The Bellevue Hotel was a hotel on the western corner of

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

and

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

Streets,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. Once Brisbane's premier hotel, it was demolished in 1979 despite considerable public objection. In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. Q15 ...

celebrations, the demolition of the Bellevue Hotel was announced as one of the

Q150 Icons The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland's first 150 years. ...

of Queensland for its role as a "Defining Moment".

History

The Bellevue Hotel was built in 1885-6, and served for many years as Brisbane's premier hotel. Being across the road from the

Queensland Parliament House Parliament House in Brisbane is the meeting place of the Parliament of Queensland, housing its only chamber, the Legislative Assembly. It is located on the corner of George Street and Alice Street at Gardens Point in the CBD, and is next ...

, it was used by many politicians. In 1967, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

purchased the hotel with a view to demolishing it to create modern buildings for the

Queensland Public Service The Queensland Public Service provides public services to the people of Queensland, Australia on behalf of the Government of Queensland. Typically these are services that are deemed important by the government and which the government believes ...

, but there was considerable public objection, and the building stood abandoned for many years while its future was debated. In 1973, the

Builders Labourers Federation The Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) was an Australian trade union that existed from 1911 until 1972, and from 1976 until 1986, when it was permanently deregistered in various Australian states by the federal Hawke Labor government and some ...

placed a

green ban A green ban is a form of strike action, usually taken by a trade union or other organised labour group, which is conducted for environmentalist or conservationist purposes. They were mainly done in Australia in the 1970s, led by the Builders Labo ...

on the site; despite this, the Queensland Government removed the verandas in 1974. Without any prior public announcement, the building was successfully demolished overnight on 20 April 1979 by the Deen Brothers, whose motto is "All we leave behind are the memories". The public outrage over the demolition eventually led to legislation to protect Queensland's heritage, enacted in 1992.

References

External links

{{commonscat-inline, Bellevue Hotel (Brisbane) Hotels in Brisbane George Street, Brisbane Alice Street, Brisbane Former buildings and structures in Brisbane Green bans Demolished buildings and structures in Brisbane Buildings and structures demolished in 1979