official

The City Hall was once the tallest building in Brisbane . The building was designed by the firm Hall and Prentice, in association with four young New South Wales Architects: Bruce Dellit, Peter Kaad, Emil Sodersten and Noel Wilson. The first foundation stone was laid on Saturday 3 February 1917 by Queensland Governor (Major Sir Hamilton J. Goold-Adams) in advance of the building's construction. The stone was placed facing Albert Square (now King George Square). At the time there were no plans for the new building. However, it was later found to be out of alignment, and it was removed. In 1935, it was claimed that the stone was in a Brisbane City Council depot in Macrossan Street. However, in 1954, it was claimed that the original foundation stone was lost as it was believed to have been used as part of a building's foundations. The second (and current) foundation stone was laid on 29 July 1920 by Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII / Duke of Windsor), with an opal encrusted 18ct gold and trowel, designed by Peter Kaad. The site was swampy and contained a creek. Pumping was needed to keep the site dry. Construction operations began in 1920. One man died as he was inspecting the construction site Opening Although not complete, the building was occupied from 3 January 1928. The lord mayor William Jolly presented a cheque, paying for his electricity bill, as the first official transaction in the new building. Brisbane City Hall was opened in 1930 by Queensland Governor (Sir John Goodwin). The building was officially opened on 8 April 1930 by Lord Mayor of Brisbane William Jolly. However, it had been partially occupied since 1927. In 1969 the council commenced the acquisition of the properties to the south of the City Hall, and in 1975 opened the Brisbane Administration Centre (or BAC), a 20-floor tower and surrounding plaza. Most of the council's offices then moved from the City hall to the BAC. The Council Chambers (located on second floor of the Adelaide Street side of the building) and the Lord Mayor's and Deputy Lord Mayor's offices remain however in City Hall. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane_City_Hall

Charles Pickering was commissioned to photograph public works for the government architect James Barnet in 1870. The photographs themselves were intended for display at the London Exhibition of 1873; Pickering was previously engaged as the official photographer to the Metropolitan Intercolonial Exhibition of 1870. Photographers such as Charles Nettleton and the firm of Cox & Luckin were given similiar commissions in Melbourne as photography played an increasingly important role in the work of government departments. (The collection is on the State Libray of N.S.W. database. This database has a facility to view photographs in a high quality resolution which is really the best way to view the photographs - because of size constraints I will post a link to the high resolution version beneath each photograph).

According to genealoical notes at www.s560.com/dokuwiki/book:willard_franklin "Notes for THOMAS D. EDWARDS: Served as U.S. Consul General to Mexico 1910-1917 - lived C. Juarez. Mexico In 1877 went to Lead, South Dakota due to Black Hills gold rush. Appointed postmaster of Lead by President Arthur. Bought the Tribune when Cleveland became president. In 1905 was appointed by President Roosevelt to be consul to Mexico. Was proprietor and editor of Lead City Daily Tribune for over 15 years when he married Lucy Seymour in 1899. "

I started an entry in Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_D._Edwards

Thanks swanq. We'll fill in the name and add the date, "Aug. 18, 1913" which was decoded by Wystan, next time we update this record.