heritage

I remember walking the bridge on Natal Day as a child in the 1980's. At least one year they had all the MacDonald's mascots there. Grimace and Hamburglar were terrifying at full size.

Parliament House is Queensland's premier heritage building and one of Brisbane's best-known landmarks. Located on the corner of George and Alice Streets, it overlooks the expansive and majestic Botanic Gardens. It is further bound by the Brisbane River and the Queensland University of Technology. The buildings contained within the parliamentary precinct date from different stages in the history of Queensland, ranging from 1868 through to 1979. Major refurbishments of the George and Alice Street buildings occurred in 1982 and of the Annexe in 2000. The building was started in 1864, first occupied in 1868, and finally completed 25 years later in 1889. It is characterized by solid colonnades which keep the building cool in summer, some truly magnificent timber work that was produced from local Queensland timbers, and an impressive and gracious interior. The foundation stone was laid on 14 July 1865 by Governor George Ferguson Bowen. A ceremony was held for the occasion. The foundation stone weighed four tonnes, below it copies of Pugh's Almanac, the Moreton Bay Courier, and Guardian newspapers were placed along with the current coinage and an explanatory letter. Although some doubt exists, it is believed the foundation stone lies beneath the main entrance off George Street. Work began confidently. The site was cleared and leveled, and materials were stockpiled, including 500,000 sandstone bricks. Initially, there were problems in obtaining enough good quality sandstone. The original tenderers were not able to fulfill their contract. As a result, Tiffin decided to rent a quarry at Woogaroo. This method was more expensive than the original contract, but at least ensured a good supply of stone. As a result, the cost estimate for Parliament House rose alarmingly from the original £20,000 to more than £49,000 by June 1865. Awkward questions were asked in the newspapers. As a result, Tiffin was asked to account for the escalation. Despite his explanation, Tiffin was dogged by a reputation of costly buildings throughout his Queensland career. By the end of 1865, the walls were constructed up to the first-floor level. Work continued steadily into early 1866. However, in June 1866, Queensland suffered severe depression as a result of a financial crisis in Europe. In September 1867, the Department of Works instructed Tiffin to prepare a new specification of works required to complete the building within a more limited budget. The new specification included the completion of the George Street wing only, which had so far cost £44,000, without the colonnade or porte-cochere. It was also decided to finish the project by contract and, in December 1867, John Petrie was awarded the contract for £17,500. Accounts for Parliament House clearly show the wide variety of services performed by John Petrie's firm. Over the following years, Petrie is recorded as supplying furniture, matting, verandah curtains, blinds, fire hose reels, gas brackets, and other sundry items. The firm also cleaned the carpets, painted walls, repaired furniture and locks, and made many additions and alterations as was required. John Petrie was a public-spirited man and, in 1859, was elected the first Mayor of Brisbane. He also served on many public boards including the Board of Water Works and the Brisbane Hospital Board until his death in 1892. By November 1868, the building was all but complete. However, it fell far short of Tiffin's original plan. The colonnade designed for sun control at the front of the building, initially deleted for reasons of economy, was eventually built in 1880 of sandstone from Murphy's Creek. The porte-cochere remained unbuilt for almost 100 years when it was added during refurbishments in the early 1980s. The final cost of the George Street wing varied depending on the source but ranged between £60,000 and £80,000. This was between three and four times the Government's original, and obviously unrealistic, commission. Source: www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Visit-and-learn/History/History...

The School of Arts Building was erected in 1888 and is situated in the main street of the Bundaberg CBD. This State heritage-listed two stoery building has a curved internal staircase, offering unique photo opportunities for groups and formals. Close to local government offices, post office, cafés and shops, the first floor veranda offers picturesque views of the CBD. The building’s striking pink façade and decorative arches make this venue a distinctive feature of Bundaberg’s main street. There are two rooms, a meeting room with a kitchenette and an exhibition gallery. Source: formstmp.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/MD-7-702.pdf

Bundaberg School of Arts is a heritage-listed former school of arts and now a community center at 184 Bourbong Street, Bundaberg Central, Bundaberg, Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Anton Hettrich and built from 1888 to 1889. From 1889 the School of Arts offered technical classes in a variety of practical subjects including drawing, shorthand, bookkeeping, typing, dressmaking, millinery, chemistry, dairy work, manual training, and carpentry. These were so successful that in 1898 a timber hall designed by Frederick Faircloth was built behind the School of Arts to accommodate them. This had a stage and piano and was hired out when not in use, thus expanding the activities of the institution, and was enlarged soon after it was built. However, in 1908 the Technical Education Act shifted responsibility for the provision of such classes to the government, a factor in the demise of Schools of Arts generally. The interior of the building is intact and well detailed. The ground floor walls are plastered brick and there is a central hall from which the former library and offices are reached. The main staircase at the rear of the hall is semicircular in plan and has two niches and a window in the stairwell and a turned timber balustrade leading to a first-floor landing. This is joined to the former reading room by a short hall which has smaller rooms to the left and right. The partition walls are of narrow tongue and groove vertical boarding and there are timber ceilings and cornices. The doors have fretted transoms with a lyre and acanthus design, a classical reference appropriate to a center dedicated to education and the arts. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundaberg_School_of_Arts