Harris Terrace

General

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Also known as

Harris Court

Classification

State Heritage

Register status

Entered

Date entered

21 October 1992

Type

Residential: Terrace house

Theme

6.4 Building settlements, towns, cities and dwellings: Dwellings

Architect

Cowlishaw, J & G

Construction period

1866, Harris Terrace

Historical period

1840s–1860s Mid-19th century

Location

Address

68 George Street, Brisbane City

LGA

Brisbane City Council

Coordinates

-27.47388443, 153.02611118

Significance

Criterion AThe place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland’s history.

Harris Terrace, constructed as a terrace of six houses in 1866, is important in demonstrating the evolution of housing in Queensland. A rare example of 1860s terrace housing, it illustrates the early use of this housing type in Queensland.

Harris Terrace is important in demonstrating the early residential nature of lower George Street, a pattern that occurred largely in response to the concentration of government and associated activities in this area of inner Brisbane.

Criterion BThe place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland’s cultural heritage.

As one of only 13 known 19th century terraces remaining in Queensland, of which only four are known to remain from the 1860s, Harris Terrace is important as a rare example of this type. It is also rare as a surviving 1860s building in Brisbane City.

Criterion CThe place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland’s history.

Harris Terrace has potential to contribute knowledge that will lead to a greater understanding of early urban residential construction and living in Queensland. The area immediately behind the building may contain archaeological evidence including the foundations of the demolished service wings. Artefacts within this and subfloor areas may include those commonly associated with domestic habitation such as glass, ceramics, and bone. Archaeological investigations have the potential to yield information about mid-19th century urban residential building techniques and materials, and the activities, lifestyles and material culture of the former occupants of Harris Terrace.

Criterion EThe place is important because of its aesthetic significance.

Harris Terrace is important for its aesthetic significance with its dignified, well-composed front elevation and filigree open verandahs. Standing on its prominent corner site, with views of its front elevation and built form from George and Margaret streets, Harris Terrace makes an important contribution to the lower George Street streetscape of stately 19th century buildings.

History

Harris Terrace is a two-storey plus attic masonry building on George Street, Brisbane City.[1] Initially a residential terrace of six houses, it was constructed in 1866 for Brisbane businessman and politician George Harris and was designed by noted architect James Cowlishaw.

Traditionally part of the lands of the Turrbal and Jagera Peoples,[2] since the 1820s, the north bank and adjacent ridgeline of the Brisbane River, now containing William and George streets, has featured a concentration of government and associated activities and uses. Over the period of the Moreton Bay penal settlement, buildings were constructed along this ridgeline and utilised by government officials for ‘accommodation, administration and control'.[3] When the area was opened for free settlement in 1842, the remnant penal infrastructure was used by surveyors as a basis for the layout of the new town of Brisbane. Set at right angles to the river, the prisoner's barracks determined Queen Street, while the line of buildings along the ridge determined William Street. Streets surveyed parallel to these streets, including George Street, formed Brisbane's rectangular grid.[4]

While a range of buildings and activities occurred along George and William streets and the north bank from the 1840s, the government maintained a dominant presence in the area. At some sites, such as the Commissariat Store (former) [QHR 600176] and Brisbane Botanic Gardens [QHR 600067], earlier uses were continued. The establishment phase following the creation of Queensland in 1859 saw the new colonial government reserve land parcels and construct a range of buildings to facilitate its functions. The building of Government House [QHR 600118] and Parliament House [QHR 600069] at the eastern end of George Street in the 1860s consolidated the area as a government precinct.[5]

The location of Parliament House had a pronounced effect on the built environment around lower George Street. Many of Queensland's early politicians were pastoralists, a reflection of their economic dominance in the colony. Together with a growing workforce of public servants, these politicians required accommodation when in Brisbane. From the 1860s to the 1880s, a range of buildings, many built by, or for politicians, was constructed to address these needs.[6]

Harris Terrace was erected as a speculative investment for George Harris. Harris (1831-1891) was born in London, migrated with his family to Sydney in 1833 and came to Brisbane in 1848 to work with his elder brother John. The partnership of John and George Harris, general merchants and shipping agents, was established in 1853, with the firm involved in importing goods and exporting wool and tallow. George Harris became a well-known business and society figure in Brisbane. Following Queensland's separation from New South Wales in 1859 he was appointed a member of the first Legislative Council, serving until August 1878.[7]

The first half of the 1860s was a period of strong growth for Brisbane. Immigration boosted the population dramatically (more than doubling between 1861 and 1864 to over 12,000) and many substantial public and private buildings were constructed during this time. The permanent nature of the buildings was also partly influenced by provisions in the Municipalities Act 1864, which required brick or stone construction and non-flammable roofing material in designated first class building areas.[8]

In 1865 Harris commissioned architect James Cowlishaw to design a terrace building of six self-contained residences on the western corner of George and Margaret streets. The property, originally surveyed as allotment 1 of section 9, had been previously owned by John Betts, a property speculator who bought the land at one of Brisbane's earliest land sales in Sydney in 1842. It is unclear if any improvements were made to the land prior to Harris purchasing the property in 1856. Cowlishaw, considered Brisbane's ‘first successful private architect'[9] arrived in 1860 from Sydney and soon became highly regarded and in demand. Prior to designing the terrace, Cowlishaw undertook other design work for Harris and his firm, including improvements to J&G Harris' wharf and stores at nearby Short Street , a new Ipswich warehouse, and repairs and additions to his then residence, Newstead House [QHR 600265]. In 1861 Cowlishaw also designed a terrace building on the eastern corner of George and Margaret streets for another politician, Arthur Hodgson.[10]

Terrace houses were an urban residential building type that came to Australia from England in the early 19th century. Essentially narrow-fronted adjoining houses, terraces were built as dwellings for people across the classes, as was reflected in their respective forms, scales, materials and settings. While fairly common in mid-to-late 19th century suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, terraces were fewer in Brisbane. Those constructed were largely in the centre of Brisbane, or in nearby residential areas like Spring Hill and Petrie Terrace.[11] In 2020, there are 13 known rows of 19th century terrace houses remaining in Queensland.[12]

The Undue Subdivision of Land Prevention Act 1885, introduced to avoid ‘slum' conditions in areas of medium density dwellings, effectively limited the construction of terraces in Queensland. The minimum size of 16 perches (405 m2) for allotment subdivisions established the detached house as the standard dwelling type. While some terrace houses were built by property speculators as rentals in Brisbane after 1885 (most notably The Mansions [QHR 600119]) dwellings could not be sold individually. Other than Harris Terrace, only three other terrace houses constructed in the 1860s, Athol Place, Spring Hill [QHR 600167]; Princess Row, Petrie Terrace; and 558-62 Boundary Street, Spring Hill [Brisbane City Council heritage register] survive in Brisbane.[13]

Cowlishaw first advertised for whole or separate tenders for the construction of Harris Terrace, described as ‘six first class houses', in July 1865. He readvertised in February 1866, again requesting the erection of the six houses ‘at the risk of the former contractor'. When the building was completed, a Mr Clarke[14] was identified as the contractor, with the cost of construction £8000. The building was advertised in December 1866 as ready for occupation from 1 January 1867.[15] Shortly after, the building was described as, '...substantially built, possessing an imposing exterior presence, and the interior arrangements contain all the requisites of a well-finished dwelling house of the mother-country, combined with the protection required by a warm climate...'.[16]

When completed, Harris Terrace was a two-storey rendered brick building with an attic level in the roof space. Based on early descriptions, in each of the six houses, which were arranged in mirror-reverse pairs, the ground floor contained a drawing and dining rooms connected by folding doors, with two bedrooms on the first floor and two more in the attic. Extending from the rear of each house was a two-storey service wing, connected to the house via a stair hall. It housed a kitchen and bathroom. Behind this was a single-storey section, conjecturally accommodating a servant's bedroom or laundry. The building had a gable slate roof with barrel-vaulted dormer attic windows partly concealed by a balustraded parapet, bearing ‘HARRIS TERRACE 1866' at its centre. A two-storey verandah with a concave roof ran along the front and featured filigree cast iron posts and balustrade (first floor only). The ground floor front windows had timber louvre shutters and, possibly an early addition, the first floor was sheltered on the balustrade line by full length venetian blinds on four of the six houses.[17] The verandahs were divided by the party walls, featuring arched niches, and the front yard was divided into individual, narrow gardens behind a decorative picket fence. Immediately adjacent to the building on George Street (on its northwest side) stood a single-storey building, and Harris Terrace was prominent within the 1860s George Street streetscape into the early-20th century.[18] Views to Harris Terrace were obtained from George and Margaret streets from the northwest to the north and around to the east, and southeast.[19]

Early tenants of Harris Terrace who were members of Parliament included Joshua Bell, William Yaldwyn and Kevin O'Doherty. Other early tenants, Mrs Unsworth (no. 5) and Mrs and Miss de Villers (no. 3) ran girls schools in 1867, with the latter offering rooms for boarders.[20] By mid-1868 Harris Terrace was promoted as having ‘already acquired the reputation of being the best private residences in the city'.[21] Along with politicians, medical professionals and senior public servants also numbered among early residents. The houses were individually numbered and some were given their own name.

Following insolvency in 1876, George Harris surrendered Harris Terrace to mortgagee James Taylor, a Darling Downs landholder and politician. In 1887 the property was acquired by two other members of Parliament, Boyd Morehead and William Pattison, who both lived at Harris Terrace at this time. The following year Morehead and Pattison, with another politician John Stevenson, commissioned the building of ‘The Mansions' – Brisbane's most elaborate terrace house, adjacent to Harris Terrace on the southern corner of George and Margaret streets.[22]

The use of the houses in Harris Terrace for accommodation continued into the first decades of the 20th century. From the mid-1880s some of the individual houses became boarding houses. By the 1920s all of the houses contained in Harris Terrace were being utilised for boarding, often called ‘residential chambers'. In 1922 Frank, Jessie and Ethel Lingley bought the building and changed the name to ‘Harris Court'. The Undue Subdivision of Land Prevention Act was repealed in 1923 and from this time individual titles were created for the Harris Terrace houses. The Lingleys retained the house on the Margaret Street corner adapting it into a café and building a front extension to the George Street alignment, with an awning over the footpath.[23] The Royal Queensland Art Society acquired one of the houses in 1924. House no. 5 (fifth from the Margaret Street corner) had by the 1940s been altered with a two-storey front extension to the George Street alignment, also with an awning over the footpath.[24]

In the immediate post-war years of the late 1940s the Queensland Government expanded its activities considerably in Brisbane City. Most public servants were then located in the Treasury Building [QHR 600143] and Executive Building (later the Land Administration Building [QHR 600123] in George Street and in offices in the Anzac Square Building [QHR 600059]. The shortage of office accommodation in the centre of Brisbane, and the need to address future requirements, led to a phase of governmental property acquisition in the city. The purchase of properties on George and William streets between the Government Printing Office [QHR 600114] and Parliament House was a key focus, in addition to other acquisitions on Charlotte, Mary, and Margaret streets. Harris Terrace was purchased around this time. Despite their varying condition and former uses, these newly acquired buildings were quickly adapted for government use.[25]

However, because Harris Terrace was bought with existing leases, it was not until the mid-1950s that the last tenants left the building. In 1958, architect John Hitch, in association with architects from the Department of Public Works, prepared plans to adapt the building for government use. The original service wings and outbuildings to the rear were demolished and replaced by a new steel-framed, sawtooth-roofed annexe, connected to the earlier structure, and containing open-plan office spaces.[26]

Alterations occurred to the original building in 1960-61, including the removal of the verandahs and later extensions from the front of the building, and the replacement of the front doors with windows to the middle four houses, leaving entrances only at either end of the building. Original windows were removed or replaced, the barrel-vaulted dormers were replaced with gabled dormers, and chimney and fireplace openings were bricked in. The interiors of Harris Terrace were also altered. Three of the original six staircases were removed, replaced with toilets on ground and first floors, and partitions were demolished and openings made in party walls to link the rooms into a series of open offices. A range of government offices were accommodated in the old building and annexe following the completion of works.[27]

The consolidation of government ownership and usage along George and William streets led to the state investigating a number of schemes to further the development of a ‘government precinct'. By 1965, a masterplan had been developed involving the demolition of all buildings between the old Executive Building and Parliament House (which would have included Harris Terrace), to enable the construction of three 15-storey office buildings in a ‘plaza setting'. Only one of these, a high-rise called the Executive Building, was completed in 1971 (demolished 2017) as part of this plan. By the early 1970s this plan for the precinct was considered unsuitable and a number of other proposals for the area were explored.[28]

A 1974 ‘George Street Masterplan' was developed, envisioning lower rise buildings spread out over greater areas, some retention of existing buildings, and the demolition of the Belle Vue Hotel (opposite Parliament House) and The Mansions (adjacent). Ultimately, a major influence in shaping the layout of the area during the 1970s was the growing community support for the retention of older buildings within the government precinct, especially the Belle Vue Hotel and The Mansions. Spearheaded by the National Trust, the government-related associations and links between buildings, their architectural qualities, and aesthetic contributions to the area were highlighted in submissions to the government and in the public sphere. The unannounced June 1974 removal of the balconies of the Belle Vue Hotel was a deliberate action by the State government to degrade the visual appearance of the area, and drew further attention to the conservation cause.[29]

In April 1979 Cabinet adopted a recommendation for a schedule of demolition work to progress the development of the government precinct. The Belle Vue Hotel was to be demolished, but The Mansions and the original section of Harris Court were to be retained, renovated, and adapted. On 21 April, three days after this decision, the Belle Vue Hotel was demolished in the early hours of the morning, a notorious event in the history of heritage conservation in Queensland.[30]

Harris Terrace and The Mansions were retained, while large areas were cleared around it to build the State Works Centre (80 George Street), a sprawling seven-storey building on two George Street blocks (bridged across Margaret Street), completed in 1985. Harris Terrace and The Mansions stood in the new building’s landscaped forecourts. As part of this project, renovations and major conservation works were undertaken at Harris Terrace involving architects from the Department of Public Works in association with Conrad and Gargett Architects. Work included the reconstruction of the verandahs, with new posts and balustrades similar to the originals; a new slate roof; reinstatement of front entrance doors (not all operable) and barrel-vaulted dormers (those of the rear were made larger than the originals); installation of new doors, windows, architraves, and skirtings of earlier forms and profiles; and new moulded ceilings on the ground and first floors. At this time the building reverted to its original name of ‘Harris Terrace'.[31] Thereafter, it was used as office accommodation.

The State Works Centre was demolished in 2017 (as were other large government buildings in the precinct) to make way for an extensive integrated resort development called ‘Queen’s Wharf Brisbane’. Harris Terrace was retained and vacated, planned for redevelopment and integration into the precinct. Beside and behind the building, deep excavations were made to build a multi-storey underground car park. Archaeological investigations prior to the deep excavations revealed footings from the adjacent former United Services Club (built c1913, demolished c1980s) to the northwest, and disturbance associated with construction of the State Works Centre development to the southwest.[32]

A strip of land along the back of Harris Terrace, approximately 1.3m from the rear walls of the stair halls that connected with the former service wings, was not excavated. Limited archaeological investigations undertaken in this area in 2017 revealed substantial Brisbane tuff footings beneath the main terrace house, and shallow brick footings beneath one of the stair halls, as well as 19th century glass, ceramic, and metal artefactual material and faunal remains (bone).[33]

In 2020, Harris Terrace is one of 11 known 1860s buildings remaining in Brisbane City; one of only 13 known rows of terrace houses in Queensland; and one of only four known 1860s rows of terrace houses in Queensland (all in Brisbane).[34]

Description

Harris Terrace (1866) is a terrace of six former houses standing on the corner of George and Margaret streets in Brisbane’s CBD. In its prominent corner location, the building contributes to a precinct of other stately 19th to early-20th century buildings and there are attractive views encompassing its front elevation and built form available from Margaret and George streets.

The building is long and narrow, stretching along George Street which it faces, and each house comprises two storeys plus an attic level. It stands near the front of its allotment behind narrow garden beds. It has brick walls: front and side walls are rendered and scored with ashlar coursing while the rear brick walls are not rendered. It has a timber-framed gable roof clad with slate shingles. The building is divided by brick party walls into three mirror-reversed pairs of houses. The party walls incorporate back-to-back rendered brick chimney stacks which extend above the roof line. Each house has two central barrel-vaulted dormer windows into the attic level (one front-facing and one rear-facing).

The front elevation features a convex-roofed, two-storeyed verandah with a masonry ground floor slab and a timber-framed first floor. It features filigree cast metal posts and balustrades, and a masonry transom at first floor level with moulded render cornice. The party walls of the six houses extend forward to divide the front verandah into six, featuring arched niches or openings on both levels. The front of each house has an arch-headed door to one side and two double-hung windows on the ground floor and three French doors on the first floor.

The side elevations of the building are mostly blank: two original narrow windows on the Margaret Street one (south-eastern) have been supplemented at an early stage by an arch-headed ground floor window. The building’s other (north-western) side elevation has a pair of small, attic-level windows with a shared timber-framed, bull-nose hood with timber board cheeks.

The rear elevation has windows on both levels and projecting from the rear wall are two-storey sections, which accommodate part of each house’s stair hall. This formed the connection between the main house and the now-demolished service wings. Each stair hall features tall, arch-headed windows above a ground floor door (some of these tall windows have been altered to be shorter and some of the doors have been converted to windows c1960-1 but retain their brick flat arch heads).

The interior layout of each former house, likely originally identical, has been altered to convert them into interconnected open plan offices. Openings have been made in the original brick partitions; some are large or have removed entire partitions.

Comprising front hall and rear stair hall beside a front drawing room connected to a rear dining room, the ground floor’s original layout is substantially legible. As is the first floor’s layout, comprising two bedrooms. On both levels, openings have been made in a line through the centre of the building to form a transverse corridor. Modern suspended ceilings concealing services have been run through these corridors. The attic level retains some elements of the original partitioning, with one large space created across the entire six houses: non-original partitions have been inserted in the centre of the attic to form a mechanical plant room.

Three of the stair halls have decorative timber stairs (which are likely to incorporate original fabric in their c1985 reconstruction): the other stairs have been removed to convert these stair halls to toilets/kitchenettes with concrete slab floors. The openings from the stair hall into the now-demolished rear service wing, which was likely a few steps lower than the main house floor level, have been in-filled. The drawing room, dining room, and first floor bedrooms retain chimney breasts; however, the arched fireplaces have been closed over with masonry and smooth plastered.

Considerable conservation work (c1985) has occurred throughout the building. This includes the verandah filigree work, interior plasterwork (walls, ceilings, and cornices) and timber joinery (skirtings, stairs, windows, doors, and fanlights). The rear-facing dormer windows (originally small and simple) have been removed and rebuilt to match the large decorative dormers of the front. The reconstruction work has not replicated the hierarchy of decorative details in joinery or plaster work. It has replicated the decorative detail of the ground floor (the most decorative) and applied it to all floors and areas (so that the attic has the same decorative detail as the ground floor).

Features of Harris Terrace of state-level cultural heritage significance include:

• location, reflecting its original and longstanding setting within a concentration of government buildings, and standing prominently within a streetscape featuring other stately 19th century buildings
• views to the building from Margaret and George streets, showcasing the building’s overall form and attractive front decorations
• open space at front and rear of the building – former front garden and rear yard areas (fabric of gardens, yards, and vegetation is not of state-level cultural heritage significance)
• reconstructed front verandah:
  • party walls with arched niches
  • rendered decorative cornice of front verandah at first floor level
  • filigree metal posts and balustrade
  • timber first-floor framing and roof framing
  • first-floor timber floor boards and unlined ceiling
  • corrugated metal sheet-clad roof
• masonry walls and partitions, including stucco exterior finish on front and sides, brick exterior finish to rear, and plaster finish to interior
• rendered masonry cornice and balustrade at roof level to front
• timber-framed floors and roof
• plastered chimney breasts and rendered chimney stacks
• reconstructed front-facing dormer windows
• slate roof shingles
• reconstructed moulded panelled timber doors including glazed French doors of first floor verandah
• reconstructed glazed timber-framed fanlights
• reconstructed timber-framed windows (excludes ground floor sashes of windows in front verandah wall)
• reconstructed moulded timber skirting boards and architraves
• arched window to Margaret Street and its reconstructed single-pane double-hung timber-framed sashes
• small attic window to northwest side, its double hung sashes, and its reconstructed window hood
• two-storey hipped or skillion-roofed stair halls projecting from the rear and their tall arch-headed windows with reconstructed timber-framed multi-paned sashes (some incorporating blue glass) and the door openings at ground floor (excludes the alterations to doors and windows for the c1960-1 toilets)
• reconstructed plaster ceilings and moulded plaster cornices
• timber stairs with moulded handrails and decorative newel posts including their panelled ground floor storeroom enclosures underneath with moulded panelled doors (stairs likely incorporate original fabric).

Features of Harris Terrace not of state-level cultural heritage significance:

• fabric of front garden and rear yard; external paving and other ground surface treatments around the building; and external ramps, stairs, lights, services, and furniture
• concrete ground floor slab of front verandah and its level (higher than original)
• non-original ground floor rear verandah (c1985) across the rear of houses 3 and 4, including metal posts with ionic capitals (likely c1960-1, moved here c1985), ramps, handrails, floor tiles, roof, and flashings
• post-1958 openings made in original walls and partitions
• ashlar-scored render of external face of rear wall of stair hall (where it connected to demolished service wings)
• introduced modern partitions, doors, and windows (excludes reconstructed partitions, doors, and windows)
• toilet and kitchen fitouts and their concrete floor slabs
• modern suspended panel ceilings
• ply floor lining and ceramic floor and wall tiles
• modern door, fanlight, and window hardware
• building services and air-conditioning cupboards
• size of rear-facing dormer windows (larger than original) – location of window is significant
• double-hung multi-paned timber-framed windows to front elevation (originally single panes) – window openings are significant
• modern services, equipment, fixtures, and fittings.

Areas of archaeological potential of state-level significance:

• the remaining area of rear yard that has not been excavated – from the rear walls of the building to 1.3m measured from the rear walls of the projecting wings for the entire width of the building. This area is paved. Potential archaeological evidence in this area includes the footings of the former service wings, and artefacts associated with the construction and occupation of Harris Terrace.   
• the ground floor subfloor areas of the main terrace houses. These areas are currently concealed beneath the timber-framed floor structure. Potential archaeological evidence in this area includes party wall and chimney footings, and artefacts associated with the construction and occupation of Harris Terrace.

References

[1] Brisbane City is defined as central Brisbane, excluding the adjacent Spring Hill, Petrie Terrace and Fortitude Valley.
[2] Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships (DATSIP), <https://culturalheritage.datsip.qld.gov.au/achris/public/application-for-advice/home>, accessed 25 Jun 2020; The Australian Native Title Tribunal determination in 2015 was that native title does not exist.
[3] Allom Lovell Architects, Harris Terrace: A conservation plan for the Department of Public Works, 2002, p.3.
[4] Allom Lovell Architects, p.3.
[5] Allom Lovell Architects, p.8.
[6] Allom Lovell Architects, p.8.
[7] Allom Lovell Architects, p.4.
[8] Allom Lovell Architects, p.5; Brisbane Courier, 3 November 1864, p.1.
[9] Donald Watson and Judith McKay, Queensland Architects of the 19th Century, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, 1994, p.44.
[10] Allom Lovell Architects, pp.27-28.
[11] Allom Lovell Architects, pp.23-24.
[12] The other rows of terrace houses are: Athol Place (QHR600167); The Mansions (QHR600119); Cook Terrace (QHR600250); Cross Terrace (QHR600285); Princess Row (BCC); 558-62 Boundary Street, Spring Hill (BCC); O’Keeffe’s Building (BCC); 25 Wellington Street, Kangaroo Point (BCC); Watson Terrace, South Brisbane (BCC); Goldsmith’s Terrace, Spring Hill (BCC); Ningwood, Kangaroo Point (BCC); Hernia Scotia Terrace, Petrie Terrace (BCC).
[13] Allom Lovell Architects, pp.23-26.
[14] WP Clark is the only builder of this surname operating in Brisbane between 1865-67. He was the contractor for the Brisbane Gas-works chimney in April 1865 [‘Brisbane’, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 8 Apr 1865, p.2] and in June 1866 advertised for ‘two good Hodmen. Apply, on the works, George-street’. [‘Classified Advertising, Brisbane Courier, 6 Jun 1866, p.1.] In October 1866 he also advertised for labourers ‘to open a drain and refit a drain in Margaret Street, from George Street to the river’. [‘Classified Advertising’, Brisbane Courier, 5 Oct 1866, p.1.]
[15] ‘Classified Advertising’, Brisbane Courier, 6, 10, 29 December 1866, p.1.
[16] Allom Lovell Architects, p.5; Brisbane Courier, 22 February 1866, p.1.
[17] Allom Lovell Architects, p.7. The venetian blinds are potentially not original due to them not being employed across all houses and the variance of the enclosure of house no.6. A c1869 photograph of the building (Harris Terrace, c1869. John Oxley Library Negative Number 57909) shows houses no.1 to no.4 with venetians, no.5 having no blinds, and no.6 having canvas blinds on the first floor and an enclosed balustrade below lattice panels on the ground floor.
[18] JOL, Neg No 170622.
[19] Harris Terrace, c1869. John Oxley Library Negative Number 57909. This photograph shows houses no.1 and No.2 did not have closed niches but the arches were open on both levels, indicating at this time these houses were connected.
[20] Brisbane Courier, 15 May 1867, p.2; Queenslander, 14 September 1867, p.1; Queenslander, 22 February 1868, p.1; Brisbane Courier, 29 December 1868, p.1; Brisbane Courier, 20 July 1883, p.1; Queenslander, 9 October 1930, p.59; Allom Lovell p.7.
[21] Brisbane Courier, 26 May 1868, p.1.
[22] Queenslander, 28 October 1876, p.18; Allom Lovell Architects, p.10.
[23] Aerial view of George Street Brisbane c1935, SLQ Neg No 201641.
[24] Allom Lovell Architects, p.7, pp.10-11; Brisbane Courier, 9 November 1933 p.33; QImagery, aerial BCC000234730, 31 May 1946.
[25] Allom Lovell Architects, p.12.
[26] Allom Lovell Architects, p.12.
[27] Allom Lovell Architects, pp.12-15.
[28] Allom Lovell Architects, pp.15-16.
[29] Allom Lovell Architects, p.16; for push to conserve historic buildings see, National Trust Journal, July-Aug 1976, p. 18, May 1977, pp. 19-20; National Trust of Queensland, Statement on The George Street Precinct, NTQ, Brisbane, c1974; NTQ file, The Mansions 1/72 correspondence to various ministers and MLAs, 1973-79; letter from Brendan Butler, Secretary, Culture, National Parks and Recreation Policy Committee, ALP to Director, NTQ, 26 June 1973; ‘Plan to Save the Old Belle Vue', The Australian Women's Weekly, 23 Jan 1974, pp. 88-9.
[30] Queensland State Archives Item ID406637, Minutes - Cabinet; Courier-Mail 21 April 1979, p.1,3; for development of Queensland heritage legislation see Rod Fisher, ‘Nocturnal Demolitions: The Long March Towards Heritage Legislation in Queensland', in Packaging the Past - Public Histories, eds John Rickard & Peter Spearitt, Australian Historical Studies 24(96), April 1991, pp 55-69.
[31] Allom Lovell Architects, p.17.
[32] Urbis, ‘Queens Wharf Brisbane Sub-Precinct 1A, Historical Archaeological Excavation Report’, unpublished report prepared for Probuild, January 2019, pp.45-48, 62, 69-71.
[33] Urbis, ‘Heritage Building Footings Investigation: Archaeological Monitoring Report’, unpublished report prepared for Destination Brisbane Consortium, March 2017, pp.19-23.
[34] Other known 1860s buildings in Brisbane City: Parliament House (George Street range) [QHR 600069]; part of Brisbane School of Arts (lower storey) [QHR 600072]; Old Government House [QHR 600118]; Wenley House [QHR 600128]; All Saints Anglican Church [QHR 600168]; DPI Building (former) [QHR 601093]; Davidson’s Residence (former) [BCC heritage register]; William Cairncross Building [BCC heritage register]; Exchange Hotel, [BCC heritage register]; and Moreton House, 67 Edward Street. Known 1860s terraces in Brisbane: Athol Place, Spring Hill [QHR 600167], early c1864; Princess Row, Petrie Terrace, 1863 [BCC heritage register]; and 558-62 Boundary Street, Spring Hill, c1864 [BCC heritage register].

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