Bolands Centre
| Bolands Centre | |
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Bolands Centre
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| Location | Lake Street, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 16°55′24″S 145°46′39″E / 16.9233°S 145.7774°ECoordinates: 16°55′24″S 145°46′39″E / 16.9233°S 145.7774°E |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1912 - 1937 |
| Architect | Edward Gregory Waters |
| Official name: Bolands Centre, Boland's Building, Boland's Departmental Store | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 7 April 2006 |
| Reference no. | 602536 |
| Significant period | 1910s, 1930s (fabric) 1913-1984 (historical use as a department store) |
| Significant components | elevator, strong room |
 Location of Bolands Centre in Queensland
Location of Bolands Centre in Queensland
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Bolands Centre is a heritage-listed department store at Lake Street, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. Designed by Edward Gregory Waters and built in 1912, the Centre was home to a David Jones department store and a prominent toy shop. It is also known as Boland's Building and Boland's Departmental Store. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 7 April 2006.
The Bolands Centre, a large reinforced concrete former department store, was erected in 1912-1913 for Michael Boland, an Irish immigrant who migrated to Australia in 1881 and became a leading merchant in Cairns. The building was designed by the Cairns architect Edward Gregory Waters, and for many years was the tallest structure in the city. It is the last surviving example of a large, early 20th century department store in Cairns.
Michael Boland was born in 1863 in Ireland. He came from an impoverished rural background but at the age of fifteen moved to Dublin to study business for a year. Around 1879 he emigrated to Australia, initially lodging in Melbourne, then moving briefly to Queanbeyan, New South Wales, where he gained practical experience as a grocer in his uncle's store. He then travelled north, arriving in Cairns in 1882, where he bought a small allotment in Lilly Street. Between 1882 and 1887 he became involved in a number of economic ventures within the Cairns district. These included a contract to clear Spence and Bunda Streets in Cairns in 1886, and in 1888 establishing the Camp Oven Creek Hotel at Barron Gorge during the building of the Cairns-to-Herberton railway line. He also held a selection on the Russell River, north of Innisfail, and was reputed to have spent time tin-mining at Bloomfield and working on the construction of the Cape York telegraph line. From these ventures he accumulated sufficient capital to return to Cairns by 1890 and establish a modest grocery shop in leased wooden premises in Abbott Street, which was the initial commercial centre of Cairns.
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