United Evangelical Church
In its brief 50 year history, the building on William Street which began as the United Evangelical Church took on several roles, from Church to Telegraph Office to offices for the Department of Public Instruction.
In its brief 50 year history, the building on William Street which began as the United Evangelical Church took on several roles, from Church to Telegraph Office to offices for the Department of Public Instruction.
The Queensland Government Printing Office was located between William and George Streets from 1862 until 1983. In that time, new buildings were erected and old ones demolished as the demands on the Office changed.
In a quiet courtyard between William Street and George Street can be found the footprint of the cottage constructed for the commandants of Moreton Bay. A long building with one verandah facing the river and one facing north, it was located away from those places occupied by convicts and soldiers. High on the bank it addressed the river and overlooked a tropical garden.
The Moreton Bay settlement was in a state of flux in the first decade following the departure of the convicts and before the first immigrants arrived. Having served its purpose for the arrival and departure of convicts, the now Queen’s Wharf was the primary public landing place for North Brisbane.
One of only two buildings surviving in Brisbane from the era of the Moreton Bay penal settlement, the Commissariat Store was constructed in 1828-29. In 2014 it operates as a museum dedicated to the convict history of Brisbane and is the headquarters of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland (RHSQ).
Brisbane’s first purpose built museum, completed in 1879 in William Street, was considered high above any flood levels that might threaten Queen’s Wharf. Modelled on sixteenth century Italianate buildings, the museum was designed by FDG Stanley, the government architect.