Treasury Building, Brisbane
Encyclopedia
The former Queensland Government Treasury Building, is located in Brisbane
, Queensland
, Australia
on a city block surrounded by George Street
, Queen Street
, Elizabeth Street
and William Street
.
The building is positioned at North Quay
, near the northern end of Victoria Bridge
and the Elizabeth Street frontage is opposite the Queens Gardens
. In the 1890s and early 1900s the imposing Treasury Building served as a symbol of self-government and as a focus for celebratory and patriotic displays.
Prior to the Treasury Building's construction the site housed a two-storey military barracks. In 1901 the proclamation of the federation of the Australian Commonwealth was read by the Governor of Queensland
Baron Lamington
from a balcony on the William Street elevation.
The Queensland Government Cabinet
met in the building until the 1905, when the Premier's Department moved into the Executive Building (subsequently known as the Lands Administration Building) in George Street. Subsequently, more departments moved out and the Treasury Building, along with the Lands Administration Building were sold and now form the Treasury Casino
.
architects Grainger and D'Ebro
. However this design was never used as the Queensland Colonial Architect, John James Clark
, argued that the site warranted a four-storeyed complex. Clark's own neo-Italianate
design, entered in the competition prior to his appointment, was used. Clarke is also known for his earlier work on the Old Treasury Building
in Melbourne
and other public works in Perth
.
The first stage of the building to be completed was the William Street and part of the Queen St frontages and was built by the Phippard Brothers. When completed in September 1889, the new building was occupied by the Premier, Colonial Secretary, Registrar-General, Treasury, Mines, Works, Police and Auditor-General. The construction of stage two, which completed the Elizabeth Street section, was commenced almost immediately and was completed by February 1893. This new wing was occupied by the Registrar of Titles, Justice, Works, Public Instruction and the State Savings Bank. The final stage of construction was started in 1922 and the Queen and George street frontages were officially opened in 1928, providing additional space for the existing occupaned.
ashlar
except for the inner walls of the arcade. These brick walls are finished with lined and unpainted render imitating ashlar. Each phase of construction has used a different type of sandstone. A colour difference is discernible between the Highfields stone used for the first phase of construction, and the Helidon sandstones used for the later stages. The external walls sit on a porphyry
plinth.
The design was proposed by Australian Architect John James Clark. In that time the treasury building would be home to many government authorities such as the Registrar-General, Premier, Treasury, Security, Mines, and the Police. However, from 1989 the Registrar-General was the sole occupant of the building, as other members of the government had moved to newer, more modern quarters. The building is an important symbol of the development and progress of Brisbane’s political history. The architectural style
can be compared to that of the 16th century Italian architecture.(EPA 2006) It has an accomplished design, detailing both exterior and interior, materials such as sandstone and boasts exquisite workmanship.
Since 1995, the refurbished building has housed the Conrad Treasury Casino, contrasting the once political orientation of the building to one full of vibrance and entertainment. It is home to two bars, five restaurants, and eight function rooms. The casino
also provides for the Brisbane community by hosting of the annual Groove and Grape Festival plus entertainment which is provided every night of the week. This includes comedy shows, bands, musicians and dancing shows.
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on a city block surrounded by George Street
George Street, Brisbane
George Street is a main street located in the Brisbane CBD in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. A major thoroughfare, George Street connects to the Queensland University of Technology as well as the state Botanical Gardens, to the commercial centre of Brisbane, Queen Street and Queen Street Mall.The...
, Queen Street
Queen Street, Brisbane
Queen Street in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia, is one of the city's major streets. It is the city's central road, partly covered by a pedestrian mall called the Queen Street Mall. Queen Street ends at the Victoria Bridge and is bounded by two of the Brisbane River's central reaches...
, Elizabeth Street
Elizabeth Street, Brisbane
Elizabeth Street in Brisbane, Australia is a major street in the centre of the city. The street was established at the beginning of settlement in Brisbane as a penal colony...
and William Street
William Street, Brisbane
William Street is a small, relatively quiet road in the uptown part of the Brisbane central business district. The street is historical significant to the city's early development as a penal colony...
.
The building is positioned at North Quay
North Quay, Brisbane
North Quay is a location in the Brisbane central business district and the name of street in the same area, running along the Brisbane River from an intersection near Makerston Street to the top of the Queen Street.-Location:...
, near the northern end of Victoria Bridge
Victoria Bridge, Brisbane
The Victoria Bridge is a vehicular and pedestrian bridge over the Brisbane River. The current bridge, opened in 1969, is the third permanent crossing erected at this location...
and the Elizabeth Street frontage is opposite the Queens Gardens
Queens Gardens, Brisbane
Queens Gardens is located on a city block between George Street, Elizabeth Street and William Street in the Brisbane central business district...
. In the 1890s and early 1900s the imposing Treasury Building served as a symbol of self-government and as a focus for celebratory and patriotic displays.
History
Governors of Queensland
The Governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level....
Baron Lamington
Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington
Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, GCMG, GCIE was a British politician and colonial administrator who was Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, and Governor of Bombay from 1903 to 1907....
from a balcony on the William Street elevation.
The Queensland Government Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
met in the building until the 1905, when the Premier's Department moved into the Executive Building (subsequently known as the Lands Administration Building) in George Street. Subsequently, more departments moved out and the Treasury Building, along with the Lands Administration Building were sold and now form the Treasury Casino
Conrad Treasury Casino
The Treasury Casino, also known as The Treasury is a casino in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It also houses a hotel, five restaurants, seven bars, and a nightclub. The casino is operated by ECHO Entertainment Group....
.
Construction
The Treasury was erected in three stages between 1886 and 1928. In 1883 a design competition for a two-storeyed building was won by MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
architects Grainger and D'Ebro
Charles D'Ebro
Charles Abraham D'Ebro was a London-born architect who designed many important buildings in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia during the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods...
. However this design was never used as the Queensland Colonial Architect, John James Clark
John James Clark
John James Clark , an Australian architect, was born in Liverpool, England. Clark’s 30 years in public service, in combination with 33 in private practice, produced some of Australia’s most notable public buildings, as well as at least one prominent building in New Zealand.-Biography:John James...
, argued that the site warranted a four-storeyed complex. Clark's own neo-Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
design, entered in the competition prior to his appointment, was used. Clarke is also known for his earlier work on the Old Treasury Building
Old Treasury Building, Melbourne
The Old Treasury Building on Spring Street in Melbourne, was once home to the Treasury Department of the Government of Victoria, but is now a museum of Melbourne history, known as the Old Treasury Building.-History:...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and other public works in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
The first stage of the building to be completed was the William Street and part of the Queen St frontages and was built by the Phippard Brothers. When completed in September 1889, the new building was occupied by the Premier, Colonial Secretary, Registrar-General, Treasury, Mines, Works, Police and Auditor-General. The construction of stage two, which completed the Elizabeth Street section, was commenced almost immediately and was completed by February 1893. This new wing was occupied by the Registrar of Titles, Justice, Works, Public Instruction and the State Savings Bank. The final stage of construction was started in 1922 and the Queen and George street frontages were officially opened in 1928, providing additional space for the existing occupaned.
Design
The building is faced with sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
except for the inner walls of the arcade. These brick walls are finished with lined and unpainted render imitating ashlar. Each phase of construction has used a different type of sandstone. A colour difference is discernible between the Highfields stone used for the first phase of construction, and the Helidon sandstones used for the later stages. The external walls sit on a porphyry
Porphyry (geology)
Porphyry is a variety of igneous rock consisting of large-grained crystals, such as feldspar or quartz, dispersed in a fine-grained feldspathic matrix or groundmass. The larger crystals are called phenocrysts...
plinth.
The design was proposed by Australian Architect John James Clark. In that time the treasury building would be home to many government authorities such as the Registrar-General, Premier, Treasury, Security, Mines, and the Police. However, from 1989 the Registrar-General was the sole occupant of the building, as other members of the government had moved to newer, more modern quarters. The building is an important symbol of the development and progress of Brisbane’s political history. The architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
can be compared to that of the 16th century Italian architecture.(EPA 2006) It has an accomplished design, detailing both exterior and interior, materials such as sandstone and boasts exquisite workmanship.
Treasury Casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
also provides for the Brisbane community by hosting of the annual Groove and Grape Festival plus entertainment which is provided every night of the week. This includes comedy shows, bands, musicians and dancing shows.