Pine Rivers Shire Hall (former)

The old Pine Rivers Shire Hall at Strathpine is an early surviving example of an 1880s divisional board hall. Its extensions during its later use as a shire hall are important in demonstrating the evolution of local government in Queensland. It was built in 1889 for the Pine Divisional Board. A half-acre allotment for the hall was allocated in April 1889. Mr L Mickelwright successfully tendered for construction, and the hall was completed later in 1889. Divisional Boards were renamed Shire Councils in 1902. After WWI, the Strathpine Patriotic League commissioned an honour board to be hung in the hall. A skillion addition was made to the rear of the hall in 1905, and the hall was extended towards the road sometime between 1905 and 1932. During 1932, a veranda and an office were built on the south side of the building, with a strong room added in 1935. It was briefly requisitioned for use by the Americans during WWII. In the early 1950s, Augustus Charles Spencer was licensed to show pictures in the hall and there was an attempt to burn it down in 1953 after a new theatre opened opposite. The renamed Pine Rivers Shire Council built new offices adjacent in 1960. The front office of the old shire hall was leased to real estate agent Bill Bowden who marketed the urban subdivisions of Strathpine from the site. A theatre group has leased the refurbished hall since the 1980s.