The Old Museum Building is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

former exhibition building, former museum and now performance venue in

Bowen Hills Bowen Hills is an inner north-eastern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the Bowen Hills had a population of 3,226 people. Geography Bowen Hills is by road from the Brisbane CBD. Mayne is a neighbourhood within the sou ...

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. It is made from 1.3 million red bricks and bordered by

Gregory Terrace Gregory Terrace is a road in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Geography Gregory Terrace commences at an intersection with Wickham Terrace and College Road in Spring Hill (). It travels in a north-easterly direction through Spring Hill, Fortitu ...

and the Exhibition Grounds.

History

StateLibQld 1 394285 Original Exhibition Building, Bowen Hills ca

The Old Museum was originally called the Exhibition Building and Concert Hall. It was built in 1891 for the

Queensland National Agricultural and Industrial Association The Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA) is an organisation which aims to promote and encourage the development of agricultural, industrial, manufacturing and cultural resources of Queensland, Australia. Th ...

after Brisbane's first exhibition building, which had occupied the land, was destroyed by fire on 13 June 1888. At the time of the fire the building was being used as a skating rink. The land had been used by the

Queensland Acclimatisation Society The Queensland Acclimatisation Society (QAS) was an acclimatisation society based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia which operated from 1862 to 1956. Its primary interest was in the introduction of exotic plants to Queensland, both for economic a ...

from 1863-1875. The new exhibition building was designed by the architect

George Henry Male Addison George Henry Male Addison (1857–1922) was an Australian architect and artist. Many of his buildings are now heritage-listed. Early life Addison was born on 23 March 1857 in Llanelly, Wales, the son of Edward James Addison (1820–1863), a Wes ...

(1857–1922). The style of the building may best be described as progressive eclecticism or Indo-Saracenic. The edifice was built over a period of 12 months by over 300 workers. It is entered in the Queensland Heritage Register. The Queensland Government took over control of the building and grounds when the National Association was forced into liquidation by the economic depression in 1897. In 1899, the Exhibition Hall became home to the

Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland, dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museum in South Brisbane with specialist mu ...

, with the museum remaining in the building until the museum's relocation to the

Queensland Cultural Centre The Queensland Cultural Centre is a heritage-listed cultural centre at Grey Street, South Brisbane, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of the South Bank precinct on the Brisbane River. It was built from 1976. The major compone ...

in 1986. During the Queensland Museum's 86 years in the building, other parts of the building were used as a Concert Hall and an Art Gallery. Because of the Queensland Museum's long occupancy of the building, the building is now known as the Old Museum. In 2016, the building was taken back for

Ekka The Ekka is the annual agricultural show of Queensland, Australia. Its formal title is the Royal Queensland Show, and it is held at the Brisbane Showgrounds. It was originally called the Brisbane Exhibition, but it is more commonly known as the ...

and has since been used for the flower and garden displays.

Performance venue

The Old Museum building is home to the

Queensland Youth Orchestras Queensland Youth Orchestras (QYO) is one of the state's organisations for orchestral training and performance and is based at the Old Museum Building, Brisbane, Old Museum building in Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills, Queensland, Bowen Hills, Brisbane, ...

, who use the building as a rehearsal, performance and office space. The building is also home for the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra,

Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra The Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) is a community orchestra based in Brisbane, Australia, which performs a wide variety of orchestral works. The BPO performs several concerts each year at venues including the Brisbane City Hall, and the ...

, Queensland Youth Choir, Queensland Wind and Brass, Brisbane River City Clippers Barbershop Chorus, Queensland Rhythmic Gymnastics Organisation, Queensland Police Pipes and Drums and the Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre Company. The play ''

Troilus and Cressida ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. Meanwh ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, was also presented in the Old Museum building in 1989. Members of the cast included

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy ...

Jane Menelaus Jane Menelaus (born 1959) is an Australian actress who trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England. Stage Jane Menelaus has worked with both the South Australian and Melbourne Theatre Companies. Her stage work has in ...

and

Russell Dykstra Russell Dykstra (born 31 December 1966) is an Australian actor of screen, stage and TV. Early life Dykstra grew up in the Brisbane suburb of Calamvale. Dykstra first appeared on stage at age 10 in a theatre production of ''Toad of Toad Hall ...

. The Old Museum building was also used as one of the sites for the 1980s

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n series of '' Mission: Impossible''.

Photographs of the Old Museum

File:Old_museum_buildingus.jpg, The exterior of the Old Museum Building in Brisbane. File:Old-Museum-Building-side-entrance.jpg, A side entrance to the Old Museum building. File:Queensland Youth Orchestra at the old Museum.jpg, The Old Museum
as the home of the

. File:Old_museum_buildingu.jpg, The roof of the Old Museum. File:Old_Museum_Brisbane.jpg, Side view of the Old Museum building. File:Tour_de_Musee.jpg, Detail of tower on Western side of Old Museum building.

Heritage listing

The building was listed on the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...

on 21 October 1992. 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 Old Museum Building 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 "structure and engineering feat".

References

External links

The Exhibition Grounds and Buildings
- includes information about the Old Museum building
the Old Museum Building"Troilus and Cressida" at the Old Museum BuildingBrisbane Symphany Orchestra
{{coord, display=title, -27.451875, 153.029369, type:landmark_region:AU Bowen Hills, Queensland Music venues in Australia Museums in Brisbane Defunct museums in Australia History of Brisbane Queensland Heritage Register Buildings and structures completed in 1891 Brick buildings and structures GHM Addison buildings Federation style architecture Romanesque Revival architecture in Australia Q150 Icons