HISTORY
The origin story of Brisbane City Council and its home
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n 1859 Brisbane was declared a municipality - a city with its own local government. The city was named after Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, who was a noted astronomer and sixth Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825. The first election for the municipal council was held on October 13, 1859. There were 37 candidates for the nine positions on council. John Petrie, a notable builder and stonemason, was unanimously elected first mayor. The first aldermen were men who had helped to establish Brisbane as an important settlement in the north. In 1924, the Queensland State Parliament passed the City of Brisbane Act to set up a single government in Brisbane. Before this, the Brisbane area had been divided up into 20 local authorities and joint boards. The act reduced the number of aldermen for the Brisbane area from more than 200 down to 20. The newly elected Council, headed by
up to five metres below the Main Auditorium to make way for the building’s first kitchen, they found a cobblestone drain three metres into the dig. The cobblestone drain and paving has been dated back to the late 1880s, when the site was converted from swamp land into Council yards. Source and extract from :brisbane. qld.gov.au/things-to-see-and-do/ council-venues-and-precincts/ brisbane-city-hall/city-hall-history-andheritage/city-hall-archaeologicaldiscoveries.
Brisbane’s magnificent City Hall built in the 1920s.
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Brisbane’s first Lord Mayor William Jolly, took over the local administration on October1, 1925. As part of the state’s Local Government Legislative Review, a number of acts relating to local government have been, and continue to be, reviewed and updated. This includes the City of Brisbane Act 2010 which became law on 1 July 2010 and replaced a number of existing acts. Brisbane City Hall was
Faunal emblem In 2019, the iconic koala joined the graceful tree frog as the city’s faunal emblem, with both animals representing Brisbane’s local environment and wildlife. Floral emblem When Brisbane City Council was formed on 1 October 1925, the red poinsettia was chosen as the floral emblem. Although native to Mexico, the poinsettia grows perfectly in Brisbane, bringing a splash of colour to winter gardens.
officially opened on April 8, 1930 by the then Governor of Queensland, Sir John Goodwin. The building covers 0.9 hectares (2 acres) and at the time was recognised as one of Australia’s most outstanding structures. City Hall was closed for restoration between 2010 and 2013. In 2010 workers on the City Hall restoration uncovered an important archaeological discovery which pre-dated the building. As workers excavated
HISTORICAL FACTS In 1909 architects designed a new town hall but the contract was terminated when Brisbane property owners refused to approve the 180,000 pounds to build it. The first foundation stone was laid in 1917 by the then Governor, Sir Hamilton Gould-Adams, before a new design had even been drawn. In 1917, architects Hall and Prentice were employed to submit designs for Council offices and a public hall. Their design, submitted in November 1919, was estimated at 480,000 pounds. The design was accepted and the then Prince of Wales laid a second foundation stone in July 1920. Building City Hall was a major undertaking in the 1920s. It took 10 years to build at a cost of around 980,000 pounds.
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2/03/2022 4:36:51 PM
