Architecture with Attitude

Substantial public buildings appeared in Maryborough from 1859 when the new colony of Queensland declared the river town a port of entry. It became a city in 1861. Gympie’s gold rush in 1867 brought more prosperity to a town starting to flourish from manufacturing and timber.

Architects designed banks, hotels, stores and churches incorporating Classic Revival, Italianate Mannerist, Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau. In the business district and surrounding estates, commercial buildings and graceful homes often had deep verandahs to catch breezes, influenced by the Asian tropics and subtropics.

Commercial architectural gems are within few blocks of the inner city, starting with the City Hall exuding American Colonial and Georgian grandeur.

Across Kent Street, Minerva, the Roman Goddess of Wisdom, dominates the entrance of the School of Arts, described by the Sydney Mail in 1895 as ‘the finest institution of the kind in Queensland, externally and internally’.

A block away the Royal Hotel was rebuilt in 1902 after an architectural competition seeking to incorporate the best features of the Oriental Hotel in Colombo and Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo. A majestic double cedar staircase soars from an extravagant stairwell in the heart of the building.

Past the Classic Revival Woodstock House, the former Royal Bank further up Kent Street is a superb example of Victor Carandini’s flamboyant Italian Mannerist style.

Around the corner in Wharf Street is a panoply of 19^th Century architecture. The city’s oldest hotel, the 1886 Custom House Hotel, has had its graceful verandahs and interior patiently restored. It faces the Arts and Craft beauty of the Customs House and residence.

Beside Queen’s Park, the oldest operating courthouse in Queensland is a splendid example of colonial architecture.