Queen's Hotel, Townsville
| Queen's Hotel | |
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Former Queen's Hotel, 2010
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| Location | 12 The Strand, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 19°15′22″S 146°49′21″E / 19.2561°S 146.8226°ECoordinates: 19°15′22″S 146°49′21″E / 19.2561°S 146.8226°E |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1902 - 1920s |
| Official name: Telecasters North Queensland Ltd Building, Queens' Hotel | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600936 |
| Significant period | 1900s-1920s (fabric) 1902- c. 1966 (historical use as hotel) WWII (use by US army). |
| Significant components | toilet block/earth closet/water closet, lead light/s, tower, loggia/s |
 Location of Queen's Hotel in Queensland
Location of Queen's Hotel in Queensland
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Queen's Hotel is a heritage-listed former hotel at 12 The Strand, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1902 to 1920s. It is also known as the Telecasters North Queensland Ltd Building. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The former Queen's Hotel, a large, two-storeyed masonry building, was erected in several stages between 1902 and the mid-1920s. It was considered the finest hotel in North Queensland.
Townsville's first Queen's Hotel, a two-storeyed timber structure, was erected at the corner of Wickham Street and The Strand in 1872, and was extended along Wickham Street in the 1880s. It early acquired a reputation as one of the best kept hotels in Queensland, patronised by visiting dignitaries.
In 1899 the property and license were purchased by John Henry Tyack. He raised a £14,000 mortgage on the property, and called for competitive designs to replace the timber building with a substantial brick structure. The winning entry was submitted by architects Eaton, Bates & Polin, who had opened an office in Townsville c.1901. Eaton & Bates had trained in Sydney, but by the turn of the century their principal offices were in Brisbane, with branch offices in Rockhampton, Townsville and Toowoomba. Arthur Polin was managing partner of the Townsville office.
The original design was more modest in size than the final structure, extending along the Strand only as far as the eastern tower, and around the corner of Wickham Street for eight bays. It was erected in stages, with trade continuing from the original hotel on the corner of Wickham Street and the Strand until 1925. In 1901, Tyack purchased an adjoining block (site of the former North Australian Hotel) along the Strand, which permitted construction of the first section of the new Queen's Hotel, comprising the eastern tower and four bays to its west, c.1902. This section was extant by March 1903. In May 1904, Tyack replaced the first mortgage with one for £20,000, which probably financed construction of the second section, completed by 1905. This involved demolition of part of the timber building along the Strand, and the extension of the brick building a further six bays toward the corner of Wickham Street. The contractor was a Mr Boyle, and work was underway in January 1904. For the next twenty years, Queen's Hotel consisted of a brick wing along the Strand, and a corner timber section which continued back along Wickham Street.
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