Virtual walking tour of historic buildings along Quay St Rockhampton, Queensland, from the Walter Reid Centre to the Criterion Hotel. Photos and text. Links are provided to other sites for deeper information.

1. Rockhampton Heritage Buildings
A historical walk along Quay Street

2. Welcome to a virtual tour along Quay Street
from the Walter Reid Centre to the Criterion Hotel

3. In 1853, Charles and William Archer were the first Europeans to discover the Fitzroy River.
In 1855 the brothers took up the run on the Fitzroy River, naming it Gracemere Station.
At first both cattle and sheep were raised, but in the early 1870s the station switched
entirely to cattle. Rockhampton now stands on part of the original Gracemere run.
In 1858, the town of Rockhampton was officially proclaimed. The first sales of building
allotments were held that year.
In 1859, gold was discovered at Canoona. Miners rushed to the field, using the site of
Rockhampton as the nearest navigable port. The Canoona field proved disappointing and
thousands of would-be gold seekers were stranded at Rockhampton, ensuring a dramatic
increase in the local population. Some stayed to work on the surrounding cattle properties
while others found work in Rockhampton.
By 1861, the town had a regular newspaper, banks, court house and School of Arts. Direct
shipments of imported goods and migrants from the United Kingdom began to be received
during the 1860s.
During the 1860s and 1870s Rockhampton developed as the main port for the developing
Central Queensland hinterland; the main export at that time being wool.

4. Shipping in the Fitzroy River, 1864

5. When gold was discovered in Mt Morgan in the 1880s, Rockhampton became the main
port through which the wealth of Mount Morgan gold was channeled. Due to this wealth
Rockhampton weathered the severe economic depression of the 1890s and many of the
town's substantial brick and stone public buildings date from this period.
The historic streetscape of Quay Street still displays a number of substantial historic
buildings, built when Rockhampton was envisaged as being capital of a state of North
Queensland. Businesses were attracted to the wharf area but later moved nearer to the
Customs Building. Most early transport and communications came by river, well before
rail and roads to the region. Wharf Street became the less upmarket smaller street
downstream, and included the Immigration Depot. The only wharf now on the river is
Queen’s Wharf.
26 buildings along Quay Street are included within the National Trust’s classification.
Of these, 19 are from the 19th century. J.W Wilson, architect, designed many of these
historic buildings, including the Trustee Chambers, Winchcombe Carson, Kerrick Brothers,
Central Livestock and Produce Co-operative Society, and the Heritage Tavern. Most
prominent of these is the sandstone Customs House (1900), which today houses an
information centre.
Other local nineteenth century buildings include the Post Office (1892), the Supreme
Court House (1888), and St Joseph's Cathedral (1892).

7. French born botanist Anthelme Thozet, (1826-1878) who lived in Rockhampton from
1858, propagated the native plum trees (native name Rancooran) in his
experimental gardens, and planted them on the Quay Street footpath in 1867.
The Burdekin Plum tree (Botanical name: Pleiogynium timorense)
is native to the dry rainforests of north-eastern Australia, Papua New Guinea and
Timor. The fruit is harvested in Spring.
Thozet established the second hotel in Rockhampton, the Alliance, but driven by a
never failing professional interest in botany he commenced researching native
Australian plants used by indigenous people of Northern Queensland, Australia
including the Darumbal clans around Rockhampton. Thozet established his own
plant nursery in North Rockhampton on 70 acres (280,000 m2) which are today
bounded by Thozet Creek, Thozet Road, Rockonia Road and the Fitzroy River.
Thozet was instrumental in developing the Rochampton Botanic Gardens, founded in
1861, the first Rockhampton (south) cemetery, and the tree plantings along the
Fitzroy River CBD area. He may have planted the first mango trees in Australia on his
property in Rockhampton during the 1860s
Biography: www.thozet.com
http://www.anbg.gov.au/biography/thozet-anthelme.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4K7WNEM20I

9. Walter Reid and Company building
Built 1984
Architect: R Gailey Owner: Walter Reid and Co.

10. Walter Reid buildings occupy the block from the corner of Quay Street and Derby
Street to East Street.
These were originally a warehouse and office of Walter Reid Company Ltd. The first
was constructed in 1893 and designed by Brisbane architect Richard Gailey, in the
then contemporary Victorian style. A supplementary building (the current Walter Reid
Cultural Centre) was constructed in 1902 by Rockhampton architects Hutton &
Hockings.
Reid left Melbourne in 1862 attracted by gold finds near Rockhampton, Queensland.
By March 1864 he had established his own retail business in East Street, but moved to
larger premises in Quay Street in 1868, with wholesale trade in wine, spirits, and
general merchandise to supply increasing hotel and station demand. Having
consolidated his firm in the conservative British tradition he entered shipping in 1878
by running lighters down the Fitzroy River to unload overseas ships at Port Alma.
Walter Reid & Co was a successful business enterprise when Rockhampton relied on
overseas imports. The success of the company continued until the mid-twentieth
century, when changes in the marketplace and consumer demands decreased the
profitability of their retail and wholesale business.
Both Walter Reid warehouses were affected by fires in 1912 and 1918.

12. The Walter Reid & Co warehouses were occupied by the United States military under the National
Security Regulations Australia Lend Lease. The second warehouse became a United States Army
Hospital, operated by the 41st Division Special Services, I Corps Special Services of the American
Red Cross. To facilitate the good behaviour of American soldiers, recreational and social activities
were organised by the American Red Cross and the Special Services Department. The Walter Reid
Centre also became an army hotel and recreational club and sometimes dance hall for soldiers.
Both Walter Reid buildings were sold during the 1970s. The original building was converted into
inner-city residential apartments (opening in 1983), while the second building was purchased by the
Rockhampton City Council.
Mayor Rex Pilbeam, an avid supporter of arts and culture for the youth of Rockhampton, was
instrumental in the purchase and redevelopment of the building into a community arts and cultural
centre with rooms for many of the local arts and crafts groups, a theatrette and a gallery.
The refurbishment of the cultural centre in 2002-03 saw additions that improved the structural and
functional liveability of the centre. Much of the building’s original fabric survived to show how the
building operated as a warehouse.
The community-designed mosaics on the footpath establish the atmosphere of innovation and
creativity that now defines the building as a cultural centre. Paintings by local artists are featured.
A visit to the Centre gives an opportunity to view groups at work on their meeting days and to
purchase art, craft and pottery. Musical concerts, workshops, exhibitions and twice yearly craft
shops are held there.

13. More information from these sites:
Walter Reid’s biography
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/reid-walter-ballantyne-4465
Building history
http://www.qhatlas.com.au/content/back-again-walter-reid-cultural-centre-
rockhampton
Bonzle pictures
http://www.bonzle.com/pictures-over-time/pictures-taken-in-1894/page-1/size-
3/picture-oeyee1xg/rockhampton/walter-reid-co-building-rockhampton-queensland-
1894
Fires
http://www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/fires-walter-reid-building-rockhampton-1912-
18
Current use
http://www.rockhamptonregion.qld.gov.au/Your_Community/Council_Venues_and_At
tractions/Walter_Reid_Cultural_Centre

14. Avonleigh Chambers
Built 1885
Architect unknown
Original owner Mr Frederick Morgan

16. Avonleigh was built as a private residence for Mr
Frederick Morgan, who was one of the Morgan brothers
who founded Mount Morgan Mining Company.
He was also mayor of Rockhampton from 1891 until his
death in 1894, aged 57.
The building was bought by Dr. O’Brien, who extended it
and converted it into a private hospital in 1908.
Each patient had a private room, for 2 guineas a week
($4.20).
After other occupancies, it was bought by Dr. Lowrey in
1978 and sold in 2005.
For a time the upper floor was used as an art gallery,
then converted into accommodation units.

17. Walter and Eliza Hall Building
Built 1899

18. The Walter and Eliza Hall building was originally called the Goldsborough Mort
building. This late Victorian classical style single-story cement render and brick
building was built for Walter and Eliza Hall in 1899. Walter was a successful transport,
livestock and mining pioneer.
Hall was already wealthy when his brother Thomas, manager of the Rockhampton
branch of the Queensland National Bank, invited him to join the syndicate formed to
develop the Mount Morgan mine. On 1 October 1886 the Mount Morgan Gold
Mining Co. Ltd, with capital of £1 million, was registered in Queensland. The mine
yielded gold and copper worth over £19 million and paid £8,079,166 in dividends by
1913. Hall was a major shareholder, a director of the company and chairman of the
Sydney board.
Wildfell, their home at Potts Point, Sydney, was a large two-storey house with
gardens extending to the water.
Biography:
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hall-walter-russell-454

19. The oldest medical research institute in Australia, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute was established in
1915 with money from a Trust set up by Eliza Hall. A diabetic, Eliza Hall died of cancer at Wildfell
on 14 February 1916.
In 2013, researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research say they have
solved the mystery as to how insulin, a hormone in the blood, binds to the surface of cells. It is
hoped this will assist scientists develop improved insulin medications to treat people with type 1
and type 2 diabetes.
Long-term tenant Goldsborough Mort bought the Quay Street building in 1917 to use as offices
and a store. This company was advertised as the oldest and largest wool sellers in Australia. The
Goldsborough Mort Company had warehouses in many coastal cities in Australia so that their
warehouses would be in close proximity to shipping to all points around the world. In 1843
Thomas Sutcliffe Mort established Mort & Co in Sydney, as an auctioneering and brokering
business specifically focusing on selling wool. The company merged with the Melbourne firm of R
Goldsbrough & Co in 1888 to form Goldsbrough Mort & Co. The new company was in a
commanding position, and its wool stores were a major physical presence in Sydney by the end of
the nineteenth century. The firm was later to become Elders.
Goldsborough Mort history:
http://www.auspostalhistory.com/articles/132.shtml
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/goldsbrough-richard-3627

20. ABC Building
Built 1897
Architect JW Wilson Owner: Mt Morgan Gold Mining Company

21. This is a very important building in Rockhampton history. Built in 1897 in the neoClassical
revival style as the head office of the Mt Morgan Mining Company.
Mt Morgan, 45 km to the west of Rockhampton, became the site of richest gold mine in the
world. During its 100 year operation, 2500 tons (89 million ounces) of gold were processed,
with a current value of around $801 billion. The gold was exported over the wharf at
Rockhampton via the vaults in the Quay St Head Office.
BP owes its beginning to gold from Mt Morgan mine. Part-owner
William Knox Darcy saw that the British Navy was changing from use of coal
to oil fuel. With financial backing from his share in the Mt Morgan mine,
he arranged oil options in what is now Iran, and formed the Anglo-Persian Oil
Company to sell the oil. This company later became BP.
Another part-owner was local banker Walter Hall, who used his wealth to invest in pastoral
and transport activities, and was the last owner of Cobb & Co coach network. On his death,
his childless widow Eliza returned to Melbourne where she set up the Walter & Eliza Hall
Institute, which now has an annual turnover of about $60 million to do medical research.
In 1963 the ABC occupied the building, and the old gold vault is now used as the sound proof
studio.
Mt Morgan Mining Company had a major influence in the building construction in Quay
Street. The wealth of the region meant that many fine buildings , banks and warehouses
sprang up along the street overlooking the Fitzroy River and the port.

22. Heritage Hotel
Built 1898
Architect: JW Wilson Owner: Mrs L Johnson

23. Overlooking the Fitzroy River on Quay Street, the 110-year-old Heritage Hotel
Rockhampton features a rooftop beer garden; two nightclub areas; a public bar
offering bar meals 7 days a week, the award-winning Heritage Grill Restaurant;
waterfront al fresco dining; several well-appointed private event spaces; and
third-storey accommodation with CBD and river views.
This site was previously occupied by the Golden Fleece Hotel, built in 1859.
Built in 1898 as Mrs Leah Johnson's Commercial Hotel and Chambers, the
architect J W Wilson adopted a colonial style which is best exemplified by the
superb iron columns and wrought iron lacework on the three storey narrow
verandahs. It had 46 bedrooms, each with a verandah view.
The shop chambers at street level were leased out to commercial travelers to
display their wares.
Mrs Johnson ran many hotels until her death in 1923. After that the hotel
changed hands many times, and became known as the Old Colonial Hotel.
It was remodelled and renamed the Heritage Tavern in the 1980’s. The next door
Cahills Store was bought in 1985 and converted into a nightclub.
It underwent more renovations in 2005.

24. Read more:
www.theheritagehotel.com.au/
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/rockhampton-20081113-
5z1t.html#ixzz2TQXE6sSQ
Early Rockhampton Hotels history
http://www.cqhistory.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Institutions/EarlyRockhamptonHo
tels

26. Customs House
Built 1898-1901
Architect: AB Brady Owner: Queensland Government

27. Built in the Classic Revival style with Greek Corinthian influence, this is the third
customs building to occupy this site.
The first building shared the site with the Fitzroy Hotel, and was a prefabricated iron
and timber structure. It was replaced by a single story masonry building with a slate
roof in 1863. Due to cost cutting during its construction, the foundations were
inadequate for the clay strata ,and later the building was declared unsafe and the staff
evacuated.
Finally it was decided to build a whole new building, begun in 1898 and completed in
1901. The foundations are a pile and rail method where wood piles 30 feet by 18
inches were driven into the ground to the depth of 20 feet, cut off at ground level, and
then tied on each side with steel rails with their tops embedded in concrete. It cost
19,300 pounds and is constructed with Stanwell stone crowned with a copper dome.
The first sub-collector of Customs was Henry Lumsden in 1858. Rockhampton became
a major port , with exports exceeding those of Brisbane, exporting wool gold and
copper. Frozen beef was also exported by the Lakes Creek Meatworks, also hides and
tallow. The meatworks was the largest meat processing works in the Southern
Hemisphere. The Port ceased in 1958, and Customs stayed in the building until 1986.
The City Council was handed the building in 1987 and spent $1 million on renovations
in 2000.
In 1999 Rockhampton Tourist and Business Information moved into the ground floor
and are still there today.

29. Royal Bank of Queensland
Built 1889
Architect: JW Wilson
Owner: Royal Bank of Qld

30. Built in 1889 as the Royal Bank of Queensland, this was one of the many banks attracted to the
city by the wealth of the Canoona and Mt Morgan gold strikes.
As with most banks at the time, the manager lived on the top floor, while business was
conducted on the ground floor. Before the 1893 financial crisis, the city had 8 banks.
Several owners have held the building since 1958.
The current owners have a craft business on the ground floor and live above it.
Next door a much simpler building was constructed in 1870 as the offices of the Archer
Brothers who settled at Gracemere after finding the area in 1853 while searching for country in
which to run sheep. When the last Archer brother died in 1921 this building was sold.
Originally the new settlement was to be called Charlestown after Charles Archer, but he
declined the suggestion in favour of Rockhampton, because of the rocks barring navigation
upstream near the site of the current Neville Hewitt bridge.
More about the Archer Brothers:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/42131474
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/archer-charles-1712

31. Horsedrawn vehicles travelling along Quay Street, in front of Customs House,
around 1906.

32. Queensland National Bank
Built 1880
Architect: FD Stanley Owner: Queensland National Bank

33. Built as the Queensland National Bank in 1880, this very attractive building was used as
a bank until 1976. The architectural style is Neo Classic revival with Greek Corinthian
influence.
FD Stanley did a lovely job in designing this building. Its verandahs and high arches are
useful in a tropical climate, and the unobtrusive wrought iron railings help filter the sun’s
glare.
The manager at first lived upstairs and bank business was carried out on the ground
floor.
The building was then bought by a firm of solicitors, Rees R and Sydney Jones.
Rees R Jones was Town solicitor from 1871-1896. This legal firm still operates, and is the
longest continuing practice in Queensland.
The exterior has remained in its original state though the interior has had extensive
renovations over its lifetime.

35. Luck House
Built 1862
Architect: JW Wilson
Owner: PD Mansfield
This was built in 1862 for general
merchant PD Mansfield, first
Postmaster and 2nd Maor of
Rockhampton.
He died in 1869. The trustees
leased the building to Walter
Reid Co. and to solicitors William
Knox Darcy and Rees R Jones.
After 1941 the family sold the
building to an accounting firm.

36. Cattle House
Built 1886
Architect unknown Owner: Union Bank of Australia

37. Built in 1864 as the Union Bank of Australia, the style is neoclassical revival with Greek
influence. The bank manager lived on the top floor.
FD Stanley was the architect. This building is one of the earliest in Quay Street.
It was extended and rebuilt in 1898, including the colonnaded facade.
It was also used by the ANZ Bank at one time.
In 1977 the building was bought by the Cattleman’s Union, and re-opened by the then
Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
Various tenants now use the building.

39. Legal Chambers
Built 1887
Architect JW Wilson Owner: Dr Callaghan

40. Built in 1887, this was the private residence of Dr William Callaghan, who soon after his
arrival in Rockhampton in 1861 was appointed as coroner and district medical officer.
He was also house surgeon at the Rockhampton Hospital. He was a respected citizen
with a love of thoroughbred horses. Callaghan Park Racecourse was named in his
honour.
Dr Callaghan was at one time alleged to be involved with the mystery surrounding the
missing head of Thomas Griffin. Police Magistrate and Gold Commissioner Thomas
Griffin was convicted of murdering two police constables on gold escort duty going to
Clermont. Callaghan was alleged to have assisted in disturbing Griffin’s grave and
removing the head for scientific examination. Dr. Callaghan died in Rockhampton in
1912 and the mystery fate of the missing head remains inconclusive.
More on this mystery:
http://www.cqhistory.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Events/MurderOfTheClermontEscort
This home is built in the Classic Colonial style and is heritage listed. It cost 5,000 pounds
to build.
The building is now leased to a variety of professional businesses.
A special stained glass window was commissioned and installed in 1995 containing
scenes showing the occupations of the previous tenants and owners.

42. The Rockhampton Club
Built 1887 Owner: Mr Thomas McLaughlin

43. Rockhampton’s first brewery was built here in 1880, founded by F Russell and A
Bouricault. However, the brewery strangely was not successful, so Thomas McLaughlin
bought the brewery and moved its workings further down Quay Street to Gasworks Flat,
where its Macs Beer became famous.
He built this present building as his family home.
Built in colonial style in 1887, it later became the Rockhampton Club, an exclusive
gentleman’s club. In 1999 female members were finally allowed access. The Club closed
in 2002 .
The building is now occupied by accountants and financial planners.
It is Heritage listed.
Other Rockhampton heritage listed buildings :
Search for Rockhampton at https://www.derm.qld.gov.au

44. Criterion Hotel
Criterion Hotel
Built 1889
Architect : J Flint Owner: Mrs Curtis

46. The first hotel , The Bush Inn, was built in 1858 on this site by Robert Parker, soon after
Rockhampton was declared a settlement.
The Bush Inn was constucted from slab and weatherboard with a shingle roof.
In 1862 it was enlarged and renamed as the Criterion Hotel.
The present Criterion Hotel was designed in 1889 by architect J Flint for Mrs Dorinda
Ann Curtis, one of Robert Parker’s daughters, who had made many trips overseas and
thought Rockhampton deserved a grander hotel. It is built of concrete rendered brick
with timber floors and a magnificent flagged marble entry.
The hotel remained in the Curtis/Palmer family until sold to the Smith family in 1946.
More details:
http://thecriterion.com.au/
http://www.criterionhotelrockhampton.com.au/

48. The hotel is reported to have a ghost, believed to be a chambermaid who
reportedly committed suicide in room 22 after a broken romance. From time to
time guests have reported feeling a presence in this room.
The interior is preserved in much the style in which it was built, with bedrooms
having shared toilet and bathroom facilities on each landing. A few rooms now
have ensuites.
The Criterion hosted many famous guests including Prime Minister Sir Robert
Menzies, US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, film star Gary Cooper, and Sir Donald
Bradman.
The hotel was the headquarters for WW2 generals MacArthur and Eichelberger.
The hotel has always belonged to families and is now owned by the Turnbull family.

49. Old Fitzroy Bridge
Old Fitzroy River Bridge
Built 1952
Engineer: James Arthur Holt

50. From 1858 until the first road bridge was built in 1881, the town residents were dependent on
ferries and punts to cross the Fitzroy river.
North Rockhampton was a separate municipality until 1919.
For more on this see: http://queenslandplaces.com.au/node/662
Mr Robert England, Mayor, opened the first bridge in 1881. Frederick J Byerley designed the bridge
in a graceful iron suspension style, but eventually was deemed unsuited to vehicular traffic .
In 1952 Mayor Rex Pilbeam opened the present ‘Old Bridge’ which was built beside the original one,
taking 7 years to construct. It was designed by Mr Holt and 600,000 pounds. It was certainly an
engineering feat, being 1,210 feet wide. At the time it was the longest continuous plate girder
bridge in Australia.
The older bridge was then dropped into the river using explosives. Remnants can be seen at low
tide on the bank on the downstream side. The rubble formed a sort of artificial reef and is
considered a good barramundi fishing spot.
Located on the riverbank are memorials to the Archer Brothers, the Utopia ship which brought the
first immigrants, and a bronze bust tribute to local World Champion tennis player Rod Laver.
For more early Rockhampton history see:
http://queenslandplaces.com.au/node/736
http://library-resources.cqu.edu.au/cqcollection/manuscripts/short-manuscripts/rockhampton.pdf
http://www.cqhistory.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/Places/RockhamptonNowAndThen

51. The original bridge being sandbagged during the 1918 flood

52. We hope you have enjoyed this tour along
Quay Street. For other significant historical
buildings in Rockhampton, please visit
http://rockyheritage.blogspot.com.au/
St Pauls Cathedral
http://www.anglicanrock.org.au/pdf/CathedralHistory.pdf
St Josephs Cathedral
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~auscqfha/churches_catholic.htm
http://www.rok.catholic.net.au/st-josephs-cathedral.html

54. John William Wilson, Architect:
http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=205754
Richard Gailey, Architect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Gailey
F D Stanley , Architect
http://www.pillarsofanation.com.au/architects6.html
R Gailey , Architect
http://www.yourbrisbanepastandpresent.com/2009/05/richard-
gailey.html
Alfred Barton Brady, Architect
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/brady-alfred-barton-5334
James Arthur Holt, bridge engineer
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/holt-sir-james-arthur-12650

55. Photographs by Anne McHugh
Additional images courtesy of Bonzle
SLQ Qld Picture Library