PARKVUE BUILDING

Cnr Bourbong & Maryborough Sts, Bundaberg

An Art Deco Inter-War Style Building Designed by Architect Walter Kerrison who was born in Walthamstow, England in 1902.

According to a Courier Mail article from 24^th January 1939 the “Plans would ensure Views” and,

“The use of glass bricks in the treatment of the corner of the other block of flats is an unusual feature for Bundaberg. The building will be constructed of brick and concrete, with a flat roof finished externally in cream plaster with the horizontal motif emphasised in darker colours. It is to contain three shops with a suite of modern offices and five flats, one being of the maisonette type, with living rooms on the ground floor and sleeping quarters above.

The flats will be compact, finished with plaster walls and ceilings, built-in baths, and water heaters. The kitchenettes will have all furniture built in. Built-in dressers and wardrobes will also be a feature. Each flat will have a balcony, the two facing Maryborough Street having an excellent outlook over the neighbouring park. The shop fronts will be finished with glazed tiles in modern design, surmounted by a cantilever awning.

The flat roof will be used as a drying ground. A well-equipped laundry has been provided, the additional height required for this being used to emphasise the corner of the building, in which a vertical treatment of elevation makes a break in the general horizontal motif.

Garage accommodation is provided, and the building has been prepared for a sewerage scheme shortly to be installed in Bundaberg.”

It opened mid 1939 based on newspaper advertising.

References

1. “Modern Flats in Two Cities” The Courier Mail 24 January 1939 pg 18
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/39005283?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FC%2Ftitle%2F12%2F1939%2F01%2F24%2Fpage%2F1985863%2Farticle%2F39005283#

2. Bundaberg Daily News and Mail 16 May 1939 Pg 7
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/284748481?searchTerm=%22Parkvue%20Building%22#

3. Buss Park from Post Office ca1950 State Library of Qld IE 221200
https://collections.slq.qld.gov.au/viewer/IE221200

FORMER COMMERCIAL BANK OF SYDNEY

191-193 Bourbong Street, Bundaberg

This large, two-storeyed brick premises and detached stables building, designed by Sydney architect George Allen Mansfield, were purpose-built for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Ltd (CBC) in 1891 as their Bundaberg branch office and manager’s residence and stables at the rear. 

The building has a hipped slate roof with a centre well. Chimneys extend from the roof on the south and north west sides. It is a substantial, two-storeyed, rendered brick building in boom-era ‘Italianate’ style, built to the street alignments of the block, and has a square plan form and wide surrounding verandahs to both levels. The verandahs on the rear [north] side have been enclosed.

In 1981-83 the CBC merged with the National Bank of Australasia to form the National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB). The former CBC bank at Bundaberg remained a branch of the NAB until closed in 1996 and sold to private interests later that year.

The building ultimately functioned as a bank for over a century.

References

1. Commercial Bank of Sydney (former) State Heritage Listing No. 600363
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=600363

2. Commercial Bank of Sydney n.d. Image; Picture Bundaberg BRN 289675
https://bundaberg.spydus.com/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/BIBENQ?SETLVL=&BRN=289675

3. Commercial Bank Bundaberg ca 1905 SLQ IE1384213
https://collections.slq.qld.gov.au/viewer/IE1384213 

4. CBC Officers Club Qld Branches
https://www.cbcbank.com.au/images/Branches/QLD/QLD%20country%20B.htm

BUSS PARK

194 Bourbong Street, Bundaberg

In the 1870s the area of land we now know as Buss Park was designated as a school reserve and a private school was erected by William Edwin Curtis.

After Mr Curtis moved to Brisbane, the area reverted to a bare and empty block known as Market Square. In fact, in late 1929 the Bundaberg Daily News and Mail wrote “the old Market Square is an eye-sore to the beauty of the city”.

In 1930 plans were made to develop the land into a public park replete with lawns and flowerbeds, tennis courts, a sundial, a fountain, and a rock wall to enclose the area. Assisted by a £500 donation from Mr Charles Horace Buss, work on the park commenced on the 10th of March 1930.

Named in honour of the Buss family, the park was officially opened by Chairman of the Parks Committee, Alderman J. Grimwood, on the 20th of December 1930. Following the death of aviator Bert Hinkler, a granite memorial was erected in 1936. In 1962 the stone wall was removed and the tennis courts gave way to the Civic Centre.

An interview with Tony Osborn, son of Reverend Arthur Osborn who advocated for the establishment of Buss Park. Tony describes how his father implored Mayor Horace Buss to beautify Buss Park.

References

1. Bull, Betty, Fiona Drews and Margaret van Hennekeler (13. History of Buss Park (2013), Bundaberg Regional Libraries. Accessed May 28, 2017 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39n5qdVEBTI987), Summer Memories Through Winter Eyes, Bundaberg: B. Bull and M. van Hennekeler.

2. Nolan, Janette (1978), Bundaberg History & People, St Lucia: University of Queensland Press. 

FRIENDLY SOCIETY BUILDING

174 Bourbong Street, Bundaberg

The Friendly Society Building was built in 1920 on the orders of the Bundaberg Associated Friendly Societies Medical Institute with the purpose of establishing a new pharmacy to serve the community as well as members of the Lodges which made up the Institute[1].  The building was to have a pharmacy with a shopfront downstairs and a Lodge meeting room upstairs, accessed by a staircase at the rear of the building.  The pharmacy (universally known as ‘The Dispensary”) opened in the building in 1921 as a compounding dispensary – with Lodge members receiving a substantial discount on prices.

The building remained in use as a pharmacy for more than 6 decades, with a major renovation in 1956 to construct a mezzanine floor at the rear of the sales space for the pharmacists to work on.  The (mostly female) sales staff would take customer orders on the ground floor and pass them up to the pharmacists by means of baskets attached to a rope and pulley arrangement.  The medications came back down via the same contraption.

In 1987 the Institute decided that the building was no longer fit for purpose and moved the business to other premises in the CBD.

[1] Bundaberg’s Friendly Society had been formed in 1897 by its 6 mutual aid lodges (The Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows, The Rechabites, the Protestant Alliance, the Hibernians, the Foresters and the Independent Order of Oddfellows).  The lodges provided benefits to members such as medical treatment, retirement benefits, sick leave and even death benefits and funeral expenses.  In 1919 a special meeting of the Society resolved to form the Medical Institute with the express aim of improving medical services in the community.

References

1. Christ Church, Bundaberg (2014), a report by Bundaberg Regional Council, accessed August 21st 2017 from http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/files/Christ_Church_Bundaberg.pdf

2. Rackemann, N. (1992), Bundaberg: From Pioneers to Prosperity, Bundaberg: Bundaberg City Council.

3. Osborn, A. (2014), Pioneers, Parishioners and Priests: of the Anglican Church Bundaberg. Bundaberg.

FORMER CUSTOMS HOUSE

1 Barolin Street, Bundaberg

This building was originally Bundaberg’s Customs House.

In the 19th century, customs houses were built in all major Australian ports. Bundaberg was declared a port in 1871, primarily to serve the sugar and mining industries in the region, though it was also the port of entry for new settlers to the area.

 In the 19th century, customs houses were built in all major Australian ports. Bundaberg was declared a port in 1871, primarily to serve the sugar and mining industries in the region, though it was also the point of entry for new settlers to the area. Designed by Queensland Works Department Architect John Smith Murdoch, the H.M. Customs House in Bundaberg was constructed in 1902 to process all imports, exports and immigrations. The Commonwealth Bank acquired the building in 1921 and some changes were made to the architecture to meet the requirements of the bank. In 1980, the building was refitted and updated to become Bundaberg’s first free public library.

 After the library was relocated in the early 1990s, the building became the Bundaberg Arts Centre under the auspices of the Bundaberg City Council. In early 2009, the Bundaberg Regional Council endorsed the re-development of the Arts Centre into a regional art gallery and cultural hub, establishing the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery (BRAG) as we know it today.

References

1. HM Customs House (former), report by Bundaberg Regional Council (2013), accessed August 28th 2017 from http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/files/HM_Customs_House_former.pdf  

2. History of BRAG, Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, accessed August 28th 2017 from http://www.bundabergregionalgalleries.com.au/about/history-of-brag-charts/history-brag/  3. Customs House Bundaberg, ca. 1903, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/167832576

FORMER QLD NATIONAL BANK

Corner Quay Street & 2 Targo Street, Bundaberg

The Queensland National Bank, now known as “Qunaba House”, was designed by prominent Queensland architect F.D.G. Stanley and built in 1887.

Stanley designed a great many commercial buildings and churches throughout Queensland and in Bundaberg, including the Grand Hotel on Bourbong Street and the Holy Rosary Church on Woongarra Street.

 The Queensland National Bank was the third bank to erect premises in Bundaberg and it played a significant role in the development of the region’s sugar industry. Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Queensland National Bank was more intimately involved in the commercial aspects of the sugar industry than was usual for banking institutions. The bank, as mortgagee, assumed ownership of the Millaquin Sugar Mill in 1896, along with the Doolbi and Yengari juice mills. An early and significant acquisition made by the bank was the Mon Repos plantation and mill, which was renamed Qunaba after the first two letters in the bank’s title.

References

1. Queensland National Bank (former), report by Bundaberg Regional Council (2014), accessed August 24th 2017 from http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/files/Queensland_National_Bank_former.pdf  

2. Beddoe, Joan (2008), Government Architects – Queensland, Pillars of a Nation, accessed August 24th 2017 from http://www.pillarsofanation.com.au/architects6.html 3. Queensland National Bank (2011), Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame, accessed August 24th 2017 from http://leaders.slq.qld.gov.au/inductees/queensland-national-bank/

HOLY ROSARY CHURCH

22 Barolin Street, Bundaberg

The Holy Rosary Church exists on the site of the first Catholic Church in Bundaberg.

The original Church was a modest wooden structure opened in 1875; however, by the 1880s, it was clear this building was too small for the needs of the parish. Father Constantine Rossolini, Bundaberg’s first parish priest, determined that a larger Church was needed to cater for the growing population and to reflect the significance of the town and its Catholic community.

Plans were drawn by architect Mr F.D.G Stanley and the foundation stone was laid on the 10th of October 1886. The brick and plaster construction was erected by local contractor Mr E. Boyle and the beautiful Romanesque structure we have today was opened on the 13th of May 1888.

The highly revered Father Rossolini died in 1894 and was laid to rest in the grounds of the Church. A marble slab marking the resting place is located on the inner northern wall adjacent to the internal entrance of the northern transept.

References

1. Holy Rosary Catholic Church, report by Bundaberg Regional Council (2014), accessed August 18th 2017 from http://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/files/Holy_Rosary_Catholic_Church.pdf

2. King, Cathryn (2015), Holy Rosary Church. Bundaberg.

3. Rackemann, Neville (year), Bundaberg: From Pioneers to Prosperity. Bundaberg.

MONCRIEFF ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE

177 Bourbong Street, Bundaberg

This site has been a location of theatre and entertainment since 1911.

The original open-air theatre, the Olympia Airdome, was directed by Carroll and Birch as part of a regional Queensland theatre and cinema circuit that later became known as Birch, Carroll and Coyle.

After 30 years as an Airdome, a roof was built and the building was converted into the fully enclosed Olympia Theatre.

In 1973 the theatre underwent further renovations: air-conditioning was installed and it was renamed the Crest Cinema. The Bundaberg City Council purchased the theatre from Birch, Carroll and Coyle in 1981.

The present Moncrieff Entertainment Centre was named in honour of soprano Gladys Lillian Moncrieff (1892-1976), an Australian legend who was born in Bundaberg and performed around Australia and overseas.

References

1. G Peter Burgis, ‘Moncrieff, Gladys Lillian (1892–1976)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/moncrieff-gladys-lillian-7621/text13319, published first in hardcopy 1986, accessed online 15 August 2017.

2. TROPICAL THEATRE. (1923, August 27). The Bundaberg Mail (Qld. : 1917 – 1925), p. 4. Retrieved August 15, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article218243539

3. Cryle, D., Cosgrove B & Boyle, R (2000). ‘Birch, Carrol and Coyle and the regional picture palace: a case study’, Transformations, no1, pp 1-9, accessed 21 July 2017, from http://www.transformationsjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Transformations01_Cryle-Cosgrove-Boyle.pdf

4. Australian Variety and Popular Culture Entertainment: Timeline 1900-1999, Australian Variety Theatre Archive, last updated 9 March 2017, accessed July 21 2017, from https://ozvta.com/avta-site-map/

THE TOWN WHARVES

1b Targo Street, Bundaberg

Bundaberg’s first wharf, Steuart’s Wharf, was located on the north bank of the Burnett River, near where the boat ramp is today.

In 1872 the Australasian Steam Navigation Company purchased this wharf from the Steuart brothers and they built a company store and a punt. Sadly, everything was washed away in the 1873 flood. It was rebuilt and residents were ferried from the north bank to the south bank.

As a major point of arrival, departure, import and export, the town wharves were always a hive of activity. A great many of Bundaberg’s early settlers arrived via ship, as did South Sea Islander workers and labourers from Ceylon. Outgoing vessels carried copper ore from Mt Perry, maize, sugar, and timber.

 The 1942 flood completely blocked the main channel and discussions took place regarding a new port. The first shipment left the new Bundaberg Port at Burnett Heads in 1958.

References

1. “J.Y. Walker, (1890), History of Bundaberg. Aiken 1890. 

2. John Kerr, (1996), Bundaberg, The Persistent Port. Bundaberg Port Authority