robindods

Replacing a smaller timber building constructed on a different site, the Maryborough City Hall was built in 1908 as the second Maryborough Town Hall. The building was designed by renowned Queensland architectural partnership, Hall and Dods. Dissatisfaction with the first town hall was voiced in the local press for many years, and attempts were made at various stages throughout the nineteenth century to replace the timber Town Hall with a masonry building reflecting the importance of Maryborough in regional Queensland. In 1884, the Maryborough Council sought permission from the Queensland Government to exchange the land on which the Town Hall was built with land on the opposite side of Kent street facing the Town Hall, then used as a police and justice reserve. Though this permission was given in 1901 the construction of a new town hall did not commence until several years after. After preparing plans and specifications for the Maryborough Town Hall, Robin Dods was invited to a special meeting of the Maryborough Council to discuss the plans which were adopted in October 1906. The design for the town hall was a substantial brick building with a steeply pitched gabled roof and four Tuscan Order columns defining the portico. The building reflected the Victorian ideal of municipal buildings strongly influenced by classicism, in this case, stripped and manipulated with the sophistication characteristic of the work of Hall and Dods. The building was designed to house a 900-seat auditorium, council offices, and a council chamber. After some delays, the new Town Hall was opened by the leader of the Federal Labour Party, the Hon Andrew Fisher, MHR. The building was received with mixed reviews, the Maryborough community, as expressed in the local papers described the building as plain and with a quality of "red-brickiness" whereas the national architectural journal, Building, praised its "simplicity with dignity in a splendid fashion". The interior of the building was more universally appealing with well-crafted internal molding and joinery and well-proportioned rooms. Substantial additions were made to the Town Hall in 1934 to the design of Brisbane City Council architect, Walter Kerrison who was on loan to the Maryborough City Council. These additions included the erection of a clock tower, the construction of a fly tower, and the widening and lengthening of verandahs flanking the auditorium. In 1948 a single-storeyed extension to the western side of the building was added to supplement office accommodation in the building. This was designed by Colin Tesch. A second storey was added to this section in 1978. The lettering above the entrance door, which on completion of the building in 1908 was "TOWN HALL" was changed to "CITY HALL" in 1964, although Maryborough was proclaimed a city much earlier in 1905. In 1971 other alterations were made to the entrance doors to the design of architect, Werner Hug.[1] The most recent alterations to the building occurred in 1990 when a serious fire substantially damaged the building's interior. Restoration and reconstruction work was undertaken by Brisbane architect, Robert Riddel. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryborough_City_Hall#:~:text=Maryb....

On 2 February 1911, five years after the Sisters of Mercy opened the first Mater Private Hospital at North Quay, Mater Public Hospital opened. The 40-bed hospital was opened without fanfare or special celebrations and it was supported by fundraising and the proceeds generated by Mater Private Hospital. Many doctors volunteered to serve at the public hospital. In its first ten years, Mater attracted many of Brisbane’s distinguished doctors to its honorary staff. The hospital remained in operation until 1981, when the new Mater Adult Hospital was opened. The following year, Mater was registered as a training school for nurses and the first 14 secular probationers entered the formal training school for nurses in 1914, with the completion of St Mary's Nurses Home, to ensure an adequate supply of nurses with appropriate qualifications. The Sisters of Mercy nurses were trained separately at Mater Private Hospital. In July 1912 the Mater Public Hospital outpatient department opened in its own specially built brick building. The service treated 1440 people in its first six months. The influx was partly a result of the closure of the government’s South Brisbane ‘depot’ where needy people were able to access both medical care and other necessities. Two years later in 1914, extensions to the surgical ward at Mater Public Hospital were completed, just in time to care for soldiers returning from World War I. Twenty beds were made available for soldiers, as Mater worked to provide healthcare during a time of financial strain. During the war, appeals to the public were suspended and many of Mater’s staff were on war service; all contributing to, as Mother Patrick Potter stated ‘slender resources.’ Source: history.mater.org.au/1911-1940

No, this is not the design of Hall & Dods. This drawing is the work of the architect Claude Chambers.

Hi peterm_k, it appears to be so! Thanks for letting us know; our Original Materials team is reviewing the finding aid for this collection and we'll let you know the outcome when it's resolved. c:

Hi again peterm_k - looking at the series information for the Davies 1904 architectural drawings within the finding aid, it states that William Davies selected a design by Claude Chambers. We agree that F.R. Hall & Dods as ‘creator’ is too strong a term for this drawing, although it is still part of the Hall & Dods collection - we’ve updated the metadata to reflect this. Thanks again for helping us making this record more accurate!