Peninsula's Past: Old Redcliffe Town Council building, beacon of progress

Written in partnership with History Redcliffe

Caption: The building as it looked in 1960. Image courtesy of Moreton Bay City Council. Reference number RMPC-101\101647.

The opening of the Hornibrook Bridge, linking the Redcliffe Peninsula to Brisbane, sparked a period of development in Redcliffe including the construction of the Redcliffe Town Council Chambers.

The now heritage-listed building, at 185 Redcliffe Pde, was commissioned in 1939 and finished in 1941 – opening at the same time as the Peninsula’s water supply was ‘turned on’.

The council’s former home, a timber building, was moved and converted into flats known as ‘Granton’.

The new art deco building was designed by Sidney William Prior, who arrived in Australia from England in 1911 and studied construction and drawing at the Brisbane Central Technical College before serving in WWI.

He established his architectural practice in Brisbane in 1923 after working for the Commonwealth Government as a draftsman.

The Redcliffe Town Council Chambers building was constructed by CG Thiedeke for a cost of £5200 ($542,180 today).

See photo gallery at the end of this story

It featured a curved façade, high and decorative ceilings, silky oak timber architraves and skirting boards, glass bricks and stained glass.

It originally provided shopfront council services, a meeting room and offices, as well as rooms for the South Coast Hospitals Board. These included a surgery, two examination rooms, treatment room, dispensary and waiting room.

The council meeting room had high ceilings and acoustic plaster on the walls.

A 4m high stained-glass window, featuring explorer John Oxley, was positioned behind the mayor’s dais at the end of the room.

Redcliffe became a city on June 11, 1959, and the building was handed over to the State Government, for use as a community health centre, in 1972 when the Council moved to its current administration centre.

The historic building suffered extensive damage during a fire in 2006. It was renovated as part of the development application approval for apartments, built at the rear of the site and bought by Wallace Davies Solicitors in 2010.

The firm’s founder and principal Peter Wallace says his family has a long connection with the building.

“I grew up in the place. My father, Tom Wallace, was a councillor here in the ‘60s. My brother-in-law started his career here ... he was the CEO for Redcliffe City Council. He started here before they moved (to the present council building),” Peter explains.

“I knew the building quite well and when I was studying, a friend of mine and I ... the council offered the building to us to have a coffee shop in it because they wanted somewhere for young people in Redcliffe to go to without involving alcohol.

“That was in the ‘70s and people didn’t want to go to coffee shops in the ‘70s, they wanted to go to pubs.”

Peter says the building is, however, perfectly suited to a legal practice, with multiple offices throughout and ample parking. It also offers a special ambience you can only find in a building of its vintage.

“I like that it’s old ... the high ceilings ... you don’t have many of these buildings left in Redcliffe,” Peter says.

“The mayor’s room has a little balcony where they used to stand out and wave to the crowds for all the official functions.”

SOURCES: Moreton Bay City Council and Queensland Government Heritage Register.

Photo gallery (click through) 

Captions: 

The original timber Redcliffe Town Chambers building. Image courtesy of Moreton Bay City Council. Reference number RLPC-000\000014.

The Art Deco Redcliffe Town Council Chambers building as it looked in 1995. Image courtesy of Moreton Bay City Council. Reference number RLPC-000\000603.

A photo of the Art Deco Redcliffe Town Council Chambers. Image courtesy of Moreton Bay City Council. Reference number RMPC-101\101647.

The building as it looked in 1960. Image courtesy of Moreton Bay City Council. Reference number RMPC-101\101647.

New images by Dominika Lis