed provided a focus and elegance that complemented Harry Moore's fluid landscape designs. Together, Moore and Foster created Brisbane's most beautiful and popular parks and gardens of the early twentieth century.
Foster's design was for a timber-framed bandstand resting on brick piers set on a concrete base. The structure had a pyramid roof clad with fibrous-cement tiles (a very new product in Australia at that time) and was simply but effectively decorative with gablets to each side of the roof (these had shaped timber in-fills); a finial at the roof peak and at the end of each gablet; timber balustrades and valances with fretwork panels around the pavilion sides; and honeycomb brick infill between the piers. The contract was let in September 1919 to Mr TJ Dale of Gympie, who tendered with a price of £550/13/-. Work was completed in time for the Prince of Wales' visit on 3 August 1920, when a civic address was presented to him from the bandstand. Foster also designed a lighting scheme for the park, using 1000 cp (candle power) lights at the Mary Street entrance gates and in the park, and eight lights of 130 cp each in the bandstand. At a later date, an additional set of concrete stairs was added to the east side of the bandstand, and still later (late 1960s or 1970s), the roof was re-clad with terracotta tiles.
In 1919 the Queensland Institute of Architects, on behalf of the Gympie and Widgee District Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Fund, held a design competition for memorial gates in Mary Street. George Rae, a young draftsman in the Brisbane office of Lange Powell, won the competition. The gates cost close to £1000 and were completed about August 1920. Plaques on the gateposts recorded the names of 167 local men who died during service in the Great War (1914-1918) and of the two who fell in the Boer War (1899-1902). [The memorial gates and laneway are the subject of a separate entry in the Queensland heritage register (600535) and are not included within the Memorial Park heritage boundary.]
The Gympie and Widgee District Fallen Soldier's Memorial Park was handed over to the Gympie City Council on 9 February 1921 and was opened officially on 20 April 1921 by senator Major-General Sir Thomas William Glasgow, KCB, CMG, DSO, formerly of Gympie, who had led the Australian re-capture of the French town of Villiers-Bretonneux from German troops on the night of 24 April 1918 and turned the war in favour of the allies. The opening coincided with a 'carnival and continental café' in the park conducted by the RSSILA to raise funds for improving their hall in nearby Reef Street, and attracted a crowd of over 2,000. The memorial park, bandstand and gates had cost just over £5,500 and was opened free of debt.
The status of the park was formalised when on 2 December 1921 an area of 3 acres 2 roods 20 perches [1.47ha], comprising former Machine Area 12 and adjacent parts of Reef Street and River Road, was proclaimed as a Reserve for Soldiers' Memorial Park, and the Council of the City of Gympie proclaimed as Trustee on 24 December 1921.
In the 1920s the Gympie City Council spent a further £660 on the erection of a fernery and public lavatories in the park. Neither of these facilities survives.
During World War II (1939-1945) the Gympie City Council constructed underground air-raid shelters in the memorial park, adjacent to the band rotunda. These shelters had timber walling, like mine shafts, and a timber roof over which about half a metre of soil was laid, and each could accommodate 20 to 30 people. After the war, the shelters were dismantled.
In the 1950s the Council constructed a brick nursery and fernery along the Young Street side of the park. This may have incorporated an earlier brick structure on the site.
Reef Street became the principal vehicular access to the park. In 1938 an attempt was made to retrieve sections of the former Reef Street road reserve that had been incorporated into the memorial park in 1921, for car parking purposes. The local sub-branch of the RSSILA took an active interest in protecting the site as a memorial and initially viewed any reduction in the area of the park to be a 'violation', but in late 1944 agreed to Council's plan to remove the fence along Reef Street to provide additional car parking, ease traffic congestion along the street, and create 'an open and more attractive boundary to the park on this side' (Gympie Times 5 December 1944). Eventually all the perimeter fencing to the park was removed, although that along Young Street was still in existence c1959. From 2004 a number of small excisions along the boundaries of the park were made for road widening purposes, the area of the park in August 2009 being 1.394ha.
Other memorials have been placed in the park since its establishment as a World War I memorial. Circa 1939 the sandstone and marble memorial fountain honouring the discoverer of gold at Gympie, James Nash, was relocated from near the Town Hall to the memorial park, close to the intersection of Reef Street and River Road. At this time the drinking fountain function was lost, and the upper section with sandstone urn and finials was removed. On Armistice Day 1988, a memorial stone in the park was dedicated to the citizens of Gympie and Widgee Shire who had served in military campaigns in Korea (August 1950-July 1953); Malaya/Malaysia (June 1948-July 1960), Borneo (February 1964-August 1966) and Vietnam (July 1962-January 1973).
The Soldiers' Memorial Park (now generally referred to simply as the Memorial Park) remains a focus for annual Anzac Day (25 April) and Remembrance Day (11 November) events and a popular local pedestrian park, especially during weekday lunch hours.
","criteria":"The park possesses beautiful and picturesque attributes, due to: the careful composition and intactness of early elements (such as the bandstand, walkways, garden beds and trees) associated with the original park layout; sightlines and views through the park (with the bandstand as the central focus); the avenues of mature trees containing a variety of species; and the sense of enclosure and calm created by perimeter plantings that screen the park from commercial development surrounding it.
|The Memorial Park was established in 1919-1921 as a lasting tribute to citizens of Gympie and its district who had died for their country during the Great War of 1914-1918 and to the two who had fallen during the Boer War of 1899-1902. As part of a spontaneous outpouring of national grief at the loss of 60,000 Australians during the Great War of 1914-1918, the Memorial Park contributed to the nation-building of Australia in the early twentieth century and remains important in demonstrating a significant aspect of Queensland's history.
|The place has a strong and special association for Gympie and district as the focus for public commemorative events at annual Anzac and Remembrance days.
|The Memorial Park at Gympie remains among the most intact of the early twentieth century collaborative efforts of landscape designer Henry (Harry) Moore and architect AH Foster, in creating popular and much-admired public parks and gardens. As employees of the Brisbane City Council and associated principally with Brisbane, the fact that Moore and Foster were invited to design the park layout and bandstand at Gympie is testament to the popularity and wider influence of their work at this period.
The best Brisbane examples of the work of Moore and Foster survive at New Farm Park (1914) (QHR 602402) and in elements of the 1914 re-design of Bowen Park (QHR 601523). Neither remains as true to Moore's design concept as the Memorial Park at Gympie, which retains early design elements including: the connection between the laneway off Mary Street and the Memorial Park; the arrangement of the main walkways radiating from a central focal point occupied by a decorative timber bandstand; the circular and elliptical raised garden beds; and early tree plantings. The substantially intact, timber bandstand designed by AH Foster is an excellent example both of a park bandstand of this era in Queensland, and of Foster's design abilities.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion E | Criterion A | Criterion G | Criterion D","criteria_definitions":"The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":32240,"place_ref":602791,"name":"Imbil Railway Bridge","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Over Yabba Creek","suburb":"IMBIL","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-10-14","description":"The Imbil Rail Bridge is a high level steel and concrete bridge over Yabba Creek, located 22 miles 4 chains (35.42 kms) from Monkland on the Mary Valley branch line.
Its total length is 393 feet (119.8 m) and its maximum span is 60 feet (18.3 m). The bridge has five steel eight-panel half-through Pratt trusses and is supported by two concrete abutments and nine concrete piers.
The bridge comprises (North to South):
2 x 3 x 31 foot (9.5 m) rolled steel joists, decking, concrete abutment, common concrete pier on cylindrical base (piers 1 and 2);
5 x 60 foot (18.3 m) riveted 8-panel half-through Pratt trusses, decking, common concrete piers with octagonal ends with capping on cylindrical bases (piers 2 to 7);
2 x 3 x 31 foot (9.5 m) rolled steel joists, decking, common concrete pier on cylindrical base, concrete abutment (piers 7 and 8).
It retains its rails and timber sleepers.
","history":"The Imbil Railway Bridge over Yabba Creek is located near the town of Imbil on the Mary Valley branch line 22 miles 4 chains (35.42 kms) from Monkland station on the North Coast line. The Mary Valley railway line between Monkland station and Brooloo in the upper Mary Valley was constructed between 1911 and April 1915 to facilitate closer settlement of the Mary River valley. The Imbil Railway Bridge remains as evidence of the economic importance of the Mary Valley to Queensland agriculture during the 20th century. This half-through Pratt truss (or Pony truss) bridge, completed in January 1915, is one of only six bridges of this kind known to be remaining in Queensland.
European settlement in the Mary Valley commenced when squatters took up pastoral leases there in the1850s. Closer settlement in the Mary Valley started after half of Imbil station land was resumed for settlement under the Crown Lands Act 1868 and made available for selection. The gradual opening of the large pastoral holdings of Amamoor, Imbil and Traveston in the Upper Mary River Valley for closer settlement from the late 1870s was a catalyst for the development of small cropping and dairying activities in the region. The changing patterns of land use and settlement in the Mary Valley occurred while nearby Gympie evolved from its beginnings as a makeshift settlement and alluvial field of late 1867 into an important regional town and major deep reef gold producer by the 1880s. The township provided a ready market for the growing number of agricultural producers in the surrounding district. In the Mary Valley, maize and potatoes were the dominant early crops, although experimental plantings of tobacco, rice, sugar cane, peas and pineapples were also undertaken.
At the beginning of the 20th century the Queensland government promoted the construction of branch railways in rural areas to assist growth in population and agricultural production. In the 1880s a Mary Valley route had been among the proposals for the line from Brisbane to Gympie, but was rejected. Local agitation for a Mary Valley branch railway (with varying proposals for the route's alignment) increased during the 1900s. The Railway Commissioner investigated and surveyed a proposed line for the Mary Valley in 1910, with the accompanying report contending 'considerable traffic in agricultural produce, timber, livestock and dairy products' would eventuate. Subsequently, a route deviating from the North Coast line at Monkland (south of Gympie) and extending to Brooloo was approved, a decision aided by the availability of timber for freight and construction, and Gympie City Council's offer to fund 1/3 of construction costs. Work commenced in June 1911 and by 1913, 550 men were working on the project. The Mary Valley Railway Line included four major (concrete and steel) bridges and one tunnel at Melawondi. The line reached Kandanga in February 1914 and the terminus of Brooloo in April 1915, the month the whole line was officially opened for passenger and goods traffic. Along the line, subdivisions of a number of larger holdings into farm and town allotments near rail stops increased the availability agricultural land for settlers and led to establishment of small townships at Kandanga (1912), Brooloo, Imbil and Amamoor (1914) and Dagun (1917).
The Imbil Railway Bridge illustrates the evolution in the principal characteristics of steel railway bridges around the turn of the century, especially the change to the through and half-through Pratt trusses from 1908, which increased the structural strength of rail bridges. Early rail bridges in Queensland were half-through or deck-type lattice girders with through hogback central spans until the 1893 after which the Whipple truss (double intersection through Pratt truss) was used for strength until the introduction of the through Pratt truss in 1897. For the next two decades many of Queensland's rail bridges were of the through Pratt design, including the half-through Pratt for lighter loads (introduced 1909), which features top and bottom chords connected by vertical and diagonal members but no portal or lateral bracing between the two parallel trusses on either side of the rail deck. The Warren truss was introduced later.
During the interwar period the rapid increase in production in the Mary Valley made a significant contribution to the Gympie region's status as one of Queensland's most productive dairy areas. In response to cream supply outgrowing production capacity, the Wide Bay Co-Operative built what was claimed as Australia's largest butter factory in 1925, and was receiving cream from 2,000 suppliers by 1935. By 1927 the Gympie district was responsible for 10% of Queensland's milk production, the majority of which was used for butter making. In 1929 the Wide Bay district (of which Gympie was a part) was the second highest milk producer after the Moreton district, and by 1939 the 12 butter factories in the Wide Bay Burnett region (not including Cooroy), produced almost 1/3 of Queensland's butter. In the same year, 4,500 cream cans were forwarded from Kandanga alone.
In 1952 the Gympie district produced 15% of Queensland's butter, and 1953 was the Wide Bay Co-Operative's record year for payment to its suppliers. However, a downturn began in the 1950s, which reflected changes occurring across the industry in Queensland. Butter consumption per capita in Australia dropped from 12.2 kg to 8.3 kg between 1957 and 1972, and a major butter market was lost in the early 1970s, after Britain joined the European Economic Community. Changing to milk production rather than cream, required larger herds and new equipment, and resulted in many small-scale farmers leaving the industry or switching to beef cattle. Stricter regulations for the running of dairies, lower prices, foreign imports and competition from margarine producers all took their toll. Between 1973 and 1976 28% of the Wide Bay Co-op's farmers left the industry. As milk production increased, farm storage in vats and road transportation by tankers became the norm. The last butter was churned in Gympie in May 1978, ending nearly 80 years of production at the site.
While fruit continued to be transported on the Mary Valley railway following the demise of cream production, the line became increasingly unprofitable during the 1970s. By the late 1980s, the future of the line was increasingly precarious. In 1988 station masters/mistresses were removed from Imbil, Amamoor and Dagun and a number of railway buildings such as goods sheds, waiting sheds and residences were sold for removal.
The reduction of infrastructure and services on the railway made it increasingly apparent that the line was to close. Strong protests by the district's pineapple growers helped to delay any final decision on the line's future. However, the last goods train ran to Kandanga in 1995 and thereafter pineapple growers took their produce to Traveston station on the Brisbane-Gympie North line. Despite this, the line was not formally closed and in 1996 the Mary Valley Heritage Railway Board negotiated to conduct tourist train services on the line. The Mary Valley Heritage Railway commenced operations on the former Mary Valley branch on 23 May 1998. The 'Valley Rattler' steam train tours and rail motor rides have since become a major tourist attraction for the region. A large group of volunteers and trainees contribute to the operation and maintenance of the line, rolling stock and buildings between the (former) Gympie Railway Station and Imbil.
The Imbil Railway Bridge remains as evidence of the economic importance of the Mary Valley to the Queensland dairy industry during the 20th century. The Imbil Railway Bridge is a rare intact example of a half-through Pratt truss railway bridge, a style of bridge used by Queensland's Railway Department in the first three decades of the 20th century. The half-through Pratt truss structure, which differs subtly from the more widely used through Pratt truss bridge, in that its girders are not high enough to allow cross bracing at the top between the trusses on each side of the bridge. Half-through Pratt truss bridges were designed to carry a smaller load than through Pratt truss bridges. Other intact bridges of this type that are extant are: Harlin Rail Bridge, Harlin (1912) [QHR 602636]; Sleeper Log Creek (1915); Saltwater Creek (1915); Crystal Creek (1916) and Murray Creek (1923).
","criteria":"The Imbil Railway Bridge is a good example of a half-through Pratt truss railway bridge designed by the Department of Railways and Public Works. This bridge type differed subtly from the through Pratt truss in that its girders are not high enough to allow cross bracing at the top of the truss, which is a feature of through Pratt truss bridges.
The bridge comprises nine concrete piers, two abutments, five steel eight-panel trusses, rolled steel joists, decking, timber sleepers and steel rails.
|In its setting the Imbil Railway Bridge is picturesque, making a dramatic visual statement and evoking a strong aesthetic response through the juxtaposition of its man-made materials-tall concrete piers and steel trusses-against its natural backdrop of mountains and grassy fields, trees and river. Views that place the bridge in this setting are accessible from road, rail and water.
|The Imbil Railway bridge, opened in 1915 as a major engineering work on the Mary Valley Branch Railway Line, is important in demonstrating the Queensland Government's policy of establishing branch railway lines to promote closer settlement. Establishment of this branch railway accelerated the settlement of the Mary Valley for agricultural purposes and contributed to the production that made the Wide Bay Burnett district a major agricultural region of Queensland during the first half of the 20th century.
The bridge is highly intact and provides physical evidence of early 20th century railway bridge design and construction in Queensland. The Imbil Railway Bridge illustrates the evolution in the principal characteristics of steel railway bridges around the turn of the century, especially the change to the through and half-through Pratt trusses from 1908, which increased the structural strength of rail bridges.
|The Imbil Railway Bridge is a form of railway bridge that has always been uncommon. It is one of 11 half-through Pratt truss bridges that were built by the Queensland Department of Railways and Public Works during the first three decades of the 20th century. Of these only six remain. The structure is intact and retains a high level of integrity. Other intact railway bridges of this type that are extant are: Harlin Rail Bridge, Harlin (1912) [QHR 602636]; Sleeper Log Creek (1915); Saltwater Creek (1915); Crystal Creek (1916) and Murray Creek, North Coast line (1923).
","criteria_letters":"Criterion D | Criterion E | Criterion A | Criterion B","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place is important because of its aesthetic significance | The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":32241,"place_ref":602792,"name":"Mary Valley Railway Cream Sheds","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"Kandanga; Amamoor; Melawondi Stations; Mary Valley Branch Railway","suburb":"MARY VALLEY","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-10-14","description":"Amamoor
The railway cream shed sits within the southern end of the Amamoor railway station yard, facing west adjacent to the Mary Valley branch railway line. The cream shed is a square timber structure, set on low timber stumps and sheltered by a gabled corrugated iron roof. The shed is timber framed and is clad and lined with horizontal hardwood boards separated by open spaces, with the interior boards offset to cover the outside spaces. Double timber doors open out to towards the timber platforms on either side of the shed. A set of low timber steps with a concrete block base lead up to the northern end of the platform facing the railway. A guard log is positioned in front of the northern elevation. The recent mural adorning the external timber boards of the shed is not of heritage significance.
Kandanga
The railway cream shed is located within the Kandanga railway yard. The building sits to the west of the station building, facing north adjacent to the Mary Valley branch railway line. The cream shed is a square timber structure, set on low timber stumps and sheltered by a gabled corrugated fibro roof. The shed is timber framed and is clad and lined with horizontal hardwood boards separated by open spaces, with the interior boards offset to cover the outside spaces. A number of (readily reversible) metal panels and shelves have been mounted internally for storage purposes. Double timber doors open out towards the timber platforms on either side of the shed. A set of low timber steps lead up to the eastern end of the platform facing the railway. The front platform extends to the west onto an earth loading bank retained with horizontal timber boards and vertical steel posts. The recent mural adorning the external timber boards of the shed is not of heritage significance.
Melawondi
The railway cream shed is located within the Melawondi railway yard facing east adjacent to the Mary Valley branch railway line, and is the only remaining structure within the yard. The cream shed is a square timber structure, set on low timber and concrete stumps and sheltered by a gabled corrugated iron roof. The shed is timber framed and is clad and lined with horizontal hardwood boards separated by open spaces, with the interior boards offset to cover the outside spaces. Double timber doors open out to towards the timber platforms on either side of the shed. The front platform is missing some timber boards.
","history":"The Mary Valley branch railway cream sheds, located at Amamoor, Kandanga and Melawondi, were built between the 1920s and 1940s by Queensland Railways, in response to the strong growth of dairying in one of Queensland's most important dairy producing regions and the reliance on rail to transport dairy produce during this period.
The gradual opening of large pastoral holdings of Amamoor, Imbil and Traveston (established 1850s) in the Upper Mary River Valley for closer settlement from the late 1870s was a catalyst for the development of small cropping and dairying activities in the region. The changing patterns of land use and settlement in the Mary Valley occurred while nearby Gympie evolved from its beginnings as a makeshift settlement and alluvial field in late 1867 into an important regional town and major deep reef gold producer by the 1880s. The town provided a ready market for the growing number of agricultural producers in the surrounding district. In the Mary Valley, maize and potatoes were the dominant early crops, although experimental plantings of tobacco, rice, sugar cane, peas and pineapples were also undertaken.
From the late 1800s, a number of critical factors aided the expansion of the dairy industry into one of Queensland's principal primary industries by the interwar period. These included: the introduction of mechanical cream separators in the 1880s; Babcock testing to accurately measure cream content in milk; The Meat and Dairy Encouragement Act 1893 which made provision for government loans to construct butter and cheese factories; and the Department of Agriculture and Stock's use of a 'Travelling Dairy' to demonstrate techniques and equipment to potential dairy farmers throughout Queensland. The introduction of pastures such as paspalum and Rhodes grass and the increased cultivation of fodder also occurred, to improve milk yields and to provide adequate feed during the less productive months of winter.
Hugo Du Rietz, a Swedish born architect, made an important contribution to the development of the dairy industry in the Gympie district by his introduction of the first mechanical cream separator into Queensland in 1882. The Queensland government's travelling dairy visited Lagoon Pocket, in the Mary Valley, in September 1890. By 1894 there were 120 dairies in the Gympie Land Agent's district, although most production was milk for town supply. In the Mary Valley, Frank Chippindall was transporting butter produced by local settlers into Gympie around 1885-1886, as was Peter Meyers in 1893.
By the early 1900s co-operatives were becoming the dominant form of ownership of cheese and butter factories, a pattern that defined the Queensland dairy industry for much of the 20th century. In 1897, Gympie's first dairy co-operative for butter production, the Gympie Central Dairying Company was established. By 1897 the Silverwood Dairying Company had taken over the factory and in 1906 the Wide Bay Co-Operative purchased the operations. In the year ending June 30 1907 there were 322 suppliers to the Wide Bay Company, who were paid a total of £20,973 for their cream. Metal cans containing the cream produced by dairy farms surrounding Gympie was carted into the Wide Bay Co-operative's factory by contractors. In the Mary Valley, some cream was also sent from the Traveston railway station on the North Coast line to butter factories further south.
At the beginning of the twentieth century the Queensland government was promoting the construction of branch railways in rural areas to assist growth in population and agricultural production. In the 1880s a Mary Valley route had been among the proposals for the line from Brisbane to Gympie, but was rejected. Local agitation for a Mary Valley branch railway (with varying proposals for the route's alignment) increased during the 1900s. The Railway Commissioner investigated and surveyed a proposed line for the Mary Valley in 1910, with the accompanying report contending 'considerable traffic in agricultural produce, timber, livestock and dairy products' would eventuate. Subsequently, a route deviating from the North Coast line at Monkland (south of Gympie) and extending to Brooloo was approved, a decision aided by the availability of timber for freight and construction, and Gympie City Council's offer to fund one third of construction costs. Work commenced in June 1911 and by 1913, 550 men were working on the project. The line reached Kandanga in February 1914 and the terminus of Brooloo in April 1915, the month the whole line was officially opened for passenger and goods traffic. Along the line, subdivisions of a number of larger holdings into farm and town allotments near rail stops increased the availability agricultural land for settlers and led to the establishment of small townships at Kandanga (1912), Brooloo, Imbil and Amamoor (1914) and Dagun (1917).
While timber freight was initially the main income generator for the Mary Valley Railway, cream was transported on the line from its very beginnings. Transportation by rail was a far more efficient way of delivering cream to butter factories, with contractors and individual farmers able to deliver their cream direct to the nearest railhead. Following delivery and washing of the cans at the factory, they were returned by rail, with each can inscribed with the name of its owner for identification.
In its first four weeks of operations following the opening of its station in 1914, two tons of cream was sent from Kandanga. After the disruption of World War I, dairying and agricultural activity increased rapidly, with a corresponding increase in the transportation of produce on the railway. In 1921 there were 93 dairies located between Dagun and Brooloo, milking 2,900 cows (an average herd size of 31) and producing 586,016 pounds of cream. In October of that year, a combined total of around 350 cans were sent from Kandanga and Imbil railway stations each week. In January 1922, 118,000 pounds of cream, equal to around 27 tons of butter, was sent to the Wide Bay Co-operative Factory at Gympie from suppliers between Brooloo and Amamoor.
The expansion of dairy production during the early twentieth century led to the construction of cream sheds by Queensland Railways at stations and sidings throughout the state. Cream sheds were built to a standard design; measuring 10 ft x 10 ft (3.05 x 3.05 m), clad and lined with horizontal hardwood boards separated by open spaces, with the interior boards offset to cover the outside spaces. The spacing of the boards improved air circulation, resulting in a cooler storage space, reducing the risk of the cream spoiling before reaching the butter factory. Double doors opened out to platforms on either side of the shed for placement and retrieval of cream cans. Sheds were set on low stumps and were sheltered by a gabled roof.
By 1921, the heavy handling needed to load cream cans and their exposure to heat at Kandanga station was noted. The Railway Commissioner's inspection of the Mary Valley Railway in late 1924, noted the ongoing increase in 'cream traffic' along the line and the arduous work involved for guards who were lifting the cans from platforms on rail level. The Commissioner agreed to cream sheds being provided at Amamoor and Dagun stations and Lagoon Pocket siding. The construction of the cream shed at Amamoor as well as a shed at Imbil was approved in February 1925 at a cost of £80 and £96 respectively. The following month the cream shed at the Lagoon Pocket siding was approved at a cost of £83. A shed at Dawn siding was built sometime after this date and a shed at Melawondi was built in 1946.
The provision of cream sheds along the length of the line demonstrated the extent and expansion of dairying in the Mary Valley. Cream supply was generally at its highest during the wetter summer months and this was when cream sheds were most heavily utilised. The lower output that occurred during winter is reflected in the returns for the week ending August 24 1931, when 207 cream cans were forwarded to Gympie and 11 cans were sent to Pomona from Kandanga, Imbil, Amamoor and Dagun. The Mary River was subject to serious flooding during the wet season and the railway crossing near the Dawn often became impassable. The importance of cream freight was evident on these occasions, with a special train organised to pick up cans from the cream sheds until it reached the river crossing, from where the Wide Bay Co-op boat would ferry the supplies over the river.
The interwar period saw the dairy industry expand greatly in Queensland. Between 1927 and 1937 the total number of dairy cattle rose by 50 per cent. Dairying was geographically Queensland's most widespread agricultural industry in the 1930s and the state's second most profitable export industry from 1936 to 1941, accounting for 20 per cent of primary production. By the late 1930s, around one in eight Queenslanders were living on dairy farms.
The rapid increase in production in the Mary Valley during the interwar period made a significant contribution to the Gympie region's status as one of Queensland's top dairy producing areas. In response to increased cream supply outgrowing production capacity, the Wide Bay Co-Operative built what was claimed as Australia's largest butter factory in 1925, and was receiving cream from 2,000 suppliers by 1935. By 1927 the Gympie district was responsible for 10 per cent of Queensland's milk production, the majority of which was used for butter making. In 1937 the Petty Sessions District of Gympie was Queensland's largest milk and butter producer, with the greatest number of dairy cattle in milk. By 1939 the 12 butter factories in the Wide Bay-Burnett region (not including Cooroy), produced almost a third of Queensland's butter. In the same year, 4,500 cream cans were forwarded from Kandanga alone.
In 1952 the Gympie district produced 15 per cent of Queensland's butter, and 1953 was the Wide Bay Co-Operative's record year for payment to its suppliers. However, a downturn began in the 1950s, which reflected changes occurring across the industry in Queensland. Butter consumption per capita in Australia dropped from 12.2 kg to 8.3 kg between 1957 and 1972, and a major butter market was lost when Britain joined the European Economic Community in the early 1970s. The transition towards the production of milk rather than cream, requiring larger herds and new equipment, saw many smaller scale farmers leaving the industry or switching to beef cattle. Tougher regulations for the running of dairies, lower prices, foreign imports and competition from margarine producers all took their toll. Between 1973 and 1976, 28 per cent of the Wide Bay Co-op's farmers left the industry. As milk production increased, farm storage in vats and road transportation by tankers became the norm. The last delivery of dairy produce to Wide Bay Co-op's Gympie factory in a can (from Miva, west of Gympie) occurred in 1973 and the last butter was churned in May 1978, ending nearly 80 years of production at the site.
The decline of cream production and the realignment of transport arrangements for dairy producers saw the removal of some cream sheds on the Mary Valley railway, while those that remained were used for storage. The cream shed at Lagoon Pocket was removed in 1965 and at Dawn in 1968. In 1963 Dagun's cream shed was incorporated into the north corner of the goods sheds (erected 1938). At least one other example of a combined goods and cream shed is known to have been built in Queensland - at the Summit (near Stanthorpe).
While fruit freight (predominantly pineapples) continued to be transported on the Mary Valley railway following the demise of cream production, the line became increasingly unprofitable during the 1970s. By the late 1980s, the future of the line was increasingly precarious. In 1988 station masters/mistresses were removed from Imbil, Amamoor and Dagun and a number of railway buildings such as goods sheds, waiting sheds and residences were sold for removal. Queensland Railways opted to retain the cream sheds at Kandanga, Amamoor, Melawondi Dagun and Imbil (later removed) for storage purposes.
The reduction of infrastructure and services on the railway made it increasingly apparent that the line was to close. Strong protests by the district's pineapple growers helped to delay any final decision on the line's future. The last goods train ran to Kandanga in 1995 and thereafter pineapple growers took their produce to Traveston station on the Brisbane-Gympie North line. The line however, was not formally closed and in 1996 the Mary Valley Heritage Railway Board negotiated to conduct tourist train services on the line. The Mary Valley Heritage Railway commenced operations on the former Mary Valley branch on 23 May 1998. The 'Valley Rattler' steam train tours and rail motor rides have since become a major tourist attraction for the region. A large group of volunteers and trainees contribute to the operation and maintenance of the line, rolling stock and buildings between the (former) Gympie Railway Station and Imbil. The cream sheds at Melawondi, Kandanga and Amamoor remain as evidence of the growth and economic importance of the dairy industry to the Mary Valley during the twentieth century.
","criteria":"The Mary Valley railway cream sheds are important in demonstrating the growth of the dairy industry in the Wide Bay-Burnett, one of Queensland's most important dairy producing regions during the twentieth century. The construction of the branch railway (1911-1915) and the associated increase in closer settlement in the Mary Valley was a catalyst for the expansion of dairying in the district. The provision of cream sheds along the length of the line during the 1920s to 1940s demonstrates the extent of this expansion. More widely, the cream sheds illustrate the historical importance and role of railways in transporting dairy produce in Queensland.
|The highly intact Amamoor, Kandanga and Melawondi cream sheds demonstrate the principal characteristics of railway cream sheds built alongside Queensland railway lines to facilitate the transport of dairy produce during the twentieth century. Located adjacent to the railway line in station yards and built to a standard design, the small square sheds are clad and lined with horizontal hardwood boards separated by open spaces on both the interior and exterior, with those on the interior offset to cover the spaces on the exterior. The boards are spaced to improve air circulation, resulting in a cooler internal storage area. The sheds stand on low stumps, are sheltered by gabled roofs and have double doors that open out to platforms on either side of the shed for placement and retrieval of cream cans.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":32244,"place_ref":602794,"name":"Gympie Ambulance Station (former)","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"17 Crown Road","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2011-09-16","description":"The former Gympie Ambulance Station complex, including the ambulance station, garage and superintendent's residence, occupies a corner site bound by Crown Road and Stanley Street in a quiet residential area in the south of Gympie. The site slopes away to the west with the ambulance station and residence fronting Crown Road and the maintenance shed down the slope and accessed from Stanley Street.
The ambulance station, a timber-framed and clad building, is sheltered by a gabled roof with a lean-to to the south. A large street awning shelters the wide entry doors facing the street. A concrete driveway slightly wider than the front of the building extends to the road crossover. The ambulance station is planned around a large garage space facing Crown Road with smaller scale rooms to the south and rear. A lean-to roofed annex runs along the southern side of the building. The roofs are clad in recent corrugated metal sheeting. Eaves are unlined and eaves gutters are quad-profile.
Wide entry doors consisting of two pairs of hinged ledged doors with strap hinges open out from the main volume to the street which is accessed via a wide driveway. The front opening is sheltered by a timber-framed footpath awning which is supported on timber posts and clad in corrugated metal sheeting. Decorative elements in the main elevation include a circular vent and a simple finial on the gable end. The main building is clad in chamferboards and the lean-to annex to the south is clad in weatherboards.
Multi-paned windows sheltered by recent timber framed window awnings are located along the south elevation. A paneled door opens from the upper level leading out to recent timber framed staircase that run along the side of the building and provide access to the lower level. External walls are clad in weatherboard.
The rear end of the gabled roof is visible on the western elevation where a temporary balcony has recently been constructed. The gable end is clad in chamferboard and features a square vent. Multi-paned windows are also located on this elevation together with a recent timber-framed window awning. The lower level of the building where the land slopes away has recently been enclosed with blockwork. This recent work is not considered to be of heritage significance.
The northern elevation of the ambulance building adjoins the adjacent former ambulance superintendent's residence. This elevation is clad in weatherboards and is linked to the residence with a timber-framed deck platform. A multi-paned double-hung window with a timber-framed awning opens from the main volume internally. A recent entry door and temporary screens have been added. This recent work is not considered to be of heritage significance.
The garage within the ambulance station is a lofty space with the ceiling partly lined on the rake with v-jointed boards laid horizontally. The floor is mostly lined with tongue and groove boards. Two sections underneath where vehicles park is lined with unsealed hardwood shot-edge boards. A large archway frames an opening into the adjacent annex. Quad-profile trims are featured on the ceiling panels and trim the wall junctions. Simple pendant lights hang from the ceiling where a single ventilation inlet in-filled with fretwork is located.
The annex has similar finishes to the main garage room with ceilings lined on the rake with horizontally laid v-jointed boards. Walls are also lined with horizontally laid v-jointed boards. Rooms to the rear of the ambulance building have been lined with asbestos cement sheeting to both walls and ceilings. Ceilings to these rooms are lower and flat. Tongue and groove boards are visible on the floors in some of the rear rooms with some floors lined with carpet and linoleum.
The former maintenance shed is a timber-framed structure with a gabled roof. It is clad in weatherboards and has a corrugated metal roof. A decorative metal roof ventilator is located on the ridge. A small ledged entry door is located on the north elevation and a pair of large ledged doors opens to the street to the south. Three shuttered windows are located on the east elevation while an awning window and a small ledged door is located on the west elevation where a timber-framed lean-to roof has been added. Simple timber finials adorn each gable end. Internally walls and ceilings are unlined and un-painted and the floor is formed from concrete.
The former superintendent's residence is a single-skin, timber-framed cottage sheltered by a pyramid roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting. A decorative roof vent crowns the peak of the roof. Verandahs run to the east and north. A range of work has been undertaken to the building including enclosure of the western part of the north verandah, addition of lattice to the east verandah, insertion of new openings, linings to partitions and verandah ceilings and an extension to the rear. As a consequence, the building contains a mix of new and early fabric. The interior and the rear extension are not considered to be of cultural heritage significance. The significance of this structure is in its presence on Crown Road along side the ambulance station.
The ambulance complex buildings are located in a lush suburban garden shaded by semi-mature street trees and boundaries are fenced with recent timber pickets.
","history":"The Gympie Ambulance Station (former) (1904), comprising a timber ambulance station, garage and superintendent's residence, is located in the former mining town of Gympie. The place is important in demonstrating the establishment of ambulance services in regional centres throughout the state in the early 20th century and is the earliest known example of a timber ambulance building in Queensland.
\nGympie (initially called Nashville), part of the traditional lands of the Kabi Kabi / Gubbi Gubbi people, was established after the discovery of gold in October 1867 by James Nash in the Upper Mary River district. The new gold field put Queensland on the map as a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. By Christmas of 1867, according to the Gold Commissioner, the Gympie field had a population of 4,000 (or over 15,000 according to James Nash). Although the alluvial deposits were quickly exhausted, from 1868 shallow reef mining occurred.
\nAs it evolved from a hastily established mining settlement, Gympie developed a distinctive character with an irregular street pattern amid a series of valleys and ridges. Development of roads within the town followed the terrain rather than adopting the standard grid pattern that was applied to townships surveyed for settlement, and consequently many roads run along ridgelines with linking roads across valleys and hillsides. Existing buildings and mining homestead leases were accommodated in the first survey of the township in April 1868. The early makeshift structures of Gympie gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings.
\nBy the end of the 1870s, an intensive phase of underground reef mining was underway, facilitated by the injection of share-holding capital into mining companies for machinery and employees. During the early 1880s mines began yielding large amounts of gold, marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie. The Gympie goldfield passed through its most profitable period from 1901 to 1906 and in 1903 produced its peak annual output. After 1906 production declined and by 1925 the last of the big mines had ceased operations, ending a 50 year phase of deep reef mining in Gympie.
\nCommunity based ambulance services first appeared in Queensland from the 1890s. In 1892, concerns regarding the lack of adequate medical aid for accident victims led to the establishment of the City Ambulance Transport Brigade in Brisbane, the Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade (QATB) from 1902. The objective of the brigade was to provide first aid and to transport sick and injured people to hospital. During the early 1900s, ambulance brigades were established in regional centres throughout Queensland - Charters Towers and Townsville (1900), Rockhampton, Warwick and Ipswich (1901), Ravenswood, Gympie and Toowoomba (1902), Mackay (1903), Cairns (1904) and Bundaberg (1907). While some were affiliated with the QATB, others were established independently. The goldfields of Charters Towers, Ravenswood and Gympie, with large working populations of miners, were among the first to establish ambulance services in the state.
\nThe earliest provision of ambulance services began in Gympie in 1890, with the establishment of the Wide Bay Gympie Ambulance Corps, a volunteer arm of the Wide Bay and Burnett Division of the Queensland Defence Force. In addition to their military based activities, the corps also provided a civic service. In 1898, the corps was disbanded. Subsequent efforts by former members to establish an ambulance service, including an attempt to have Gympie's miners subscribe were unsuccessful until a public meeting in September 1902 resolved to 'form a local Ambulance Brigade Hospital'. A Gympie Ambulance Transport Brigade Committee (GATBC) and subscription list were established by the end of proceedings. By the end of September, Superintendent Fred Roffe had attended to his first case (a fractured forearm).
\nInitially the ambulance service was conducted from a room in the Atlantic Hotel in Mary Street. Later, the service moved its plant of one first aid kit and a stretcher to a room at the Gympie Fire Station in Bligh St. Prior to the brigade establishing their own premises, the personnel grew to include 16 honorary bearers while the plant increased to four stretchers.
\nIn April 1903, the provisions of the Hospitals Act were extended to include the Gympie Brigade, meaning that community subscriptions were matched by government funding. By early 1904, the Gympie Ambulance Transport Brigade (GATB) had acquired unoccupied land on Crown Road to build an ambulance station and superintendent's quarters. In March, the tender of Messrs Stuart and Poynton to erect a station for £133 was accepted. The architect is unknown. The station was officially opened on May 18 1904, with Gympie Mayor Gilbert Garrick raising the Red Cross flag and handing out St John's Ambulance Association training certificates to brigade members.
\nThe new station building was a simple rectangular gable ended timber structure with an office, lecture room and plant room (used to store stretchers and equipment) facing the entrance off Crown Road. The superintendent's residence was located next to the station. Many early ambulance buildings in Queensland followed the station layout first established at the 1897 Wharf Street headquarters of the QATB; a two-storey building incorporating ambulance service facilities at ground level and living quarters at the upper level, and large ground floor openings with bi-fold doors to allow ready access directly to the street for quick exit. While the Gympie building included the ground-floor provisions of a large front entrance, plant and other rooms for staff facilities, its single storey timber construction and detached superintendent's residence differed from other early stations. Early stations in Warwick and Ipswich also shared these characteristics.
\nThe station's location was an important consideration for the Brigade when first established. The building now sits in a quiet suburban area, but when built was in close proximity to some of Gympie's largest mine headworks, and was conveniently positioned between the CBD and the One Mile and Monkland mining areas. In 1904 there were 1723 miners employed in Gympie. Accident data from the Department of Mines from the early 1900s amply demonstrates the range of occupational hazards (including defective explosives, rockfalls and machinery accidents) which led to injury or death for men working in Gympie's gold mines. In the period where the ambulance station attended to mining related cases there were 37 mining deaths and numerous accidents on the Gympie goldfield. The Gympie brigade used a special 'Scott Tracy' stretcher, fitted with leather straps to vertically raise miners from underground. In 1910 the Queensland Governor Sir William McGregor visited the station and was treated to a demonstration on how the stretcher was used. A 1911 photo shows the Gympie Brigade formally posed outside the station with the stretcher.
\nOn 1 June 1905, the Ambulance Brigade's Crown Road site (Portion 8 Gympie Gold Field) was formerly gazetted as an Ambulance Brigade Reserve. In its first year of operating from their new premises the GATB attended to 655 patients. After receiving first-aid at the station, patients were either taken home, to a doctor's residence or to the Gympie hospital if further treatment was required. Bearers also transported patients who arrived to Gympie by rail from outlying areas such as Wondai and Cooroy. Demand for the service grew steadily during its first decade.
\nGympie's earliest ambulance bearers walked or ran to attend to cases, carrying patients on stretchers and later on litters (two-wheeled stretchers) to the station or hospital for treatment. Bearers often travelled long distances on shifts, especially when attending to cases in rural areas outside of Gympie. While the use of a horse and sulky from mid-1912 made travelling to callouts easier, patients were still transported by litter into Gympie. 1912 was also the year a second paid officer began working for the brigade. A building to house the sulky and litters and a horse stable were erected behind the station at this time. The brigade acquired its first motor ambulance in 1917 and an awning had been added to the front of the station building by 1918. The purchase of a second car in 1920 effectively rendered the horse and sulky service obsolete. In 1920-21, the Brigade pulled down the 1912 litter shed and replaced the 1904 superintendent's residence with a single-skin, timber framed cottage with a pyramid roof, connected to the ambulance station by a walkway.
\nIn early 1922 further improvements were undertaken to the station building. By September 1921, the brigade was in possession of three cars, and a lack of storage space in the front plant room determined the decision to add an annex to the station. The brigade's use of the plant room at this time to store cars indicates that by 1921 the original front office space had been removed and replaced by an entrance door. The Brigade's monthly meeting in January 1922 resolved to extend along the length of the south end of the station, with a frontage of 12 ft (3.66 m), and a roof carried out on the same pitch as the 1904 building. Construction was underway by February and completed by May at a cost of £93. In 1923, the brigade began considering the purchase of an additional car and the construction of a new maintenance shed. In January 1924, the tender of AC McKennan of £143/10 for the erection of the maintenance shed, a simple gable roofed timber structure, was accepted.
\nFollowing a deputation from the Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade in late 1922, the GATB voted to affiliate with the state body from 1 Jan 1923. By this time the QATB was composed of 44 centres across the state, with 17 centres opening in the previous two and a half years. Under a mutual transfer system, Gympie ambulance staff went to QATB headquarters in Brisbane for further training in first aid, mechanical and business skills. Lewis Dean succeeded Frederick Roffe as Superintendent from August 1921 and continued to hold the position until 1969 (thought to be a world record in ambulance service).
\nThe wives of Superintendents who lived on-site at the residence fulfilled important duties related to the ambulance service, remaining on-call when other members of the brigade were out, answering telephone calls and providing basic first aid when injured people called at the station.
\nBy 1941 calls had begun for a modern ambulance station for Gympie. In 1943 the Brigade Committee investigated building a new station on the Crown Road site, but financial restrictions prevented this from occurring. Subsequently, a building fund was established for a new station and the brigade began looking for suitable sites.
\nIn 1948, the ambulance station measured 36 ft x 48 ft (13 m x 16 m), indicating the rear of the building was extended 18 ft (6 m) sometime after 1922. Internally, the building included the plant (front) room and four other rooms - a first aid/casualty room, superintendent's office, staff bedroom and a larger multi-purpose room.
\nAs late as 1954 the brigade were intending to pull down the station building at Crown Rd and erect a new station and living quarters. However, by November 1955, the brigade had acquired land on Nash Street in Gympie's CBD to build the new station and residence and requested the Crown Road reserve be rescinded. While this occurred in December 1955, the brigade remained at the site for another four years. The new Gympie Ambulance Station was opened in 1959, ending 55 years of use of the original station at Crown Road. By this time the Gympie Ambulance service had attended to 11,735 patients and had travelled over 1.85 million kilometres.
\nSince the removal of the ambulance service in 1959, the station building and house have been used for residential purposes. Over this period some alterations have occurred to the former station building. The front entrance bi-fold doors have been reconstructed. To mark the Gympie Ambulance Service centenary celebrations in 2002, the front awning and finial were reconstructed, replacing the originals that had been removed. In the rooms at the rear of the building, some walls and ceilings have been lined with asbestos cement sheeting. Following a mine capping excavation project in 1992 a besser block understorey was installed beneath the building. On the northern side of the building a window has been replaced by a door and a (temporary) external balcony has been added to the rear. Alterations that have occurred to the former superintendent's residence include room and kitchen reconfiguration and verandah and rear deck extensions. A lean-to has been added to the maintenance shed.
\nWhile some changes have occurred, the station building survives as important evidence from the early period of expansion of ambulance services in Queensland. Only two other stations from this period-at Charters Towers (1903) and Ravenswood (1904) [QHR 600445]-are known to exist.
","criteria":"The Gympie Ambulance Station (former) is important in demonstrating the development of ambulance services in Queensland. The establishment of civic ambulance services in regional Queensland centres began in the first decade of the 1900s, a pattern of development that continued during the 20th century. The purpose-built 1904 station building is among the earliest known surviving ambulance stations from this initial phase of establishment. Only two other examples, at Charters Towers (1903) and Ravenswood (1904) [QHR 600445] are still in existence.
Additions undertaken during the building's use as an ambulance station (1904-1959) including the annex (1922), maintenance shed (1924) and rear extensions (pre-1948) provide important evidence of the evolution of Queensland ambulance services, illustrating the transition from the use of foot travel to motorised transport and growth in demand of the service.
The Gympie Ambulance Station (former) is important in demonstrating the early role of gold mining towns in developing ambulance services in Queensland. Established during the peak years of Gympie's gold production, the station's historical setting, close to large mine headworks and centrally positioned between the centre of town and the One Mile and Monkland areas, illustrates the influence of mining in determining its location.
|The earliest known surviving timber building of its type, the Gympie Ambulance Station (former) is important in demonstrating the evolution of the principal characteristics of purpose-built ambulance stations during the twentieth century. The building's provision of large front entrances with ready road access from the plant room to facilitate quick exit and internal rear rooms for staff facilities illustrate the functions of the station.
Additions undertaken during the building's use as an ambulance station (1904-1959), including the annex (1922), maintenance shed (1924) and rear room extensions (pre-1948), and the detached superintendent's residence (1920-21), are important in illustrating the changing requirements of ambulance services over time.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places"}, {"heritage_type":"State Heritage","site_id":null,"place_ref":650064,"name":"Gympie State High School","alternate_name":null,"street_address":"1 Everson Road","suburb":"GYMPIE","lga":"GYMPIE REGIONAL COUNCIL","register_entry_date":"2018-09-21","description":"Gympie State High School occupies an 11.04ha sloping, elevated site, bounded by Cootharaba Road, a main thoroughfare heading out of Gympie, to the east; and Everson Road to the west. The school’s buildings are clustered in the northern half of the site, with two sports ovals to the south, and one oval to the north.
\nFeatures of state level cultural heritage significance are:
\nBlock B (1955-56) and Block C (1956-57) – Timber School buildings incorporating timber floor trusses
\nand
\nBlock D (1958-59) and Agricultural Science extension to Block D (1960-61) – Timber School building incorporating steel open web floor trusses
\nThese highset timber-framed and -clad classroom buildings incorporate floor trusses supporting the first floor to provide an open ground floor for covered play or classrooms. They have gable roofs clad with corrugated metal sheets and are positioned around a broad open courtyard. Long verandahs provide access to a series of classrooms and the verandah and opposing classroom walls are highly glazed, providing a high level of natural light and ventilation to the interiors. The buildings are divided into regular, repeated structural bays defined by their trusses and the short, gable ends of the buildings have face brick extending across both levels.
\nFeatures also of state-level cultural heritage significance include:
\nFeatures not of state-level cultural heritage significance include:
\nFormer Gymnasium (Block K, 1933-37)
\nBlock K is a one-storey rectangular lowset building. Its walls are clad to sill height with weatherboards and it has a gambrel roof clad with corrugated metal sheets. The gablets have fixed metal ventilation louvres and a weatherboard-clad windowless dormer rises out of the roof at the west end of the building producing a taller internal area.
\nThe roof is supported by 12 sturdy timber posts standing within the building.
\nFeatures that are not of state-level cultural heritage significance include:
\nTemporary Classroom Building (Block T, 1951)
\nBlock T is a one-storey rectangular lowset building. Its walls are clad with timber vertical jointed (VJ) boards with no bottom plate and it has a gable roof clad with corrugated metal sheets. A verandah runs along the north side (front) with hatroom enclosures at either end.
\nOriginally comprising two classrooms, the partition has been removed to make one large space, although a bulkhead remains.
\nFeatures of state-level cultural heritage significance include:
\nFeatures not of state-level cultural heritage significance include:
\nAll other features not mentioned are not of state-level cultural heritage significance.
","history":"Gympie State High School, established in 1912, opened on its current site in Gympie in 1917. The school is important in demonstrating the evolution of state education and its associated architecture. It retains: two Timber School Buildings with timber floor trusses (Block B, 1955-56, and Block C, 1956-57); a Timber School Building with open web steel floor trusses (Block D, 1958-59) and its Agricultural Science extension (1960-61); a former partially enclosed gymnasium (Block K, c1933-37); and a Temporary Classroom Building (Block T, 1951). The school has a strong and ongoing association with the Gympie community.
\nGympie, part of the traditional lands of the Kabi Kabi people, was established after the discovery of gold in October 1867. The alluvial gold was soon exhausted and shallow reef mining commenced in 1868, followed by deep reef mining from 1875. During 1881 Gympie’s mines began yielding large amounts of gold. An intensive phase of underground reef mining followed, facilitated by the injection of capital into mining companies for machinery and employees. Local gold production peaked in 1903, and Gympie was declared a city in 1905. As gold production declined to cessation c1927, Gympie was transformed into a service centre for its highly productive agricultural district, noted for dairy farming and fruit-growing.[1]
\nBy 1912, Gympie had four state primary schools.[2] That year, it also became the site of one of Queensland’s first three state high schools. The Grammar Schools Act 1860 had provided scholarships for high-achieving students to attend elite grammar schools, but it was not until 1912 that the government instituted a high school system.[3] In late January 1912 state high schools opened in Gympie, Warwick, and Bundaberg; followed a week later by high schools in Mackay, Mount Morgan and Charters Towers.[4]
\nIn January 1912, Gympie State High School’s first students were accommodated in a building at Gympie Central State School.[5] This building was soon overcrowded. In 1914 the Gympie City Council donated 7.55ha of land, known as Tozer Park, for a new high school. This land (Portion 19, R670) was located west of Cootharaba Road, and south of Tozer Park Road. An additional 4.01ha of land (Portion 21, R689) was then obtained just north of Tozer Park, to provide level ground on which to site the school building.[6]
\nThe first two purpose-built high school buildings in Queensland were opened at Gatton and then Gympie in 1917, and were larger versions of a standard design introduced for primary schools in 1914.[7] To help ensure consistency and economy, the Queensland Government developed standard plans for its school buildings. These were continually refined in response to changing needs and educational philosophy.[8]
\nConstruction of the new Gympie State High School occurred between August 1916 and May 1917. Classes commenced on 3 September and the highset timber school building was officially opened on 19 October 1917, during Gympie’s 50th anniversary celebrations, with an enrolment of 146 students. A separate carpenter’s workshop and store (the manual training building) was located south of the school building.[9]
\nGympie State High School’s facilities were improved in the 1920s and 1930s. A caretaker’s residence was built in 1920;[10] and the first school oval (in 2018 named Hangar Oval), was constructed through the fundraising efforts of the school’s Sports Committee, and officially opened in 1931.[11]
\nThe grounds of purpose-built high schools were larger than those of primary schools, being over 4.8ha, and provided ample room for sports facilities. For many years school committees had to raise funds for construction of such facilities, which included tennis courts, gymnasiums and swimming pools. Teachers in the 1950s requested that high schools include gymnasiums, but these did not become a standard design or inclusion until after the 1960s.[12]
\nGymnasiums were regarded in the late 19th century by Victorian society as a way to maintain physical fitness and beauty, and pursue self-improvement (and ‘Muscular Christianity’) in the industrial age. Typical gymnasium equipment included ropes and rings; parallel bars, horizontal and sloping ladders, wooden horses and mats. Gymnasiums were provided at Queensland state schools, where the community could afford them, from the late 1870s.[13]
\nA gymnasium was built at Gympie State High School in the 1930s. In 1933 the school’s Sports Committee planned to erect, with their own funds, a ‘partially enclosed sports shelter shed’, that could be used as a gymnasium and for social functions (with a preliminary estimated cost of £260), and the Committee requested design assistance and building supervision from the Department of Public Works. This was approved in July 1933 and the gymnasium was built sometime before its gymnastic equipment was installed in 1937. The gymnasium (in 2018 named Block K) accommodated Intermediate classes during the school day – Gympie having become a High and Intermediate School in 1933 – and was used as a gymnasium during lunchtime and after school.[14]
\nDue to increased student numbers, there were soon other additions to the school. During 1939 and early 1940 the manual training building was extended to the east, and a new domestic science block was erected to its northwest. Additions were also made to the main school building.[15]
\nAfter World War II (WWII), enrolment at the school increased above the previous peak of 327 students, resulting in further buildings.[16] Two were added to the school in the late 1940s-early 1950s. The first was a War Memorial Pavilion, sited on the north side of Hangar Oval, which was opened on 27 August 1949 by the Queensland Governor, Sir John Lavarack (the pavilion was demolished in 2010).[17]
\nThe second new building was a two-room Temporary Classroom Building with a gabled roof (in 2018 named Block T). This was built between the main building and the domestic science block in early 1951, and was initially used for commercial classes.[18] Only a relatively small number of Temporary Classroom Buildings were constructed between 1943 and 1951. This standard type, of which Block T in Gympie is a good example, was introduced as a temporary solution to the exceptional growth in student numbers during WWII and the immediate post-war period, when skilled labour was scarce and materials were in short supply. They were small timber buildings, lowset on concrete posts and had skillion or gabled roofs. External walls were clad with vertical tongue and groove (T&G) timber boards and the rear wall had casement windows with operable fanlights sheltered by a simple hood. Accessed from a verandah, the type comprised two classrooms 21ft x 18ft (6.4m x 5.4m).[19]
\nDuring the early 1950s the gymnasium continued to be multi-purpose, being used for Intermediate school assemblies and singing; folk dancing and choir practice for High and Intermediate students; as a shelter shed on wet days; for verse speaking, concerts, drama, the annual flower show, and entertaining visiting sports teams.[20]
\nBy May 1954 there were 259 Intermediate and 255 High School students attending the school, with one Intermediate class using the gymnasium.[21] However, on the night of 18 May 1955 the main school building burnt down due to fire breaking out in a chemistry room.[22] As a result, the surviving buildings had to be used for general classes. The gymnasium was enclosed to form three classrooms and a laboratory. The Temporary Classroom Building was moved to the south of, and between, the manual training and domestic science blocks, to allow for the construction of new school buildings. The Intermediate students were temporarily transferred to the Central State School.[23]
\nPlans were also drawn for two new classroom blocks (in 2018 named Blocks B and C) and an administration wing (demolished in the 1970s) in 1955. These were constructed in three stages between 1955 and 1958, and formed a ‘U’ shape, open to the northeast.[24] An assembly area, which is still an open space in 2018, was formed between the new buildings, occupying the site of the destroyed 1917 school building.
\nFrom 1950 the Department of Public Instruction introduced and developed new standard plans for school buildings. These buildings were timber-framed structures with a gable roof, highset on stumps, and the understorey was used as covered play space. Classrooms opened off the northern verandah and had extensive areas of windows.[25] In 1954 the type was improved by replacing the proliferation of stumps with a timber truss that spanned the width of the classroom and provided an unimpeded play space. This concept was further refined in 1957 by replacing the timber truss with a steel open-web joist, supported on reinforced concrete columns.[26]
\nBlock B, a Timber School Building with timber floor trusses (1955-56),[27] was used for high school students and had seven classrooms on the first floor, all with double doors to the northern verandah, and four of the classrooms were separated by three sets of folding doors; with the seventh classroom, at the southeast end, separated from the other classrooms by a cloak room. The understorey of Block B included, from the northwest end: a store and girls lavatories; an open recreation and assembly area; a commercial room; medical services room, switch room and store.[28]
\nBlock C, which extended northeast from, and perpendicular to, the northwest end of Block B, was also a Timber School Building with timber floor trusses (1956-57) and was used for Intermediate students on the first floor, and High School students on the ground floor. It had a drawing room at the southwest end of the first floor; then a library and reading room; and an Intermediate staff room, with an enclosed corridor along the northwest side of the building. The ground floor included, from the southwest end: a science lecture room; a physics lab; two store rooms; and a chemistry lab. Blocks B and C were connected by a concrete and brick stairwell to both levels, and also had brick end walls as fire stops (northwest end of Block B; both ends of Block C).[29] The high quality of the buildings was recognised at the time and Blocks B and C were chosen as examples of notable High School architecture in ‘Buildings of Queensland’, a 1959 publication recording Queensland’s architecture produced by the state chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.[30]
\nThe one-storey Administration Block (c1957), which extended northeast from, and perpendicular to, the southeast end of Block B, was connected to the latter by a covered way which also provided an entrance from Cootharaba Road.[31]
\nAs the new buildings were completed, classes moved there from the older school buildings. By 1957, the Temporary Classroom Building was being used to store library books and as a boys locker room, since there was a new commercial room under Block B. Later, the Temporary Classroom Building became a storeroom for the groundskeeper. However, the gymnasium continued to host classes until the late 1970s, when it was again used as a gymnasium for a period.[32]
\nThe school also gained a classroom block for Intermediate students (in 2018 named Block D), east of the northern end of Block C.[33] The first section of Block D, constructed after May 1958 and occupied in 1959, included four classrooms on the first floor, each with double doors to the northern verandah, which had a metal-sheeted balustrade and a separate roof with clerestory windows above. The west end of the building was brick. The understorey contained an open play area, under open web steel trusses which were supported on lozenge shaped concrete columns.[34] Three more classrooms were added to the east end of Block D after November 1958, while a brick Boys toilet block, with lockers and showers, was added at the west end of the understorey.[35] By 1982, a passageway had replaced part of the second classroom from the east end.[36]
\nIn 1960-61, a two-storey Agricultural Science wing was added north of the east end of Block D. This gable-roofed timber-framed building, with open web steel trusses and brick end walls, was linked to Block D on both levels by a covered glass and metal covered way. On the ground floor, from the south, it included: a store room, work and machinery room; and change room. On the first floor was a store room and a classroom opening off the western verandah.[37]
\nDuring the 1960s, a number of new buildings were added to the school, resulting in the gymnasium being relocated further south – due to the construction of a two-storey senior science block (Block J).[38] Around 1962, a tuckshop was added under the east end of block D, and in 1967 the Temporary Classroom Building was still being used as a library.[39] By 1965 the school taught 1036 high school students.[40]
\nContinued development during the 1970s meant that the Temporary Classroom Building was relocated further west, due to construction of a three storey classroom block (Block H), which also resulted in the old vocational buildings being moved southwards (the domestic science block was demolished soon after). In the same decade the easternmost classroom of Block B was removed when a new two-storey administration block (Block A) replaced the 1950s administration block.[41] New buildings continued to be added to the school during the 1980s and 1990s.
\nChanges also occurred to the older buildings in the 1980s. The internal partitioning of the 1930s gymnasium was reconfigured c1987, to change it from one large and two small rooms (at the east end), to two large classrooms, each with a smaller partitioned space in the southern corner.[42]
\nIn 2018, the school continues to operate from its 1917 site. It retains its two Timber School Buildings with timber floor trusses (Blocks B and C); and a Timber School Building with open web steel floor trusses (Block D) with an Agricultural Science extension; the former gymnasium (Block K); and a Temporary Classroom Building (Block T). Gympie State High School is important to Gympie, as generations of students, from Gympie and nearby rural areas, have been taught there. School histories were compiled for the school’s 60th anniversary in 1982, and its 100th anniversary in 2012.
","criteria":"Gympie State High School (established as one of Queensland’s first high schools in 1912, and opened on current site in 1917) is important in demonstrating the evolution of state education and its associated architecture in Queensland. It retains excellent, representative examples of buildings that were responses to prevailing government educational philosophies.
\nThe two Timber School Buildings with timber floor trusses (1955-56, 1956-57), and the two Timber School Buildings with open web steel floor trusses (1958-59, 1960-61), represent the evolution of Department of Public Works designs during the mid to late 1950s to allow for unimpeded play space under highset timber school buildings.
\nThe Temporary Classroom Building (1951) is a product of the exceptional growth in student numbers after World War II, when skilled labour was scarce and materials were in short supply. It is a good, representative example of this pattern of development.
\nThe former gymnasium (c1933-37), which was later used as classrooms, represents the emphasis on sport and fitness at Queensland state schools, and the early pattern of local communities having to raise the funds required to provide sports facilities.
|The Timber School Buildings with timber floor trusses (Blocks B and C) and the Timber School Buildings with open web steel floor trusses (Block D and its Agricultural Science extension) are good, intact examples of their type and demonstrate two iterations of the Department of Public Work’s standard designs: incorporating timber floor trusses for unimpeded play space under the classrooms, and later using open web steel trusses to achieve the same effect.
\nThe buildings retain their: highset character with timber or open web steel trusses; gable roofs; face brick walls and crimped metal sheet and chamferboard cladding; verandahs for circulation; timber-framed double hung windows (Blocks B, C and D), or metal-framed glass louvres (Agricultural Science extension) to the verandah; timber-framed pivoting clerestory windows above the verandah roof (Blocks B and D); large banks of timber-framed awning windows with timber framed pivot fanlights on the opposing walls; and 24ft (7.3m) wide classrooms (Blocks B, C and D).
\nThe Temporary Classroom Building is an intact example of its type. It retains: its gable roof (characteristic of 1949-51 examples); lowset timber framed structure; north facing verandah; timber sash windows to the verandah; casement windows with fanlights over; vertical jointed (VJ) board cladding; and a bulkhead indicates the position of the original wall between its two 21ft (6.4m) x 18ft (5.5m) classrooms.
|Schools have always played an important part in Queensland communities. They typically retain significant and enduring connections with former pupils, parents, and teachers; provide a venue for social interaction and volunteer work; and are a source of pride, symbolising local progress and aspirations. The former gymnasium is the result of community fundraising efforts to provide sporting facilities for Gympie children.
\nGympie State High School has a strong and ongoing association with the Gympie and district community. The school was opened on its current site in 1917 and generations of Gympie children have been taught there.
","criteria_letters":"Criterion A | Criterion D | Criterion G","criteria_definitions":"The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history | The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places | The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons"} ]}