Herston - Exhibition Grounds

The site of the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds was originally used by the Queensland Acclimitisation Society and the present day Bowen Park is a remnant of those gardens.

Part of the Acclimatisation Society's land was later used by the Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, from 1875, with the first show being held a year later, as the Queensland Intercolonial Exhibition. The admission prices to this first show were, judging day, five shillings; opening ceremony, two shillings and sixpence; general admission, one shilling.

Sample bags, now known as show bags, were originally true "sample" bags given away free, and containing such samples as :

miniature cans of fruit
lollies, mints, biscuits
cake mixes, puddings
sugar, flour, preserved fruit,

but at the first show, there was only a single sample bag available, this containing examples of coal.

Brisbane Exhibition, 1908

The first Exhibition Building, built of wood, was destroyed by fire in 1887. The replacement Exhibition Building was built in 1891, in only twenty-three weeks. It contains some 1,300,000 bricks and employed around three hundred men during its construction.

First Exhibition Building, ca 1877

Present Exhibition Building, 1895

The Exhibition Building remains one of the architectural icons of Brisbane as well as being an imposing landmark in the Herston landscape.

Kedron - Kedron Park Hotel

With the on-set of development, we so often see our older buildings lost to us, or changed beyond recognition. This similarly goes for our older or familiar landscapes and streetscapes, with development often resulting in the past being lost to us.

The various infrastructure works associated with the new northern busway and the Airport Link, could, in this way, be expected to completely overwhelm what few historical structures and landmarks that still survive in the Kedron area.

But, in the case of the historic Kedron Park Hotel, this doesn't appear to have happened.

View of Gympie Road, Kedron, ca. 1908, with the Kedron Park Hotel in the distance

Kedron Park Hotel, 1960

Although the roadworks are still underway, with the streetscape changing significantly, the Kedron Park Hotel, as an historic landmark, has become more dominant on the intersecting than it was previously. The reason for this is that the roadworks have opened up the area around the old hotel, making it easier to view this old Brisbane pub.

The Kedron Park Hotel was opened by Frederick Morris in 1881 and soon after, perhaps as a way of attracting more customers, he set up picnic type races on the land opposite the hotel. Although there was some early criticism of the way in which the race meetings were conducted, they were held here for many years.

Kedron Park Racecourse, 1922

It is also recorded that the hotel had a small zoo and that one of the hotel's more colourful publicans had a swearing parrot.

Herston - Royal Brisbane Hospital

The history of Brisbane's main hospital dates back to the earliest times of European settlement in Queensland.

The first hospital was established as part of the Moreton Bay Penal Colony, originally located at Redcliffe, in 1824. When the penal colony was moved to the present site of Brisbane's central business district, in 1825, the hospital was sited near the present corner of George and Ann Streets, with the site extending through to present day North Quay.

Hospital, Moreton Bay Penal Colony, ca.1835

Surgeon's Cottage, George Street, Brisbane, ca.1862

Here it stayed until 1867, when it was moved to what was considered to be a more suitable location at Herston, which was then known as the "Quarries".

Site of the Brisbane Hospital, Herston, ca. 1869


In the period since its establishment at Herston, it has steadily expanded and developed, quickly becoming Queensland's major hospital. Few buildings survive from the hospital's early period of development, and with the pressure of expansion as the hospital continues to expand, those that do are probably at risk of redevelopemnt or demolition. This will mean that, over time, there will be fewer and fewer physical links with the hospital's early history.

Once dominating the Herston streetscape, the imposing busway infrastructure is now very much part of the hospital site.

Herston

This inner Brisbane suburb is named in honour of two of our early residents, these being Robert Herbert and John Bramston, who jointly owned a residence which was situated around the site of the present University of Queensland Medical School building.

Herston, the residence of Robert Herbert and John Bramston

Both men were prominent citizens of early Brisbane, Robert Herbert, Queensland's first Premier and John Bramston, a lawyer, who later became Attorney-General. The residence and farm they established was given the name "Herston" being a combination of the first and last parts of their surnames, and which became the name for the wider area.

Robert Herbert

John Bramston


One of Herbert's surviving letters, written to his sister in the 1860s, describes them "catching quantities of magnificent prawns in the creek which surrounds Herston", which is most like to to have been Breakfast Creek, and continues to describe the method employed to catch them, thus, "we have boxes covered with canvas, with a funnel shaped entrance, into which they walk, splendid large fellows, four or five inches long and most delicate in flavour".

I wonder if there are still prawns in that area of Breakfast Creek, and what the eating quality would be?

The two most prominent landmarks in the area are probably the Royal Brisbane Hospital and the Exhibition Grounds, although the large infrastructure of the new busway is now also a major landmark.

Over the next couple of days, I'll put up posts looking briefly at the history of both the hospital and the Exhibition Grounds.

Another significant site in Herston is Bowen Park, which is a remnant of the probably little remembered Acclimitisation Gardens which once extended well beyond the present Bounds of this park.

I'll also cover the history of this early gardens in a future post.

Sandgate

Here's a building that's taken on a new life!  Formerly the Sandgate post office, this impressive colonial building is now home to the recently opened 4017 Bar and Grill.

In its former life as the Sandgate Post and Telegraph Office, it would have been a hub of activity, particularly in view of its prominent location, dominating the Sandgate streetscape.  The building was built in 1886/7 to the design of the then Queensland Government Architect, J.J. Clark, at a cost of some two thousand pounds.  At the time of its construction, it was one of the few masonry post office buildings outside Brisbane or the larger provincial centres.  The building was built during a period of optimism and reflects the importance of Sandgate as a seaside resort and a growing residential area, from the 1880s.  The grand nature of the building also reflects the importance of the post and telegraph service within the Queensland colonial economy.

Now, as 4017 Bar and Grill, it is again a hub.  It also retains a link with its former use a a post and telegraph office, through the use of the Sandgate postcode in its name.

It's great to see one one of our beautiful older buildings, potentially at risk of being let run down, or worse, lost, take on a new persona, ensuring we can continue to use and admire it!

Sandgate

Here is an interesting remnant from Sandgate's past.

At each end of a large retaining wall along the southern side of Alexandra Street, Sandgate, at the intersection with Southerden Street, stands a low stone post.  The stone post at the higher, western end of the retaining wall, although matching the post at the lower, Southerden Street end in size and design, is un-adorned.  The post at the Southerden Street end, as pictured, is adorned with a lion's head, which gazes out, across Southerden Street, at the wide expanse of Dowse Lagoon.

This seems to be a rather grand touch to an otherwise plain and unassuming, though large, retaining wall.

Is anyone aware of its story or how long it's been here and are there any others, similar to this, around the area or throughout Brisbane at large?