MacArthur Central, also known as MacArthur Central Shopping Centre, in

Brisbane, Australia 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 ...

, is a four level shopping centre that incorporates an

English Renaissance The English Renaissance was a Cultural movement, cultural and Art movement, artistic movement in England during the late 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginni ...

styled

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

building known as MacArthur Chambers. MacArthur Central is on the north-east corners of Queen Street, Edward Street and Elizabeth Street. 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 ...

General Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army. He served with distinction in World War I; as chief of ...

used the building as the Allied forces'

South West Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the ...

Headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

from July 1942 to November 1944.

Features

A feature of the MacArthur Chambers building (and once of all buildings that were owned by the AMP Society) is a three-figure

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

above the

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

entrance of the Queen Street façade of the building, sculptured in Sicilian

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

by Fred Gowan, representing: "''Strength, Plenty, Production and Growth''". Below the statue is the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

of the AMP Society - : "AMICUS CERTUS IN RE INCERTA" -- or in English: : "A SURE FRIEND IN UNCERTAIN TIMES"

History

The MacArthur Chambers building was constructed between 1930 and 1934 and with the exception of the war years was the Queensland headquarters of the AMP Society, a mutual insurance corporation, until 1977 when that organisation moved to new premises in Creek Street. The AMP Society has subsequently demutualised, becoming a company known as AMP Limited. The AMP Society's board room was on the eighth floor, which became the location of General Douglas MacArthur's office. By military order tenants from the second to ninth floors were compulsorily evacuated for the Hiring Department of the Defence Forces. The current 10 storey MacArthur Chambers building replaced a smaller 3 storey building also owned by the AMP Society, which had been constructed in the 1890s. It also featured the "trademark" AMP Society three figure statue. After the AMP Society vacated the building, which then became known as MacArthur Chambers, it continued to be leased for office accommodation, a boutique hotel, and small shops on the ground and basement floors.

Redevelopment

The MacArthur Chambers building and sites adjacent to the building, comprising an entire city block, were subsequently redeveloped in the late 1990s. Today the redeveloped shopping mall is called the MacArthur Central Shopping Centre, and is part of an apartment and commercial shopping complex that includes MacArthur Chambers, Woolworths Supermarket,

Big W Big W (stylised as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of the Woolworths Group and as of 2024 operated 179 stores, with around 18,000 emp ...

discount department store, approximately 40 specialty stores and a food court. In 2006, the MacArthur Central Shopping Centre was part of one of the largest property swap transactions in Australian history, valued at $186 million. A private investment company called

Precision Group Precision Group is an Australian private property Investment company, investment and management company based in Sydney. Founded in 1994 by Shaun Bonétt, it owns property in Australia and New Zealand. History Precision Group was founded in 1994 ...

acquired the property from the Investa Property Group for $119.5 million by swapping an office building located in Brisbane at 160 Ann Street, valued at $66.5 million, and making a cash payment. During 2009-10 a $20 million upgrade to the MacArthur Central retail complex was planned and carried out, and the first full-line supermarket (Woolworths) in Brisbane’s CBD was opened in the centre.

MacArthur Museum

The MacArthur Museum (to commemorate General MacArthur's association with Brisbane), was opened by members of the General Douglas MacArthur Brisbane Memorial Trust in 2004. Visitors are able to visit General Douglas MacArthur's office. Also on display is movie footage of the Second World War and all the front pages of "''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

''" from September, 1939 to August, 1945. The entrance to both the Museum and the MacArthur Chambers Hotel are on Edward Street.

Heritage listing

MacArthur Chambers are 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 ...

Gallery

File:New-Storefront.jpg, MacArthur Central Woolworths Store File:MacArthur Central Food Court Side View.jpg, MacArthur Central Food Court & JB Hi-Fi MacArthur Central Food Court.jpg, MacArthur Central Food Court MacArthur Chambers Street View.jpg, MacArthur Chambers

Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of Retail, retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell, service and repair various Apple products, including Macintosh, Mac desktop and MacBook laptop personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad ta ...

– Queen Street View

References

External links

MacArthur Central Shopping Centre website

MacArthur Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthur Central Shopping Centre, Brisbane History of Brisbane Apartment buildings in Brisbane Brisbane central business district Shopping centres in Brisbane