Cultural heritage
Case studies
We're surrounded by cultural heritage places. We live, work and
relax in them.
Heritage places need to be used to stop them from falling into
disrepair. You can adapt
a heritage place for a new use providing you don't harm its
original fabric and character.
Here are two examples of heritage-listed places from our past that have
been transformed for the present and future.
Mactaggarts Woolstore
Through sensitive design, Brisbane's heritage-listed
Mactaggart's Woolstore has been transformed into a trendy apartment
block.
Built in 1926, Mactaggarts Woolstore was one of several stores at
Teneriffe on the Brisbane River's Bulimba Reach. The building's
lower floors were used for storing, loading, and unloading wool while
the top floor was used for displaying it.
Wool was sent to Mactaggarts Woolstore by rail to be safely stored for
prospective buyers. After it was sold, the wool was pressed and baled,
trolleyed to the wharves, and loaded onto ships.
With the introduction of container shipping in the 1960s, this method
of wool handling was phased out and the stores were no longer
used.
Mactaggarts Woolstore's current owners decided to find a new use
for the old store. They obtained approval from the Queensland Heritage
Council to transform the store into an apartment building. Some of the
building's original wool baling equipment is displayed throughout
the apartment's corridors as a reminder of the building's
history.
This new use conserves this familiar Brisbane River landmark while
allowing residents to enjoy a little bit of Queensland's
heritage.
People's Palace
With only minor alterations, Brisbane's People's Palace
continues to provide accommodation for weary travellers.
Built near Brisbane's Central Railway Station in 1910, the building
was used as a Salvation Army temperance hotel, the first of its kind in
Queensland.
The hotel's furnishings were simple but of 'good
character'. As a temperance hotel, the moral fibre of its patrons
was safeguarded. Guests were not allowed to drink alcohol or
gamble.
The hotel contained 130 rooms and provided inexpensive, simple
accommodation for visitors to the capital city.
After offering many years of cheap accommodation, People's
Palace's doors closed in 1979, and it became the Salvation
Army's central office.
In 1996, People's Palace reverted to its original use as a place
for budget accommodation when it opened its doors to backpackers. But
to keep the building's history alive, its important elements have
been conserved.
With sensitive design, the People's Palace has once again become a
home away from home.
Last updated: 03 April 2006
