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
Tyrconnell gold mine, part of the Hodgkinson goldfield in far north Queensland, was once home to 10,000 gold miners and their families.
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State heritage listing for four Gympie buildings
Four historic Gympie buildings, dating back to the town’s gold-mining era, have been listed in the Queensland Heritage Register.
Details of the buildings are:
- Gympie Court House and Lands Office (former), 26 Channon Street, Gympie
- Tozer’s Building, 218 Mary Street, Gympie
- Crawford and Co Building, 216 Mary Street, Gympie
- Smithfield Chambers, 235 Mary Street, Gympie
Queensland Heritage Council (QHC) Chair, Professor Peter Coaldrake, said the four buildings demonstrated the evolution of Gympie gold mining.
“Without the town of Gympie, its unlikely Queensland would exist as we know it today. The gold rush in Gympie in 1867 stimulated a struggling Queensland economy and helped cement Queensland as a State after annexure from New South Wales in 1859,” Professor Coaldrake said.
“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.”
The former Gympie Court House and Lands Office was built in 1876 and was the first substantial masonry public building in the city.
“The construction of the Gympie Court House in 1876 is important in demonstrating the evolution of Gympie from a shanty town into a permanent settlement,” he said.
“The classical revival style brick and stone building was designed by the Colonial Architect’s Office and is one of the oldest existing buildings in Gympie.
“It was extended in 1893 to include the Gympie Lands Office, which housed a number of government organisations.
“During World War II, a concrete air raid shelter was built behind the building which was intended to shelter civil servants and members of the public who might be nearby during a Japanese air raid.
“This is a rare, surviving example of a shelter associated with a public building and is important evidence of the Queensland government’s response to the threat of Japanese air raids.”
The building has recently been renovated for use by the Australian Institute of Country Music (AICM).
“The Gympie Regional Council and the AICM are to be congratulated for their excellent work in restoring this wonderful building,” Professor Coaldrake said.
“It’s now a much-loved place and the AICM are great custodians. It is important that heritage buildings are used and this is a great example of a heritage building adapting to changing times and circumstances and remaining relevant in the contemporary world.”
Forming part of the upper Mary Street gold era precinct, Tozer’s Building was designed in 1895 by noted Brisbane architect, Richard Gailey, and has been used as solicitors’ offices since it opened.
“Tozer’s Building demonstrates Gympie’s gold mining evolution and was designed in a classical style,” Professor Coaldrake said.
“The building has aesthetic significance for its architectural qualities and for its streetscape value which complement other surviving 19th century buildings in upper Mary Street.
“It has special significance for its association with Sir Horace Tozer who was a solicitor and mining law expert, member of parliament, minister from 1893-98 and Agent-General from 1898-1909.”
The former Crawford and Co Building, also located on Mary Street, was built in two stages during the 1880s.
“Designed by architect Hugo Durietz and erected during the third stage of Gympie mining, the building is indicative of the wealth and permanence of the town.
“For some four decades, the Crawford and Co Building provided office accommodation for mining secretaries and sharebrokers, who played a critical role in the gold industry.”
Smithfield Chambers, a two-storey rendered brick building, was built in 1895 and became one of the largest and most prominent buildings on upper Mary Street.
“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,” he said.
“As well as the office, shop and strongroom spaces of the main building, Smithfield Chambers retains elements of a horse stable and a rare block of masonry earth closets.
“All of these elements provide an important insight into how urban settlements and the commercial buildings that populated them functioned in late nineteenth century Queensland.”
Professor Coaldrake said the four buildings had aesthetic significance and architectural qualities and streetscape value through their form, scale and design.
“All four buildings illustrate the growth, wealth and confidence of Gympie in the 1890s when the town was in the top three of Queensland’s gold producers.”
The Queensland Heritage Council is the State’s independent peak body and advisor on heritage matters and determines which places are entered in the Queensland Heritage Register.
Places entered in the Heritage Register are considered of importance to Queensland’s history and are protected under heritage legislation.