Hunter's Treasury Buildings
| Hunters Buildings | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Treasury Chambers (George Street), 2009
|
|
| Location | 179 - 191 George Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 27°28′17″S 153°01′27″E / 27.4713°S 153.0243°ECoordinates: 27°28′17″S 153°01′27″E / 27.4713°S 153.0243°E |
| Built | 1886 |
| Built for | James Hunter |
| Architect | Richard Gailey |
| Official name: Treasury Chambers & St Francis House & Symons Building | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600116 |
| Significant period | 1886, (fabric) 1948, 1949-c. 1970, 1960 (historical) |
| Builders | George Gazzard |
 Location of Hunters Buildings in Queensland
Location of Hunters Buildings in Queensland
|
|
Hunters Buildings is a heritage-listed group of commercial buildings at 179 - 191 George Street (with frontages onto Elizabeth Street), Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The individual buildings are Treasury Chambers, St Francis House, and Symons Building. They were designed by Richard Gailey and built in 1886 by George Gazzard. They were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Three buildings, Treasury Chambers & St Francis House & Symons Building, were built in 1886 as prestige office accommodation and shops. Their construction reflected the atmosphere of prosperity and optimism generated in Queensland with the 1880s growth in real estate, construction and mining sectors. In 1885 James Hunter, boot manufacturer and property developer, took a 25-year lease from William Cribb on several adjoining allotments on the corner of George and Elizabeth Streets. Hunter anticipated the need for fashionable office accommodation close to the new government offices (Treasury Building) then under construction. He planned to erect, in two stages, a large L-shaped complex fronting George and Elizabeth Streets with accommodation for shops and offices.
The building was designed by Richard Gailey and the contractor was George Gazzard. The first stage of the "Hunters Building" project, with frontages to George and Elizabeth Streets, was completed in 1886 for an estimated cost of £10,000. Financial problems prevented Hunter proceeding with the second stage - a corner section linking the George and Elizabeth Street buildings. In 1887 Hunter sub-let part of his lease to Denis O'Connor who built the Treasury Hotel on the corner site. In 1900 Hunter was declared bankrupt.
Despite the "gap" between the Elizabeth Street section (St Francis House and Symons Building) and the George Street section (Treasury Chambers), the Hunter's Buildings was regarded as a unit. Newspaper reports indicate that a balcony connected all upper floor offices and this is consistent with the official address given for the upper floor tenants of the Elizabeth Street buildings as 183 George Street - this practice continued until 1923. The location and architectural distinction of the building attracted notable tenants. For the first two years various government departments were housed there until the William Street section of the Treasury Building was completed in 1889.
...
Wikipedia