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Commissariat Stores (former)
| Source: |
Go to the Queensland Heritage Register for more information. |
| Identifier: |
600176 |
| Location: |
115 William Street |
Local
Government: |
BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL |
| State: |
QLD |
| Country: |
AUSTRALIA |
Statement of
Significance: |
The former Commissariat Store demonstrates the evolution of Queensland being one of only two buildings surviving from the Moreton Bay penal colony and has been used as a government store from 1829 until the 1960s. Changes to the fabric and orientation of the building during that time reflect the development of Brisbane. It is a rare survival of a key penal colony structure, being one of four commissariat buildings in Australia and provides evidence for building methods, skills and materials available. The building and its surrounds including Miller Park have the potential to reveal information about the penal colony and the subsequent use of the site. Its simple form, robust construction and waterside site are characteristic of early penal colony stores. It is of aesthetic value as a landmark on William Street and makes a vital contribution to the William Street government precinct. It has an association with Commandant Patrick Logan as a key component of his building program which made a major contribution to the development of the colony. |
| Description: |
History Description
The former Commissariat Store was constructed of local stone in 1828-9 by convicts as a two storeyed provisions store. A third storey of rendered brick was added in 1913 to accommodate its continuing use as a government store.
In 1823 Moreton Bay was chosen as a penal settlement for secondary offenders, those who had reoffended while serving their sentence of transportation. It was intended to control these convicts and effect a reform in them through isolation, hard labour, strict discipline and harsh living conditions. In 1824 Lieutenant Miller arrived at Redcliffe with 29 convicts. As this location proved unsuitable, the settlement was moved in 1825 to a ridge overlooking the Brisbane River and simple buildings were constructed to serve it. Penal colonies were run on a military system and so a commissariat was used for the procurement, supply and distribution of essential goods. The first building used for this purpose at Moreton Bay was a slab structure in the vicinity of the current Albert and Elizabeth Streets. In 1826 Captain Logan arrived as Commandant and began a building program that replaced key buildings with more substantial structures. This was necessary as convict numbers swelled to peak at 1000 in 1830, needing both accommodation and useful occupation. One of these key buildings was the Commissariat.
A position near the river bank was selected, following recommended procedure, to allow goods to be conveniently loaded and unloaded from a wharf. This also provided a single point for the entry and distribution of tools, weapons, clothing and food rations to permit secure control of these vital supplies. The design by William Dumaresq arrived in April 1828 and work on the foundations commenced soon after. The excavation work was heavy and was carried out by convict gangs, but the masonry and other construction work required skilled labour and was supervised by a Lt Bainbrigge sent especially from Sydney with suitable workmen.
In common with the other new buildings, the Commissariat was of a neat, plain design suitable for utilitarian use in a penal colony and was well constructed from local materials. Only four such commissariat buildings survive in Australia. The importance of this building and its river frontage as a portal to the colony was emphasised by the addition of the royal cipher and date set in the front wall, which was retained when the third storey was added. The firm orientation towards the river can also be seen in the stonework itself, which is evenly coursed at the front, but becomes more random at the back and sides. The Commissariat was built of tuff from the quarry at Kangaroo Point with sandstone from Oxley Creek used for footings, base course, quoins, sills and lintels. The windows were small, unglazed and barred for security and the roof was clad with ironbark shingles. It was completed in 1829 and a wharf was developed soon after.
The penal colony closed in 1839 and Moreton Bay was declared open for free settlement in 1842. Other government buildings were soon sold or demolished but the Commissariat was retained for continued government use as a store. This use did not take up all the space available and the upper floor served the government in a number of other capacities, being used for land sales in 1848 and intermittently to house immigrants during the 1850s. During this time a door was cut through to the upper floor on the western side to allow more direct access through the area now containing Miller Park. Proximity to the wharf and the Immigration barracks made it convenient, if not ideal, for this purpose until the new immigrant depot opened at Kangaroo Point in 1887. In 1860, following the creation of the colony of Queensland, the store was renamed the Colonial Store. It was repaired and the upper floor was converted for use by the police. A raised timber floor was installed on the ground level and the windows enlarged and glazed. The Storekeeper and a staff of twelve handled everything from oil for lighthouses to blankets for distribution to the Aborigines. During the 'Bread and Blood' riots of 1866 an attempt was made to force entry to the store, possibly because it was seen as a symbol of government and the control of essentials.
The Colonial Store was repaired and added to as the colony grew. In 1886 a single storey brick wing was added at the south east corner, which received an extra storey in 1900. A strong room was built for record books in 1888 and in 1889 William Street was lowered which necessitated some underpinning and the construction of a retaining wall. The roof shingles were replaced with corrugated iron about this time. In 1898, as Federation approached, the stores were renamed the Government Stores.
In time, and as the city developed, the river location became less convenient. By 1907 it was deemed by the Storekeeper to be too far from the steamer wharf and railway station. In 1911 he suggested that if relocation was not possible, the addition of a light upper storey with access to William Street would be helpful, provide increased floor space and also be lighter and cooler. This suggestion was adopted and the work was undertaken by contractor William Kitchen at a cost of £2194 pounds in 1912. The new section was constructed of rendered brick in a Georgian Revival style sympathetic to the existing building. To keep costs down, as much as possible of the old roof timbers were reused and clad with new corrugated iron. A ventilation fleche and dormer windows were inserted to allow the attic space to be used and timber pillars were added to the lower floors to help support the extra weight. A gantry and new main entrance with a semicircular hood effectively changed the orientation of the building towards the city. It was completed in 1913 and an electric goods lift added in 1914.
In 1923, the State Stores Board was created as an initiative of the Labor government to facilitate efficient and economical purchase and distribution of goods used by government departments. This system ran with little change until the 1980s and it was administered from the former Commissariat, now renamed the States Stores Building. As storage needs increased, some sections moved to other buildings and in 1960 the Stores vacated the building. Queensland State Archives then occupied the ground floor until 1968 and various government department used the upper floors. Some alterations were made to accommodate their use including installing a new lift which removed the penthouse of the 1914 lift and the fleche on the roof was probably also removed then.
The heritage value of this building has long been recognised and in 1959 it was on the first short list of places recommended for preservation by the Queensland government. Extensive repairs were carried out to the stonework over a number of years and a mason's workshop was set up in the yard to facilitate this. In 1976 the building was vacated and the Royal Historical Society of Queensland was granted occupation. Extensive renovations were done over 1978/79 during the course of which the two storey brick wing was demolished. Changes included removing the staircase, lift and strongroom and replacing the 1861 flooring on the ground floor with masonry. The roof was tiled over a new steel framework.
As part of the renovations, the land adjoining the building to the west was redeveloped and landscaped as a small park, which was named after Captain Miller. This area had remained as a grassy slope allowing access to the stores since they were constructed and has importance as part of the setting of the building. In 1982 a new wall and gate were constructed to Queen's Wharf Road and the yard was resurfaced with flagstones. Part of the original wall remains adjacent to the library driveway. The Store was then officially opened as the headquarters of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland.
A conservation plan was prepared in 1998 and work began to reverse or modify inappropriate changes made during the renovations of the 1970s, including removal of the modern concrete internal staircase and reconstruction of the roof as it appeared in 1913. This is expected to be completed in late 2000 and the building will house the collection and library of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland.
Place Description
The former Commissariat is a three storey building set within an excavation in the ridge forming William Street and faces the river, although the main access is now from William Street via the top storey and level with the street. The original river entrance is approached through a paved yard, enclosed by a stone wall set with iron gates. The building is framed on the north west, north east and south east by retaining walls of Brisbane tuff. The William Street entrance also has an 1890 a concrete wall and plumbago hedge. The lower two storeys are constructed of iron stained Brisbane Tuff (also known as porphyry) and the top floor of rendered brick lined to resemble ashlar. The hipped roof is clad with corrugated iron and features a gabled projection centrally located on the river side of the building, forming the pediment of a central projecting bay. There is an oeil de boeuf window below the gable in the same position as a small window in the 1829 structure. A Royal Cipher and the date 1829 are in a recessed panel below the central window of the upper storey.
The section of the roof facing William Street is pierced by two dormer windows and is topped by a fleche. The entry on this side is approached by crossing an iron gantry and sheltered by a semicircular hood. There is also a door to the first floor from Miller Park on the north west side.
Windows on the lower two floors are small and barred with arched heads. Those to the top floor are sash windows, shaded by sun hoods on the north west and south west sides. |
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