Commissariat Store, Brisbane

Commissariat Store
Queen's Wharf Road facade of the Commissariat Store
Former names	Government Stores, Colonial Store, State Stores Building
General information
Status	Complete
Location	Brisbane, Queensland
Address	115 William Street, Brisbane central business district
Country	Australia
Current tenants	The Royal Historical Society of Queensland
Construction started	July 1828
Completed	1829
Renovated	1969, 1978 to 1981, 1998 to 2001
Owner	Government of Queensland
Technical details
Floor count	3
Website
www.queenslandhistory.org/our-museum

Commissariat Store is located in Brisbane, Queensland bordered by William Street, Queen's Wharf Road and the Brisbane River, the birthplace of Queensland. The heritage listed building is one of only two surviving buildings from the convict period in Queensland, and is one of only four surviving commissariat buildings in Australia. It is the second oldest building in Queensland, dated to 1829, the oldest building being the Windmill at Wickham Park, dated to 1828. However, the Commissariat Store is the oldest occupied building in Queensland, as it is currently occupied by Royal Historical Society of Queensland (RHSQ). The Commissariat Store was originally built by convict labour under the direction of Captain Logan as a permanent Commissariat Store for the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement. Presently, the restored and renovated building operates as the headquarters for the RHSQ, housing the museum, Welsby Library, and functions.

The Commandant, Captain Logan, proposed for a permanent Commissariat Store in Moreton Bay. In April 1828, Acting Civil Engineer for New South Wales, William Dumaresq, sent a plan from Sydney to Moreton Bay for a permanent Commissariat Store. Construction was most likely supervised by the Superintendent of Works for Moreton Bay, Lieutenant Bainbrigge. Construction of the Commissariat Store began in July 1828, when the river bank was excavated and the foundation established by convict labour, with the assistance of skilled stonemasons and quarrymen from Sydney. Stone was quarried from the cliffs at Kangaroo Point, with sandstone quarried from Oxley Creek. Lime for mortar was then obtained from burning oyster shells from Amity Point on Stradbroke Island or from the newly established lime kiln at Limestone Hill in Ipswich.