Queensland National Bank, Childers
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Queensland National Bank is a heritage-listed former
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
building at 50 Churchill Street, Childers,
Bundaberg Region The Bundaberg Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is centred on the city of Bundaberg, and also contains a significant rural area surroundin ...
,
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 was designed by
Philip Oliver Ellard Hawkes Philip Oliver Ellard Hawkes was an architect who practiced in the Wide Bay area of Queensland, Australia, from 1910 to 1942. A number of his works are heritage-listed. Life and career Hawkes was born in 1882 in New South Wales. Hawkes worked ...
and built in 1919. It is also known as Childers Travel World, Wrench & Cobb, and Ye Olde Boutique. It was added to 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.


History

The former
Queensland National Bank The Queensland National Bank is a former bank in Queensland, Australia. History In 1872, the bank was established in Brisbane. In December 1914, the bank had its head office in Brisbane with branches throughout Queensland at Allora, Queensland, ...
is a masonry building in the main street of Childers and was the second building used by this bank on this site. It was erected in 1919 to the design of Maryborough architect POE Hawkes. The Queensland National Bank was the first and most successful of Queensland's three indigenous 19th century banks. It was established in March 1872 by a group of prominent Queensland squatters, politicians, lawyers, and businessmen who wished to secure development capital free from overseas or intercolonial control. Its first office was established in Queen Street,
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 ...
in that year and the bank attracted widespread Queensland patronage. In 1879 it secured the whole of the Queensland Government's banking business. By 1880 it held 40% of deposits in the colony and dominated the Queensland economy. This was not, however, the first bank established in Childers, the
Bank of North Queensland The Bank of North Queensland was formed in 1887 in Townsville with branches in Sydney and London. In 1893 there were branches in: Ayr, Cairns, Charters Towers, Cooktown, Herberton, Normanton, Rockhampton and Thursday Island and agencies at Mar ...
and the
Commercial Banking Company of Sydney The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, also known as the CBC, or CBC Bank, was a bank based in Sydney, Australia. It was established in 1834, and in 1982 merged with the National Bank of Australasia to form National Australia Bank. Hi ...
both being present in the 1890s and erecting premises in the newly emerging sugar town in 1900. Following logging of the dense
Isis Scrub The Shire of Isis was a local government area located in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, to the south of Bundaberg. The Shire, administered from the town of Childers covered an area of , and existed as a local government ...
in the 1870s, Childers, in the heart of the scrub, was promoted by Maryborough interests in the 1880s as an agricultural district. The land in the immediate vicinity of the present town was surveyed in 1882 into farm blocks. There was no official town survey and Childers developed following private subdivision at the railhead of the 1887
Isis railway line The Isis Branch Railway Line was a narrow gauge railway line in the present-day Bundaberg Region and North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It connected Isis Junction railway station, Isis Junction on the North Coast railway line, Queen ...
from Isis Junction. This was opened on 31 October 1887, and was intended principally to facilitate the transport of timber from the scrub. The coming of the railway not only promoted the development of the town of Childers; it also provided the catalyst for the establishment of a sugar industry in the district. At the opening of the railway to Childers, Robert Cran, owner of Maryborough's Yengarie mill, announced that he would erect a double crushing juice mill at Doolbi, to supply his mill at Yengarie, completed in 1890. Further expansion of the sugar industry in the Isis was closely related to the activities of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, which erected a central crushing mill in the district 1893–94, and began crushing in 1895. By this time, at least three other mills had been established in the Isis, with another two under construction, and Childers had emerged as the centre of a substantial sugar-growing district. In 1903 the old Isis Divisional Board (1886) was abolished and
Isis Shire The Shire of Isis was a local government area located in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, to the south of Bundaberg. The Shire, administered from the town of Childers covered an area of , and existed as a local government ...
proclaimed, with the new seat of municipal government moving from
Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...
to Childers. Whilst Queensland in general was slow to recover from the depression of the early 1890s and the 1893 banking crisis, the growth of commerce in Childers was attractive to banking institutions contemplating expansion. The Queensland National Bank initially rented a timber commercial building on this site, together with an adjacent timber house as a residence for the bank manager and opened for business on 9 July 1900. In 1909 they purchased this property and in 1919 erected a new and more prestigious building to the design of Maryborough architect, POE Hawkes. An undated floor plan in the archives of the
National Australia Bank National Australia Bank Limited (abbreviated NAB, branded and stylised as nab) is one of the four largest Banking in Australia, financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "Big Four (banking), The Big Four") in terms of mar ...
(the ultimate successor to the Queensland National Bank) shows what appears to be the current building. It has counters surrounding a public area, a room for clerical use behind them, a specially reinforced strong room, a manager's room and a bathroom and bedroom for the bank officer to the rear. The bank was constructed by a Mr Steffensen at a cost of and the previous building was sold for removal. Architect Philip Oliver Ellard Hawkes was born in 1882 in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and worked in
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Launceston and
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. Moving to Queensland, he worked briefly for the Works Department in 1909 before setting up his own practice in Bundaberg and Maryborough in 1910. He designed a number of premises for the QN Bank: most of these were simple timber buildings, although the
Kingaroy Kingaroy () is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the Road Junction, junction of the D'Aguilar Highway, D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highway, Buny ...
branch was a two storey masonry building, also in a
classical revival style Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of the most promin ...
. This also featured round headed arches as do the Carroll Cottage and Carrollee Hotel in Kingaroy, which were also designed by Hawkes. In 1943, a wartime rationalisation of branches in smaller centres resulted in the Commercial Banking Company and the Queensland National Bank closing their Childers branches. The QN branch closed on 18 January 1943 and the property was purchased by Wrench and Copp, an accounting firm. It was probably then that the bank counters were removed and a further small office built into the corner of the former banking chamber. In 1948, the QN Bank merged with the
National Bank of Australasia The National Bank of Australasia was a bank based in Melbourne. It was established in 1857, and in 1982 merged with the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney to form National Australia Bank. History In 1857, Alexander Gibb, a Melbourne gentleman ...
, later the National Australia Bank, who already had premises on the opposite side of Churchill Street. In 1973 the former QN Bank building was purchased by the current owners who and operated it for many years as a clothing shop called Ye Olde Boutique. It later became a real estate agency and travel agency. In 2015, it is being used by a medical practitioner.


Description

The former Queensland National Bank building is single story rendered brick building designed to fit an irregularly shaped corner block on the main street of Childers. It has a
hipped roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other vertical sides ...
concealed by a stepped
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
and an imposing, classically influenced street elevation. This is separated into bays by
pilasters In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
and features a heavy triangular
pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
above an arched entrance flanked by a pair of matching arched windows. The upper section of the wall is finished with rough cast render. The entrance doors appear to be original, having a pair of semicircular glass panes echoing the arches of door and windows and large brass and timber handles. The elevation to Ashby Lane is very plain with a parapet which conceals the roof and slopes away to the rear. It has two
sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...
s shaded by sun hoods, as does the other side which now faces the ANZ bank across a narrow laneway. The interior of the building has timber ceilings and plastered walls. It retains the main features of the original layout including the manager's office, a strong room and part of the teller's counter and cash drawers. A further office has been constructed in the corner of the former banking chamber. A small hall leads into the former bedroom which has been divided by a partition wall into a kitchen and store, possibly in the 1970s. The bank building itself is very close to its original appearance in form and interior layout; however, a large modern concrete block building has been constructed to its rear and is connected to it by a passageway.


Heritage listing

The former Queensland National Bank building in Childers 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 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. The former Queensland National Bank building is important in illustrating the development of Queensland because it was purpose built as premises for a bank formed to serve Queensland interests and needs when the state was a self-governing colony. The quality of its design and construction also demonstrate the importance of this regional branch at a time when Childers had established itself as the flourishing centre of a substantial sugar-growing district. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. It is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a regional bank of its era, from the reassuring conservatism of the classically influenced design, to the layout which provided a reinforced strongroom and allowed for staff accommodation. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. As a well designed and detailed building it contributes to the picturesque townscape of Churchill Street which is both remarkably architecturally coherent and intact. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. It has a special association with the life and work of Maryborough architect POE Hawkes, who designed a number of banks for the Queensland National Bank, of which this is one of the most substantial. It is also associated with the development of the QN Bank, the earliest of Queensland's indigenous banks.


References


Attribution


External links

{{Commons category-inline, Queensland National Bank, Childers Queensland Heritage Register Childers, Queensland Former bank buildings in Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Queensland National Bank