Barrier Reef Hotel

This two-storey reinforced concrete hotel was named The Empire, when it was built in 1927. It replaced an earlier timber hotel of the same name, which had fallen into disrepair. By 1925, the licencing commission demanded the hotel be rebuilt in brick. Owner PJ Doyle commenced building in April 1926. Doyle was an accountant, commission agent and general agent who had operated from Thursday Island from 1889.The hotel was designed by local architects Lawrence and Lordan in conjunction with Richard Hill, and was built by local contractor CP Jorgensen. The site adjacent to the wharves had always drawn clientele from workers and travellers alike, and the construction of a new modern hotel only improved the trade. The name was changed to the Barrier Reef Hotel in May 1960. PJ Doyle Wine and Spirits Pty Ltd maintained an interest in the property until the mid-1970s but by that time the hotel had fallen again into disrepair with the license suspended briefly in 1974. Since the mid-1970s the hotel and adjacent sites, including the former Jack & Newell Building, have been amalgamated as a re-development site. The building still functions as a hotel.