The facade of the RS Exton and Co premises at 333 Ann Street.
Brisbane’s Shrine of Remembrance, dedicated on Armistice Day in 1930.
The Story Bridge, spanning Brisbane River, was built between 1935 and 1940.
The Masonic temple at Barcaldine was constructed in 1901.
My heritage place
All Saints Anglican Church at Tamrookum near Beaudesert is family-owned, built in 1915 as a memorial to Robert Martin Collins.
Media releases
State heritage listing for Normanton icon
The iconic Burns Philp Building in Normanton is one of the latest additions to the Queensland Heritage Register.
Queensland Heritage Council Chair, Professor Peter Coaldrake, said the building was constructed in 1884, shortly after the formation of the company that was to become one of the most significant mercantile providers in Queensland.
“It is a rare surviving example of a Burns Philp store and the oldest of the company’s Queensland structures which were built in Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns, Bowen, Charters Towers, Burketown, Cooktown and Thursday Island,” Professor Coaldrake said.
“Untouched during a major rebuilding exercise undertaken by Burns Philp on all of its other mainland stores in the late 19th century, the Normanton store operated continuously as a general mercantile store and agency office for more than 120 years.
“The construction of this building and its ability to generate a greater income for Burns Philp than the larger centre in Townsville demonstrates Normanton’s regional importance as the major port in the Gulf at the time.
“As the earliest surviving store of Burns Philp and Company, the building has a special association with Sir James Burns and Sir Robert Philp, who founded the company that became known as the ‘octopus of the north’ due to its diverse interests in stores and shipping.”
Professor Coaldrake congratulated the Carpentaria Shire Council for the work done to protect and conserve Normanton’s heritage places.
“There is a wealth of heritage in Normanton including places already on the Queensland Heritage Register, such as the Burke and Wills Camp, the Normanton Cemetery and the Gaol, the Railway Terminus and the Westpac Bank,” he said.
“The Burns Philp Building is the latest to be added to this honour roll. The Carpentaria Shire Council has been a great custodian of this magnificent heritage building, maintaining its significant heritage values and finding different ways for the community to use and enjoy it.
“The proposed Be EnGulfed Monsoon Experience* is a great example of how heritage places can be adapted for tourism purposes.
“The Department of Environment and Resource Management is working with the Carpentaria Shire Council to prepare a Heritage Agreement which will allow these works to continue as planned,” he said.
“State heritage listing is a way of recognising all the good work by the Normanton community in maintaining and reusing this iconic building and highlighting its historical significance in the development of the Gulf.”
The building was first suggested for entry through Queensland Heritage Council’s Our Shared Heritage initiative which called on the community to suggest places worthy of entry in the Queensland Heritage Register.
The Queensland Heritage Council is the State’s independent advisor on heritage matters and determines what places are entered in the Queensland Heritage Register.
Places that are entered in the Heritage Register are considered of importance to Queensland’s history and are protected under heritage legislation.
Fast Facts
- Constructed on the corner of Landsborough and Caroline Streets, Normanton, in 1884 to replace an earlier store operated by James Burns from 1879.
- The large timber-framed, corrugated iron clad building has a distinctive curved triple-fronted parapet facing Landsborough Street.
- The parapet design has been replicated in the interpretive signage situated around the town at its various heritage sites.
- Burns Philp and Company formed in 1883, merging the business and shipping interests of James Burns and Robert Philp.
- The Normanton store was the largest of the company’s stores in Queensland, other than that in Brisbane.
- The store was operated by the company up until 1983. The subsequent owners continued to operate it as a general store until mid-2000.
- Burns Philp became one of the largest and most successful Australian firms, being involved in a range of business activities including shipping, travel, retail stores, car sales, hardware, pharmaceuticals and insurance through the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
- Burns Philp and Company was inducted into the inaugural Queensland Business Leader’s Hall of Fame in September 2009, in recognition of its significant contribution to the economic success of Queensland and Australia.
* The Be EnGulfed Monsoon Experience will be incorporated into the Burns Philp Building. The centre aims to ‘enGulf’ visitors in the wet season experience by highlighting the weather drivers of the monsoon and the influences on the landscape, people, fish, birds and other animals and plants.