After such a hard-fought campaign it’s difficult to look at these images. Is there a greater heritage travesty in Brisbane than the loss of the Elizabeth St Printery and the 1870’s facades of Treasury Row in the past 30 years?
(Most images supplied by Martin Buckingham)
The Queensland Heritage Council has granted the developer Grocon immunity from heritage protection for the next five years for the entire Elizabeth St site. This effectively means the end of the Printery.
It is disappointing to note that the developers have been offered a complete amnesty which, in effect, means that the public have been denied the opportunity to make a submission. The submission process was due to finish on June 7.
While disappointed we’re very proud of this community campaign. It’s clear there has been significant public outcry over this demolition. It has drawn attention to heritage and development issues, not to mention seen young people actively involved in conservation.
We would also like to thank Kate Jones MP for her intervention.
It’s been 30 years since we lost Cloudland and the Bellevue Hotel. Yet it seems we haven’t learned the lessons from our past. Anyone can see that this building deserved to be protected, and we are now losing what is effectively a Woolstore in the heart of the CBD. This should not be happening in 2011 in any city that lays claim to any form of sophistication, nor in a city that has already suffered so much degradation of its character. We feel Brisbane has to appreciate these buildings and urge higher levels of protection from the city council and state government, not to mention greater appreciation of these character spaces from developers.
The Elizabeth St Printery has stood since the early days of World War 1. It will now be demolished to create a loading bay, thus joining the long list of Brisbane’s history that is now unfortunately just that. We are losing facades along Elizabeth St dating back to the 1870’s, an almost 100 year old freestanding Printery, an incredible character laneway precinct that could’ve been a feature of Brisbane, not to mention many small tenancies so rare in the CBD. We believe Brisbane is in danger of becoming a bland and homogenous place is we continue to lose these areas.
We will continue to campaign on heritage issues and support the community effort in growing Brisbane’s laneways. Stay tuned!
1) The Elizabeth St Printery (aka the H.Pole & Co Printery) was built in 1915. To put this in context, this is the same year as the diggers went ashore at Gallipoli.
Below- the Town Survey Plan from 1915
2) The Printery is surrounded by listed buildings on three sides- The Family Services Building, the Pancake Manor, the John Mills Himself Building and others on Elizabeth St.
Below- The heritage listed Pancake Manor Building to the rear of the Printery 
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3) The Printery was built within 3-4 years of the oldest of the heritage listed Teneriffe Woolstores. It is also of a similar aesthetic, not to mention timber structure and brick construction.
Below- the heritage listed London Woolstore, built in 1913
Below- The unprotected H.Pole & Co Printery, built in 1915
4) The H.Pole & Co Printery was the source of many early literary texts in Queensland. The Queensland Government Printing Office (constructed 1910-1912) is located in very close proximity on George St, and The John Mills Himself Building (a printery constructed in 1919) is located directly behind the H.Pole & Co Printery on Charlotte St. This suggests this area was the epicentre of the early 20th century printing industry in Brisbane. Not only that, but the John Mills and H.Pole Printeries also housed publishers and related industries as tenants.
Below- the nearby Government Printing Office on George St, constructed between 1910-1912. The Elizabeth St Printery was complete three years later.
5) The point above suggests not only structural and aesthetic similarities between the H.Pole and Co Printery and the early Teneriffe Woolstores, but also cultural links as light industrial areas servicing particular industries.
Below- timber structure in the heritage listed Winchcomb Carson Building at Teneriffe, built 1911
Below- Timber structure in the unprotected H.Pole Printery, constructed in 1915
6) The H.Pole and Co Printery is older and bears striking cultural, aesthetic and structural resemblance to the adjoining heritage listed John Mills Himself Building (Place ID 600084). Especially under Criterion A and E, on the DERM weblink…
http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/chims/placeDetail.html;jsessionid=0a10032330d81c8cc93f3c5340619a1db0f32d0a0f01.e34NaN8SbNyKci0MaheOaheMch8Me6fznA5Pp7ftolbGmkTy?siteId=14859
Below- The heritage listed John Mills Himself Building (a former printery)
Below- The unlisted H.Pole & Co Printery located directly behind
7) These buildings are so similar and were used for similar purposes, yet one is protected and one is not. Indeed the two buildings are located so close to one another the same laneway serves as access to the H.Pole & Co Printery and the rear of the John Mills Himself Building.
Below- the laneway servicing both the H.Pole & Co Printery and the John Mills Himself Building.
Below- the older unprotected H.Pole Printery (left) and the younger protected John Mills Printery (right with square windows) 
8) The H.Pole Printery is largely intact, both internally and externally. Even more so than many of the re-developed Teneriffe Woolstores
Below- Inside view of the Printery from the old Coffee Supplier tenancy
9) In terms of its context and setting it is unique in the CBD. Being a freestanding structure located amidst a confluence of laneways and service routes, it generates public activity and makes a significant off-street public space that is without parallel in Brisbane. It presents an active permeable face to laneway spaces on four sides and acts as a hub to existing and potential future pedestrian links between Elizabeth St and Charlotte St.
Below- the laneway off shoots branching toward Albert St.
10) We need to live in a city that preserves its heritage and retains its character! An almost 100 year old building does not deserve to be destroyed for a loading bay.
Below- The approved plan for the new office development, the Printery is marked ‘Void’
Article in today’s Australian Financial Review on the fight to save the Elizabeth St Printery. We also thank MP Kate Jones for expediting the heritage assessment. There is a possibility this building can be saved, so please get active people and show your support!
Dear Lover of Laneways (and perhaps character buildings) in Brisbane,
You were kind enough to sign the petition to save the Elizabeth Street Printery and Laneway. Now you have a chance to do something about it.
We have submitted a heritage application to the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM). In our research we have discovered this building is even older than the Brisbane City Council originally thought and was completed in 1915. To put this in context, this is the same year the ANZACs went ashore at Gallipoli. It also means the Printery was constructed in the same era as the oldest of the heritage listed Teneriffe Woolstores. Yet the developer Grocon will soon demolish this beautiful 96 year old building to make way for a loading bay.
As the BCC has washed its hands of this issue, an immediate protection injunction from the state government is the only chance of saving this building. There is now only one person who can do this, the DERM minister Kate Jones. She has the power to place a stop work order on the demolition. That will give the DERM officials time to properly assess the heritage application, especially in light of the new information we have discovered.
So what can you do?
Please write to the minister expressing how disappointed you are with the BCC, and how you hope the Queensland State Government will come to the rescue by placing an immediate protection order on the Elizabeth St Printery.
MP Kate Jones’s email address is…kate.jones@ministerial.qld.gov.au
We all have to live in this city, and this development takes away so much more than it gives to Brisbane. The developer has already erected barricades and demolition signs, so time is extremely urgent. Please don’t leave it to others, your email will make a difference. Start writing now and forward this email onto anyone who may be interested in saving this unique building.
Thank you also for supporting this campaign, your laneway loves you for it!
Cheers,
LOL BNE
Destroy a 96 year old character building and CBD laneway precinct for a loading bay? No way!!!
We have discovered that the Printery is older than first thought, and existed at least in 1915, though is possibly older. To put this in context, it was built in the same year as the ANZACS landed in Gallipoli. How do you feel that the BCC, Grocon and the ATO is about to destroy something this precious for a loading bay? Sign the petition here… http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lolbne/
Please save me, I’m just so darn pretty!
Born in 1924, I’m 87 years old. I’d rather be around for another few centuries than demolished for the sake of a loading bay.
Imagine cafes, retail boutiques and bars on your doorstep. A nice little cobblestone driveway and some tables outside on a sunny day.
Please Grocon and The Australian Tax Office, I’ll make your development super amazing I promise!
After… the loading bay for the new building. The 1920’s Printery will be demolished for this? Please Grocon and the ATO, save your best asset and turn it into something incredible!
During… a pile of rubble (this is a pic of the old Cloudland)
