King George Square is a

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

located between Adelaide Street and Ann Street (and between two sections of Albert Street) in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Brisbane City Hall Brisbane City Hall, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is the seat of the Brisbane City Council. It is located adjacent to King George Square, where the rectangular City Hall has its main entrance. The City Hall also has frontages and entran ...

is adjacent to the square. On 1 January 2004, King George Square was listed on the Brisbane Heritage Register.

History

Albert Square

Originally, Albert Street ran west from the Botanic Gardens as far as Ann Street and the original city markets. Market Square was located between Ann Street and Adelaide street, south of Albert Street. This became the site of the Brisbane City Hall, which was completed in 1930. The City Hall was set back from Albert Street and this widened area of Albert Street, and some land north of the street, was renamed Albert Square in honour of

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

, husband of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. The

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

holds photographs of Albert Square, which pre-date King George Square in its present form. When Albert Square was redeveloped into King George Square, the fountain at Albert Square was relocated to Wynnum. In 1912, then Albert Square was the site of the 1912 Brisbane general strike. Over 15,000

trade unionists A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

held a march in Market Square after being refused a permit to protest, on the orders of Commissioner Cahill, the police charged and attacked peaceful protesters, in what became known as 'Black Friday'.

King George Square

Following the death of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

in 1936, the square was widened to include the area which had been Albert Street, and renamed King George Square in honour of the King. The

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

s, which appear to guard the King George Square entrance to the Brisbane City Hall, were initially on large sandstone plinths, as part of the George V

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

, which was unveiled in 1938, as a tribute to the King from the citizens of Brisbane. Vehicular traffic, including a trolley-bus route, operated through the square until 1969, when the roadway was closed to traffic. Buildings on the northern side of the square were acquired by the City Council including the Tivoli Theatre and the Hibernian Building and demolished and work commenced on the construction of the underground King George Square Car Park. At the time of the construction, the statues, including that of King George V and the brass lions, were relocated to their present positions in the square and, between the statues and King George Square, there is now a narrow laneway (replacing the former roadway) for the infrequent passage of Government vehicles (or work vehicles) to be driven to the front of the City Hall. A round-shaped fountain, located in the centre of King George Square, was also demolished, and a rectangular-shaped fountain built. As a direct result of the 2005–07 drought, the water in the rectangular-shaped fountain was temporarily replaced by a special "Watersense garden" with drought-resistant plants. There are statues of some famous

ers in a special section of King George Square, which is called "Speakers' Corner". The statues are of

Steele Rudd Steele Rudd was the pen name of Arthur Hoey Davis (14 November 1868 – 11 October 1935) an Australian author, best known for his short story collection ''On Our Selection''. In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, Rudd was named one of the ...

(1868–1935), Emma Miller (1839–1917), and Sir Charles Lilley (1830–1897). Bronze sculptures from the

Expo '88 World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialised World Expo, Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of ...

site have also been incorporated into the square's design.

2009 redevelopment

In October 2009 the ''new'' King George Square was opened after 16 months redevelopment. The square's design is by UbrisJHD selected in a national design competition. The square redevelopment followed the conversion of the underground lower two levels of the King George Square Car Park into the King George Square busway station. The redesign has been heavily criticised for excess surface heat,

glare Glare may refer to: * Glare (vision), difficulty seeing in the presence of very bright light * Glaring, a facial expression of squinted eyes and look of contempt * A call collision in telecommunications * GLARE, Glass reinforced aluminium, an ...

and its lack of grass and

shade Shade, Shades or Shading may refer to: * Shade (color), a mixture of a color with black (often generalized as any variety of a color) * Shade (shadow), the blocking of sunlight * Shades or sunglasses * Shading, a process used in art and graphic ...

. Brisbane General Strike 1912.jpg, General Strike of 1912 StateLibQld 1 110780 Anzac Day procession through Albert Square, Brisbane, ca. 1937.jpg, Anzac Day procession through Albert Square, 1937 StateLibQld 1 103094 Eleanor Roosevelt in Brisbane, Queensland, 1943.jpg,

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

in King George Square during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 1943 The Queen outside City Hall (8075899208).jpg,

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during her 1954 royal tour Pope John Paul II addressing the public, Brisbane City Hall, 25 November 1986.jpg,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

addressing the public, 1986 Brisbane Protest Sack Scomo! Fund Firies! Climate Action Now! (49361378476).jpg, Sack Scomo rally, 2019

References

External links

Brisbane City Council e-Library Catalogue (elibcat)image BCC-T120-94615
1994 aerial view of Brisbane City Hall and King George Square looking south along Albert Street. The photo also shows the round fountain in King George Square which was later demolished.
2700 Second Challenge workshop

Google map
{{coord, 27, 28, 6, S, 153, 1, 27, E, type:landmark, display=title Squares in Brisbane History of Brisbane 1936 establishments in Australia Albert Street, Brisbane Ann Street, Brisbane Adelaide Street, Brisbane