The Old Museum Building is a

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 ...

former exhibition building, former museum and now performance venue in

Bowen Hills Bowen Hills is an inner north-eastern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bowen Hills had a population of 4,898 people. Geography Bowen Hills is by road from the Brisbane centr ...

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. 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, Fortit ...

and the Exhibition Grounds. The Old Museum Building is one of only two remaining exhibition buildings built in Australia during the 19th century, the other being the

Royal Exhibition Building The Royal Exhibition Building is a World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage-listed building in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, built in 1879–1880 as part of the international exhibition movement, which presented over 50 exhibitions between ...

. The Old Museum Building is a cultural landmark of

, and is noted for its history in the performing arts with recitals by Dame Nellie Melba and

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (;

r 1859 R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars''. The lette ...

– 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's Prime Minister of Poland, prime minister and foreign minister durin ...

History

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 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. On 25 April 1891, the laying of the foundation stone ceremony was held. Sir Arthur Hunter Palmer, acting Governor of Queensland, was given the honour of laying the foundation stone. Buried beneath the foundation stone is a bottle containing each of Brisbane's leading journals. The construction of the Old Museum was completed in August 1891 The land had been used by the Queensland Acclimatisation Society from 1863-1875. The new exhibition building was designed by the architect George Henry Male Addison (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 Kurilpa is the state museum of Queensland, funded by the government, and dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museu ...

, with the museum remaining in the building until the museum's relocation to the Queensland Cultural Centre 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 in Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Australia, officially ...

, who use the building as a rehearsal, performance and office space. The building is also home for the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra, Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra, 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 ''The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida'', often shortened to ''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 forc ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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. Known for often playing eccentric roles on both stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Geoffrey Rush, numerous accolades, including an Academy Aw ...

, Jane Menelaus and Russell Dykstra. The Old Museum building was also used as one of the sites for the 1980s

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 ...

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 terracotta tile work Bowen Bridge Rd Bowen Hills P1120400.jpg, Terracotta tile work above the portico arches. 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. File:Old Museum Gregory Tce and Bowen Bridge Rd Bowen Hills DSCF9296.jpg, Side view of the Old Museum Building. File:Old Museum, Gregory Tce, Bowen Hills DSCF9088.jpg, Corner view of the tower. File:Old Museum, Gregory Tce, Bowen Hills DSCF9095.jpg, View over the roof and towers. File:Old Museum Gregory Tce and Bowen Bridge Rd Bowen Hills DSCF9292.jpg, Foundation stone laid by Sir Arthur Hunter Palmer.

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 ...

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 ...

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 Queensland ...

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
* ttps://www.marquis-kyle.com.au/pr/000237.php Old Museum Building Conservation Management Plan {{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 in Australia GHM Addison buildings Federation style architecture Romanesque Revival architecture in Australia