Great Northern Hotel
| Great Northern Hotel | |
|---|---|
Great Northern Hotel in Townsville, 2005
|
|
| Location | 500 Flinders Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 19°15′47″S 146°48′53″E / 19.263°S 146.8147°ECoordinates: 19°15′47″S 146°48′53″E / 19.263°S 146.8147°E |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1900 - 1901 |
| Built for | Wilson Hart & Company |
| Architect | Tunbridge & Tunbridge |
| Official name: Great Northern Hotel | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600908 |
| Significant period | 1900s (fabric) 1901-ongoing (historical use, social) |
| Significant components | lead light/s, furniture/fittings |
 Location of Great Northern Hotel in Queensland
Location of Great Northern Hotel in Queensland
|
|
Great Northern Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 500 Flinders Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Tunbridge & Tunbridge and built from 1900 to 1901. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The Great Northern Hotel, a large, two-storeyed brick and timber hotel, was erected in 1900-1901 for Townsville timber firm Wilson Hart & Company, owners of the site. It was designed by prominent Townsville architects Tunbridge and Tunbridge.
The application to build the Great Northern Hotel appears to have been initiated following the Queensland Government's announcement in 1900 of plans to erect a new Townsville railway terminus on land off Blackwood Street beside Ross Creek, which would bring the terminus closer to the eastern end of Flinders Street and to the retail and business heart of Townsville. Almost immediately (June 1900), applications were lodged to erect hotels on two corners of the nearby intersection of Flinders and Blackwood Streets - one being the Great Northern, the other replacing an existing hotel (possible the Newmarket Hotel). Both applicants intended to erect first-class hotels, both argued that Townsville suffered a lack of first-class accommodation - the hotels erected during the boom of the 1880s no longer offering the level of comfort and facilities required by turn-of-the-century travellers - and both applications were approved provided the buildings were erected within the time specified (9 months in each case). Only the Great Northern came to fruition, and when opened early in 1901, was marketed as the hotel closest to the new Townsville terminus of the Great Northern Railway - hence the name of the hotel.
The architects, Tunbridge & Tunbridge, designed a first class brick and timber hotel of 36 bedrooms, estimated to cost between £8,000 and £9,000. The Tunbridge brothers (Walter Howard and Oliver Allan) had entered into partnership in Townsville in 1887, and soon developed a substantial North Queensland architectural practice with offices in Charters Towers and later Rockhampton. Tunbridge and Tunbridge designed many Townsville hotels, including the Metropole (1887), Victoria Park (1896), Lowth's (1897 - demolished), Victoria Bridge (1900 - demolished), Empire (1901), Sovereign (1904) and Carriers Arms (1906 - demolished).
...
Wikipedia