Tlffi BRISBANE RIVER

A Consideration 0£ its Potential C220 1154679 4

Ronald Woodhouse Dipl.Arch., ARAIA.,

Department 0£ Architecture Queensland Institute 0£ Technology

Brisbane 1966 CONTENTS PAGE NO.

Preface One

List of Maps One a

List of Illustrations One b

Introduction One e

Description o f the Brisbane River Six

Historical Background Seventeen

Functions of the Brisbane River Twenty-eight

Management of the Brisbane River Fifty

Assessment of Current Situation Fifty-se ven

Recommended Proposals Sixty

Conclusions Sixty-eight

Appendix 1 Sixty-nine

Bibliography Seventy

Notes Seventy-three - 1

Ronald Woodhouse Special Study Diploma in Town and Country Planning De partment of Architecture Queensland Institute 0£ Technology Brisbane. 196 6

P R E F A C E

I have t o acknowledge t he a s sistance given to me b y Mr. Wheeler, Lecturer, De partment 0£ Town and Country Pl anning, Queensland Institute of Technolog y, By Mr. Stark from the Department of Irrigation and Water Supply, by Mr. Coaldrake of the c.s .I.R.O., by Miss Hurston, 0£ the Geological Surve y Branch 0£ The Fish Board, Mr. Kleinschmidt 0£ Gravel Sand and Metal Supply Pty. Ltd., Mr. Campbe ll of Ri ve rside Coal, Mr. Tucek 0£ the Brisbane City Council, Mr. Sanderson of Harbours and Ma rines, Mr . Smith of Hay l e s Cruise s Pty. Ltd., Mr. Mc Ke nna 0£ Moreton Tug & Lighte r Co. Pty. Ltd., and Mr. Cousins 0£ the Wate r Supply and Sewerage Department, Brisbane City Council.

My apprecia tion must also go to the firm of which I am an As socia t e , Cook & Kerrison and Partne rs, who he lpe d to a conside rable extent in my Surve y vork. L I S T 0 F M A P S

MAP SECTION

Map 0£ Brisbane Historical Outline

Geolog ical Map . Description 0£ the Riv er

Maps pertaining to Brisb ane's Water S~pply System . Functions 0£ the Rive r

Brisbane River Catchment Area and Graph showing r e cord flood De scription 0£ the River l e ve ls 0 £ the river.

Exis t i n g Land Use Assessment 0£ Curre nt Situation

Existing River Tra££ic . Assessment 0£ Current Situation

Propose d Land Use Recommende d Proposals

Proposed River Tra££ic Recommende d Proposal s lb

L I S T 0 F I L L U S T R A T I O N S

PAGE NO . The Rive r f rom Rive r Te rrace ld

South Bank of South Bri sbane Reach, looking towards the coal wharves . 2

South Bank o f Mil ton Reach n ear the William Jolly Bridge . 2

South Bank of the South Bris bane Reach looking t owards the coal w h a r£. 2

South Bank of Milton Reach near the Wi lliam Jolly Bridge . 2

Apartment b l ocks at Nzw Farm 11

Evans Deakin Ship Yard 1 2

Kangaroo Point from the coal wharves . 1 2

Kangaroo Point from t he Botanical Gardens 13

The old coal wharves South Brisbane 1 3

Harris Brothe rs Store , 14

North Quay from the Victoria Bridge 15

Rowing Sheds at North Quay 15

Portion of the Ol d Comm issa riat Depot Built 1842 19

Temporary wooden b ridge opened June 1865 19a

S ite·- o f the old Qu een ' s Wharf. 21

Kangaroo Point from Bowen Terrace , 21a le PAGE NO . "Se ttler" Trade d between Brisbane and Ipswich in 1860's 22a

Kangaroo Point £ rom Bowen Te rrace 1860 1 s 23a Second Victoria Bridge washed away by 1893 flood 24a The Victoria Bridge 25

The William Jolly Bridge , 25

Bea t ties Whar£ at Petrie Bight . 27a

Locality Map Mooge rah Dam . 31

Scum on the Hudson River U.S.A. 34

Rive rside Coal Oil Fuel Lighter 38

Gravel and Sand Depot near William Jolly Bridge . 39

"Collins" sand aid gravel depot . 39

"Amoco" oil r e finery Bulwer Island . 40

"Amoco" Oil r e fine ry 41

Wha rves belonging to Harbours & Marine Depart ment. 44

Hayles Cruises Pty. Ltd. De pot 46

The Botanical Gardens from Kangaroo Point 53

Rive r banks ofth':? inne r city . 54

Privately owned land on the Rive rt:ank. 55

Rive r bank adjacent to the Victoria Bridge North Side. 57 ld

PAGE NO.

Rive r Bank at the Botanical Garde ns . 57

Central City from the South b ank, Kangaroo Point. 59

Central City from the Southl:ank near the Victoria Br:id ge. 59

Wharves adjacent to William Street, City . 60

Graving Dock South Brisbane. 63

The Conservatorium of Music South Brisbane - 64

Kangaroo Point from the Harbours & Marine Site . 64

The north bank of tl;)e South Brisbane Reach . 65

Cliff £aces adjacent to River Terrace Kangaroo Point . 66 Kangaro9 Point £ram the North Bank. 67

White's Park, Kangaroo Point. 67 The Story Bridge _ 68

- le -

I N T R O D U C T I O N

(1) Na ture and Scope 0£ Task

The Brisbane River . The river that is the entrance t o the l argest River Port in Australia . It is a familar name to most people , but it seems that few appreciate this £ine meandering waterway with which nature has adorned the City 01 Brisbane.

The characte r and £unctions 0£ the river a r e changing r apidly due to great a ctivity t a king place in the industrial £ield, river tra££ic~and now the proposed new freeways, which will skirt the rivers edge in many parts of the Centra l City Area . Twenty- storey office b locks are being constructed on the river~ edge . Many parts of the rive r are being used £or small boat anchorage s) a nd as the number of boats increase so will the d emand for more mooring facilities .

The river has become more important in recent yea r s RIVER -n::.E. £or the number 0£ sporting a ctivities taking p l a ce . Row ing, speedboat racing, and waterski n the pleasurable pastimes enjoyed by many people . New dams are being constructed on the River , Moogerah Dam being only completed approximatel y one year ago.

Sommerset Dam and Mt . Crosby Weir have been constructed 2

£or some years now. These dams pr ovide many peop le with the necessary r ecrea tional activit y , t he p r ovision 0£ suitable par k l a nd , their primary purpose being for the s u p t,lY of water £or irrigation a nd domestic purposes .

This specia l study is concerned with a brief overall stu dy of the Brisbane River in its existing sta te , t a king into c onsideration the (1) early History, ( 2 ) Geologic a l For mation, ( 3) Industr y , ( 4) Shipping , (5 ) Landscaping, (6) Traff ic, (7) Administration, ( 8 ) Policing, ( 9 ) Fi nance . A general survey of all these aspects of the river will b e s ubmitted with a more deta iled s urvey on that section of the river bounded by the Story Bridge a nd the Toowong Reach. '50.JT~ BANK 01' ~TH. 8Rl'5BANE RE,C,CH l..00\(l!IG "tOWAlQ> CO\l.. wW!k-..e.._ From t he information obtained, it is intended to recomme nd certain developme nt pr opo sals which ;:nay be implen:,nted over a number of years . It is of utmost importance to kee~ the economics of s uch proposals in their right pe rspective . From t he s e sugges tions we may be able to improve t he river banks , p r ovide mor e rive r d rives a nd recreationa l facilities a l ong its banks . During recent months the p r ess have published sta tements made by v a rious authorities tha t Brisbane as a Port of T r ade is being l eft behind. If the value of the r iver is rea lized, and doc king facilities are improved together with various other imp r oveme nts , t le re i s no r e a s on wi1y Br is bane c annot retain its importance a s a major shipp ing port 0£ the Commonwealth.

SouTH BANK OF MILTON REACH NEA'R 'NILLlAl'-'\ JoLLY l31<'fDGE - 3 - (ii) Kinds of Data

PHYSICAL MATER IAL

While making a survey 0 £ the river and the banks it was f o und th a t many relics of the 1830 1 s still r emain. The Old Government Stores which is now part of the Government Archie'ves Build ing, Harris Bros. Store adjacent to Collins San d and Gravel Compa ny and the Coaling Wharves which are still standing but in very bad repair near the Harbours and Marine Depot , South Brisba ne. DOCUMENTARY MATERIAL

Much of the documentary materia l used principally £or the writing of the historical backgroond oft he river was obt a ined f r om s uch r eferences as:-

Centenary of Brisbane - 1823-1923 Brisbane - 18S9 -195 9 Triumph in the Tropics· - Cil e nto a nd Lack Queensland Centenary First 100 years

Be s i des these reference b ooks , photogr aphs were t aken of various a r eas roond Brisbane conne c ted wit h the Rive r, some were obtained f rom the Courier-Mail and other s from p rivat e e nterprise .

Maps showing new freeways were obtained from t he Main

Roads Department, other f o ur chain series rr1;,_ :)s f rom the Brisbane City Council and also some maps were purchased from 4

The Department of Irrigation and Wate·r Supply and · the Forestry Department. These maps serve ver y u sef ul purp ose s for illustrating all the survey material gathered from va rio us companies associated with the river and its banks .

The Oxley Library was my main source f or reference books and the State Archieves Build ing a l so proved to be of s i gnificant v a lue f o r the maps o f the First Settlement at the Victoria Bridge . Most of the Data collected c ame from many Government s ources who were only t oo willing to be of any assistance.

LIMITATIONS

Bec a use of the na ture of the subject I found I was forced to c onfine myself to a s pecific a rea of the river. To make a f ull s tudy of the ~iver f r om its s ource t o the mouth would t a ke much more t ime than i s availabl e , to do it justice. Just like a city c hanges from day to day.so does the river. The re is always some f orm of a ctivity t a king place whethe r it be new wharves , new b uildings or j"etties, or incr aased river traf:fi c . The Brisbane river is growing in importance every day, so much so, that planning ahead must be considered. More tha n e ver, in the ne x t few year~. 5 with the a dvent of new f reeways , bridges , increased dredging, and c on s equent~y more river traffic, this meandering water way will become more obvious a nd po ssibly much more appreciated by the Citizens of Brisbane .

The most useful c ontribution the Author would have to ? offer would be to b ring to the ~itizens a ttention the value 0£ such~ watercourse1 and how, with careful study a nd administr ation, this river c an c ou pete with any other in the Commonwealth.

Br isbane 's hopes £or the future must centre round the River . Brisbane c oul d we ll becom~ a manufacturing a nd distribution base to serve the Orient and Asia. This c a n only be done i f the potential of the river is r ealized before it is virtually too late . This fact and otrars the Author wishes to impress on each and everyone of t he readers of this thesis . A network of Freeways on the periphery of the river will ke ep people away from the Banks. Heaps of m bbish and rotting pie rs attract only the most arde nt slummers, and the pollute d wate r could keep people away as effectively as they kill :fish. Decay of the waterfront will hold its impending salvation. It will become so drastic that some thing will have to be done to improve the condition of the River's banks.

D E S C R I P T I O N 0 F T H E B R I S B A N E R I V E R

The Brisbane River rises in the Brisbane Range approx. 100 air miles North West 0£ Brisbane. It has a catchment area 0£ 5,155 sq. miles and a mean annual £low of 36 million acre rt. This figure being determined over a pe_riod 0£ Fifty-one years from 1909 to 1960.

The River has many tributaries the main ones being the Stanley River and the Bremer River one 0£ whose own tributaries, Reynolds Creek, has just recently been publicised to a great extent.

The River may be described under the following headings:

( 1 ) GEOLOGICAL STUDY

I£ we make a rough study 0£ the geological formation surrounding the Brisbane River we £ind that the overall area mainly consists 0£ Wallum Country with spurs 0£ Brisbane Tu££ occurring round the Story Bridge areas and parts 0£ Kangaroo Point• This is very obvious when:? the rock" cli££ £aces are apparent in these areas.

At the mouth 0£ the river there are the usual delta deposits which are washed down during floods and deposited. If we move further up stream we £ind sandstone round the Hamilton and Bulimba Reaches 7 and after passing through the Brisbane Tuff we again find this sandstone and schist which prevails most of the way up to the source of the river. Due to the fact that in the last one million years the gradient of the river has dropped .mur times, many gravel and sand deposits can be found. The river bed in the area adjacent to the William Jolly Bridge has deposits of gravel approximately 90 ft. deep, but no attempt has been made to obtain this as any wor k • may endanger the bridge foundations. Sand and gravel in the river bed is of very fine quality and many of the deposits may be selected at random in various areas of the river - depending on the gauge required. These deposits of sand and gravel are prevalent along moot of the river bed and dredges from the respective gravel companies are now operating up as far as Goodna.

The geological map enclosed will show . in more detail the various rock stratas and soils discussed. 8

(2) GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY

If we cast our thoughts back to John Oxley 1 s description of the river we do seem to form an opinion of very grassy plains and fertile country. However, this has proved untrue to some extent during the following years.

The mouth of the river consists mainly of mangroves which still exist today, but with the advent of . 1'.Gclamation work and development of new industries, the mangroves are slowly being diminished. The Brisbane City Council have also been proposing new developments rrund the Serpentine Area. This will have a two £old £unction.

(a) To eradicate the mosquito infestation that the mang:tt> ves have produced.

{b) Making use of a valuable area of land adjacent to the river for port facilities and recreational activities.

Moving further up the river we leave the mangroves and the river passes through Eucalyptus Forests which extends up to the source. There are also some pat ches 0£ grass land mixed in with these forests. 9

RAINFALL Within the Brisbane River catchment are a the di££erence inminrall is quite considerable and may vary rrom 80" round the Cowondah Range to 30" round Glenore Grove , s ituated on Lockyer Cr eek. This inrormation may be seen on the map supplied by the Department or Irrigation and Water Supply, enclosed within.

Thunderstorm activitiy on the valleys and catchment areas or the Brisbane River tends to rollow courses. The inrormation received £rom plotting the paths or storms show that they all conrorm to a -set pattern. Storms are more prevalent in the summer months rrom September to March. The annual summer rains generally occur in the months rrom November to February, helped by South-Westerly winds:. Gyclonic disturbances may also bring rain during summer months. LANDSCAPE

The existing natural landscape on both sides or the river has to a great extent been encroached upon by new industries and destroyed by reclamation work. However, there are still areas or mangroves at the mouth or the river. - 10 -

Moving further upstream the Lytton wall, Par ker Is . Wall Iswand wall and Bulwer Island wall, which were built by relier workers in the early 1930's are still in as cpod a con dition as they were when they were rirst built. Most or this stone c ana £rom Kangaroo Point and Petrie Bight quarries which were opened in 1933. In this area, with the advent or new industries many or the trees have been removed and reclamation work, which still is very active today~ is taking place.

At Quarries Reach the Royal Queensland Golr Club bordering the river £or some distance presents a very pleasant landscape. The Parker Island wall does help to enhance its appearance. On the opposite side or the river the Brisbane Abattoir, Borthwick's Meatwo~ks and the s.E.A. Power Station occupy much or the land bordering the banks. The condition or these banks should be improved upon. On entering Hamilton Reach, we £ind the berthing place £or many overseas cargo and tourist ships on the North side or the bank while the South side mainly consists or residential development, mixed with some light industry. The banks are in a fairly poor condition. Considering that Kingsrcrd Smith Drive bordering the river bank is the gateway to the City £or many tourists, there aught to be some thought given to the - 11 - landscaping of the river banks. The present condition is not very encouraging.

Break.fast Creek enters the river opposite Bulimba Point. This small creek is the mooring place for many pleasure launches and sailing skiffs and espe cially on we ekend vacations this small creek is a hive of activity but unf ortunately is too small for mooring all these boats. George Pickers have recently built new premises near the Breakfast Creek Bridge for serving the marine life activities.

Once again (except for the picturesque Newstead Park) the creek has been sadly neglected from the maintenance point of view. All the way along Bulimba Reach many pleasure crafts are moored.

Whilst small boats enhance the activity on the River they do present a problem, especially to regular shipping lines.

On the North side of Bulimba Reach, wharves such as Newstead, Mercantile and Dalgety's Wharf run its entire length, but their importance is gradually declining because of the difficulty encountered in mooring overseas vessels.

Norman, Creek is anothe~ haven for small boats and at time s becomes very cluttered, this is probably emphasized by the narrowness of the creek. - 12 -

Shafston Reach is a very interesting part of the river with high density apartment blocks on the North side being a prominent characteristic of the inner suburb of New Farm. On the South bank there are some impressive private dwellings with closely cut lawns

..;.~ :-. _-:r~-=~ lapping the rivers edge. In the midst of this ....~'!r :--~ is Evans Deakin Shipbuilding Yards. ~- ~~----{:~:. The cliff faces of Petrie Bight form an impressive back drop for the Story Bridge. Kangaroo Point ·EVANS !)EAl(lN SHIP YARD. has not been maintained and at low tide, a large mud bank is visible extending some sixty feet out into the river. On the further most portion of Kangaroo Point some light industry has developed over the years. This presents a very sordid appearance from the river as many buildings have not been maintained and this whole area looks like a junk yard.

On the North side of the Town Reach, wharves such as the A.u.s.N. (Aust) Pty. Ltd. and Nixon Smith extend as far up as the Botanical Gardens. Over the years the South side of the Town Reach has been developed as parkland which presents a very pleasant view from many new high rise b u i l dings r ecently built int he vicinity of Queen and Eagle Streets.

KANGAROO 13

The Brisbane Tuff clif£ £aces opposite Gardens Point presents a most impressive backdrop to the Botanical Gardens, and indeed is the most inte resting position 0£ the river. Once again this are a is overgrown with weeds a. nd grass and lacks proper maintenance . The Old Coal Wharves of South Brisbane help to degenerate this area. In addition, the sub-standard commercial buildings and wharves which have been built along the South bank of the South Brisbane Reach do not e nhance the appearance and only add to the South Brisbane squalor. In recent months, however, some attempt has been made by the Brisb ane City Council to regene rate this area by demolition of existing derelect buildings.

KANGARCO PT FROM THE. BOTANICAL uAl<'DEN'i. The North side 0£ the South Br JS bane Reach has great Historical Significance. It was at the site 0£ the Old Quee ns ◄ Wharf that Lie~enant John Oxley set foot on the bank which marked the beginning of the Moreton Bay Settlement. Today part of the Government Stores still exist with the original cre st of King George lV.

Harris Bros. Store built in 185 4 still remains today, but is slowly decay ing, due to old age and lack of proper mainte nance. Together with the se buildings we have many wharves on the water front mainly being used by Collins Sand and Gravel Company. Ha yles cruises also have their depot adjace nt to Queens Wharf.

THE OL"C) COAL WI-\Al<\/8.'S '20JT\--\ BRl'o8ANe. - 14 -

It is rrom this depot that many excursions up and down the river are instigated. With the implementation 0£ the Wilbur Smith Plan, many 0£ these sheds and buildings will be demolished to make way £or the new £reeway. This is shown in the enclosed maps. The Public Library and Health and Home A££airs Buildings will remain.

The Victoria Bridge will soon be demolished and mark another stage in the development of the Brisbane River. The new Victoria Bridge has been designed to take a greater volume 0£ tra££ic. Between the Victoria Bridge and the William Jolly Bridge is one part 0£ the River which has been sadly neglected. This is emphasised moreso by the presence of the Gravel and Sand Depot near the William Jolly Bridge and the derelict buildings on the South side adjacent to the Victoria Bridge which are now being demolished. North Quay is another section or the River which will be influenced by the new road system. At the present the Grammar School Rowing Shed, The Brisbane Rowing Shed and the Commercial Rowing Shed are the only buildings which will have to be considered with the implementation 0£ the road system. The banks 0£ the river in this section offer gre at scope for re-development. The John Oxley Memorial is a very insignificant one at the moment; STO'i2E hidden by grass and trees. - 15 -

The Toowong Reach is one of the longest reaches on the Brisbane River and it is this Reach that people appreciate more than any other part of the River. With a continuous strip of parkland running the full length of Coronation Drive pierced here and there with parking bays, people are able to appreciate the river. It is along this Reach also that annual rowing events take place. On the South side of the Reach there is some light industry adjacent to the William Jolly Bridge and extending for the full length of the Reach.

On the South bank of the St. Lucia Reach NORTH Q UA'( FROM 1 HE VIC.TO RIA 8RrDG E are the residential suburbs of Highgate Hill and West End while on the North bank is the suburb of St. Lucia and the Queensland University site. The residential development along this section of the river is of very high standard and the river frontages have been utilised to their full extent. The construction of a river drive round the University site once again provides an opportunity for pleasant landscaping on the river banks. Fron this point the river twists and turns past the Indooroopilly Golf Links, round Long Pocket, past the new Long Pocket Golf Links on the North bank, under the Walter Taylor Toll Bridge into Chelmer Reach. Proceeding down Chelmer Reach there is fairly high density residential development in the Suburbs of Chelmer, Gracevil ~e , ~herwood and Corin.do. .

ROWING AT NO RH\ ~ OA.Y. - lo -

Fig Tree Pocket on the North bank is more sparse in its residential developme nt and on entering Mermaid Reach, the River passes under the new Jindalee Bridge with comparatively new residential developme nt taking place in Kenmore Gardens on the North bank and Jindalee on the South bank.

From this point on, the river is utilised £or water sports, such as water s k i:ing and speed boat racing. Many water ski clubs have been established on its banks, such as the Pine Waters Ski Club, The Oxley Ski Club and others. Once the junction or the Bremer and Brisbane Rivers has been reached the width or the Brisbane River diminishes considerably. However, it is still navigatable and utilised con siderably by Riverside Coal and Darra Cement.

There are many colleries round Moggill Reach and Redbank Reach, which emphasises the importance or the River as an economical and important means 0£ transport. DESCRIPTION OF THE RIVER

H I S T O R I C A L BACKGROUND

When Matthew Flinders originally surveyed the East Co ast 0£ Austra lia in 18o2 , he claimed that no river existed between t he 24th and 29th degree 0£ South Latitude . Approximately thirty-five years after the first settlement at Botany Ba)J a convict settlement was thought to be necessary somewhere in the North . Li eutenant J ohn Oxley sailed North acting on FlindersI Report

On entering Moreton Bay in 1 823 Oxley met Pamphl ett and Finnegan, two o:f the three ship- wrecked timber getters , :from Illawarra, South of Sydney . Their ship was wrecked on the Eastern Coastline of Moreton Island and t hey found their way a cross t he bay to the South side o:f the Brisbane Rive r . With the hel p of the aboriginal inhabitants they then made their way North and found themselves on Bribie Island

Acting on the advices o:f Parnphlett and Finnegan, Oxley entered the mouth of the Brisbane Ri ver at a.oo a . m. in the morning, 1823 . After tra ve lling for a few hours the water became perfe c t ly fresh .

When writing in his diary Oxley wrote that:

" Due to slowness o:f t he current and depth of water the river will be found navigable for -v

vessels 0£ burden to a very considerable distance at least t h irty miles" .

He also claimed that it was the largest river in New South Wales and passed through extremely £ertile c ountry which later on proved to be untrue • . When they reached the mouth 0£ the river on their return journey it was dark, and because 0£ the prevalence 0£ mangroves and mud banks no shore landing was instigated.

After the report 0£ the Brisbane River was forwarded to Sydney, in 1824 preparations were made to tra nsport the £ irs t £elons to the settlement . Redcli££e Point was tre site £or the First Settlement, but due to the unhealthiness a nd unsuitability 0£ the site a decision was made to move up the Brisbane River.

The £irst landing was made at a point where the Customs House now stands and the £ irst centre 0£ activity was in the vicinity 0£ the Victo ria Bridge. The convict settlement did not contribute a lot toward s the development of t he Brisbane River. In general, no thought was given to the layout 0£ the initial building works as can be seen from the early maps 0£ Brisbane . - rg

During Logan's rule most 0£ the Penal Settlement started. Creek Street d e rived its name £rom a small creek running into the river and at the end of 1824 the old Commissariat Depot was commenced - part of which still stands to-day - known as the Archieves Building. During this time Governor Brisbane visited the settlement with a Chief Justice, Captain John McArthur and Francis Stephen. Although progress of the settlement was slow a few importa nt roads were built one of which was the road along the River Bank a t Hamilton which was constructed by women convicts and completed in 1837. In 1825 Major Lockyer claimed to have journeyed up the river £or a distance of 1 00 miles tra velling a total distance of 150 miles . In 1 830 Lockyer made t he last journey up the river to explore the Upper Brisbane r eaches.

Queen Stree t was originally formed on a surveyed tra ck which connected the Customs House with the settlement at the Victoria Bridge . A p unt across the river formed the first means of communication between the South and the North Ban ks . Later on a foot b ridge was constructed.

PORTION O F Tl-IE. OL-P C.OMMISSAR.tAT l>EroT.

BUILT IB42.. SOUTH BRlSBANE ANO HIGHGATE HILL. WJTJI TEMPORARY WOODEN BRIDGE OPENED JUNE 1865; DESTROYED BY FLOOD 1867.

JONE 1665. - 20

Among the prominent men 0£ this peri od was Andrew Petrie who held a very important place in public li£e until his death in 1872.

In the first ten years of the settlement nothing was organised very well in Brisbane but by 1839 the period of convictism e nded officially and not until February 12th ., 1842 was the a rea thrown open to Free Settlers .

The first land sale was made in this year following a survey of Brisbane by Governor Gipps who l a id out the size of the s t ree t s . There were sever a l amendments to this survey , however , one of which was the pr ovision of a public quay on the North side of the river . Portion of the South bank was left open a nd became known as Stanley Quay .

As the majority of land along the South bank was owned by private enter p rise there was very little space for the mooring of ocean- going steamers and most of the ships a nchored on the North side . "Kings Jetty" near Queens Whar f was the only mooring place on the North side.

The fir s t rive r ferry service was opened in 1843 21 -

and this plied bet ween Russell Stree t, So uth Brisbane to the Old Queen ' s Wharf' . Passengers used rowing boats and vehicular tra££ic used h uge punts which were hauled f'rom side to side of' the river by the means 0£ a £ixed rope. This f'erry c ontinued in service until the Victoria Bridge was opened in 1864.

Although t he first sea- going ship "MERMAID" was the first to cross the Brisbane River bar , the b igger ships did not attempt to enter the River as the depth or water at low tide in some places of' the river was only £our f'eet .

"31TE O F THE O LD QUEe:NS WI-I-ARF. Regular sea communication between Moreton Bay and New South Wales dates rrom 1842. This was intro duced by the Hunter River Steam Navigation Comp any and proved so successful that wharves and sheds at South Brisbane were built . Because shallow dra£t vessels were the only ones that could be used on the river, due to depth at low tide, all larger vessels were forced to anchor near the old P i l e Light . From i1c re all cargoes we re tra nsferred to lighters which were towed u pstream to their point of destination. - 21 Cl - - 22

In 1846 Brisbane was declared a port 0£ entry, but it was not until 1839 tha t plans were .approved £or dredging the river which eventually were instigated i n 1867. Also in the year 1846 , the steamer "EXPER IMENT", owned by J ames Canning Pearce began regular tra de with Ipswich b ut this p roved to be a :financia l :failure.

The £irst p ilot station :for ships going up the Brisbane River was established at Amity Point, but on the 1st. Augus t, 1848 it was moved to Bulwer Island. In the same year, "Andrew Petrie" (one 0£ the £irst :free settlers in Brisbane) opened a quarry overlooking the Domain, a nd the stone was :ferried across the River and used £or many of the early b uildings and retaining walls along the River Bank.

There were very few docking ;facilities on the Brisbane River in the early 1830's, and in 185 4 steamers a l ways be rthed near the p r esent Stanley Whar £ , South Brisbane. Further down the River which is now known as Kangar oo Point, the a cross rive r settleme nt p rogressed very slow l y . Kan garoo Point was vertually a jung le filled with mangroves. In the F i fties Ma in Stree t was a track cut through the t angled wilderness of wattle tre es and tee trees by b ullock teams p lodd ing a long back to Sydney via. Nerang . As late a s 1837 along the river a nd on t he cli££sides of Kangaroo Point, iettler,' built.for service on lhe · M,..,..,..,. Bivm-• umicli , · and 1.pswich ir,. the si,Siia · -a ·•••s:i,t1 groves of wattl e trees e xtended the f ull l ength of River Terrace.

Before 1845, l a nd on Kangaroo Point wa s conside red good f a r ml a nd and was s elling £or £ 1 . o. 0 per acre . Land at this time on the North side was s elling f or £ 100 . o. 0 per acre as b u ilding a llotments . People wer e forc ed to move a cross t o Kangaroo Point where a boiling down works and fell monge r y was establ ished, b ut d ue to its causing a public nuisanc e it was closed down several years l ater . Other industries such as ship b uild ing and saw milling was e stablished right on the Point .

The Wate r Police Headquarters in Edward Street was built in 1862. The Qua e nsla nd Marine Defence Force moved there in 1883 and in 1901 the Water Police took ove r. The police a cted as dredge attendants , customs and health offi c e rs .

At this stage in the Deve lopment of Brisbane, shipping and rive r transport was becoming more a nd more important . As me ntioned previous ly, the f irst ferry to cross the river plied between Russell Stree t on the South side to the Old Queen ' s Wharf on the Nort h . This was also u sed a s a tra nsit for hors e -drawn vehicles a s well as pedestrians . In 1839 a ferry a l so r a n to Peel Street, and r ound about 1860 the Edwar d Street Ferry was inaugurated where mail c oac hes f rom the South crossed the rive r by ITI?ans of a p unt - 2o d - 24 - which wor_ked from the Customs House to the end of the Point.

Many of the old p ubs along Stanley Street, South Brisbane were built originally by shrewd inn keepers in chosen strategic positions to cater £or all the road traffic streaming in from the outlying districts of Northern New South Wales , and hence today we still see glimpses 0£ the past in all these hotels - some of which still exist .

Betwe e n the ye ars 1864-74, North Brisbane was connected to South Brisbane by a temporary cross river structure . At this time a l so, between 1862-1866 the first improveITEnts were made to the river and an entrance channel was cut to a depth of 10 '0". In the year 1883 a new cutting s lightly to the East of this was advoc ated by Lt . C.P . Heath o At the· outer end of this channel a light signal and telegraph stat ion was erected and this combined structure became known as the Pile Light . The first structure to span the Brisl:ane River was destroyed by flood in 1869. The second and mor e permanent structure took four year s to build and was opened in 1874 as a toll bridge, the tolls being abandoned three years later . In 1893 the greatest f lood in Brisbane's History occurred and inundated a gr eat proportion of the City. The water level r eached 8'0" at the corner of the Old Courier Mail Building in Edward Street . -24d -

'oECONl) VICTORtA BRlDGJr.. WA-.Hml> AWAY BY 160t 'P-1.,00D. - 25 -

One half of the Indooroopilly Railway Bridge was carried away and the Victoria Bridge bur st assunder . The steamer " LADY MUSGRAVE" found itself hard and fast on the River side at New Farm Park. Another flood on the Brisbane River in 1896 caused the steamship "PEARL" , which was crossing the river with seventy passengers to be carried towards the Government Steamer "LUCINDA" and finally capsized.

Four years after the 1893 Flood the third and present Victoria Bridge was completed at a cost of $110, 0 00 . o. o. This bridge was the only bridge in the City until the Grey Street Bridge was opened in 1932 . The Story Bridge

THE VIC:1"ORIA 8RIDGE- costing £1,134, 000 0 o. 0 was opened on the 6th. July, 1940. After the 1893 Fl o od there was found to be a need £or a deep water port at the mruth 0£ the river and because of this Pinkenba came into being. However , Pinkenba proved to be too far down the River and the lower reaches of Eagle Farm £lats, Packer Island and Hamil ton Reach were dredged by powerful suction cutter dredges and bucket dredges . Bulimba Reach became the deep water port £or Brisbane . Reclamation work was carried out behind the training wall in Hamilton Reach. In 1900 this began in earnest to regulate the broad tidal estuary of the river. The inner channel behind Packer Island became the Royal

"THI:::. WILLIAM J0LL'( SRl'OGE. - 2 6 -

Queen s l a nd Gol f Cl ub a nd Bulwer Isl and was joined to t he main l a nd .

Wi th t h is r e c lamation the natur a l movement down t he river began with t he con struction b y the Go ver nmen t of reinforced con c r e te wh a r f and cold s tores i n 1922, a nd whar f constr u ction upstream by Br ett & Co. in 1929 .

In 1912 t he Sout h Brisbane Council obtained the whol e 0 £ the land up t o the Sta nley St reet a lig nment . In 1908 there was 5 29 f eet of wharf along the South Brisbane Reac h . By 19 1 3 t he municipal wharves attained a l ength of 2 ,33 1 fee t which p rod uced a r e ven ue of £5 , 924. O. 0 per annwn . I t was a l ways the policy o f the Counci l to i mpr o ve the wharf age accommodat ion and towar ds t he close of life of t he South Brisbane Council i t p oss e ssed a c ontinuous l i ne of wharves 3 , 2 36 fee t in length . The r e ven ue in 192 4 was £9 , 833. o. 0 a nd t her e was ample dept h a t t he se wharves to berth ove rse as freight ers . _ 27 _

By the year 1925 The Government Graving Dock and the coal wharves of South ~ risbane began to deteriorate bec a u se ships were making use of wharves further down- . stream closer t o t he mouth of the river. This was mainly due to the sharpness of the b ends further upstrea m and increase in the size of the ships .

Since 1 925 Brisbane has steadily increased in importan ce as a Port and all the main wharves are now situated closer tow~r ds the mouth of the rive r.

From when the Brisbane River was - disc over ed by J ohn Oxley in 1823 to the p res ent day very little has bee n done to mai ntain it s bank s , and the p roposal p ut forward by Governor Gipps to pro vide a continuation of p ub lic land on the North side was c ompletely ignored by those in p ower.

Today the River is be c oming more and more important. There is much activity taking p l a c e in the way of indu stry, commerce , new bridges and freeways , a ll of wh ich will mark another stage in the Histo r y of the Brisbane River . - 27cl -

Bm.A.T'l'lZ~ WHAKr AT PE"J:R'Il!. &tCK'T. HISTORICAL OUTLINE

F U N C T I O N S O F T H E B R I S B A N E R I V E R

Tm Brisbane River has many £unctions to per£orm namely in · six broad categories:-

(a) Water Supply (Industrial, Domestic & Irrigation) (b) Drainage (c) Communication and Transportation £or {Industrial & Commercial purposes) (d) Port Facilities ( e ) Recreat i on (£) Public Transport (A) WATER SUPPLY

This £unction of the Brisbane River is one 0£ the most important. In the early days 0£ Brisbane (around 1839) water was obtained from a series of water holes along a creek which had its source in what is now the Roma St. Railways, and ran through the site of the present City Hall and entered the river at Creek Street. An earth dam near the former site of the Brisbane Markets in Roma Street provided some storage. A water main ran from the dam to the site 0£ the Treasury Buildings. This main was just a series 0£ hard, hollowed out, grey ironbark logs. Water was also obtained from a quarry spring near the Grammar School and other water holes in Victoria Park. .. 29 . -

By 1863 the water supply problem was acute and Brisl:e.ne's first Board 0£ Waterworks was con stituted. The first task o:f this Authority was the construction 0£ the Enoggera Reservoir across the head 0£ Enoggera Creek. This was completed in 1866 and provided a storage capacity 0£ 1,000 million gallons. For twenty years the Enoggera Reservoir served the City's purposes. The storage was increased by the construction o:f a :further earth dam acra; s Gold Cx;eek adjacent to the Enoggera catchment, providing another 400 million gall ons £or storage. These two reservoirs still :form part 0£ the City's system today.

In 1890 it was decided to use the Brisbane River for further water. Mt. Crosby was selected £or a pumping station. In addition to the Brisbane supply, water was delivered in bulk to the Ipswich City Council since 1922, Redclif£e City Council since 1943, Albert Shire since 1963.

A large electrically operating pumping station has replaced the earlier plant at Mt. Crosby. To maintain. an adequate depth 0£ water at this Weirto permit the operation of this plant water may be released when require d from :two dams further upstream. · The two reservoirs are Lake Mancheste r and Some rset Dam. Lake Manche ster Dam is situated 1¾ miles from the confluence of Cabbage Tree approximately 12 miles al:Dve the Mt. Crosby Pumping station. The dam is built 31

The pumps are capable of lifting approximately ten million gallons daily to the Treatment Plant, 380 f e et a to ve the river level. This pumping station is the biggest of its kind in Australia .

It is propose d to amplify the supply to the Brisbane Wate r Supply System by deve loping the North Pine River as a source of supply.

0 From the pumping station the wate r is distributed to 23 service r e servoirs which have a total capacity of 47 million gallons. From these reservoirs water is distrib uted to the are a served by the mains gradually decreasing in size. Problems conce rning the s ize and disposition of mains in a district alf~ from the nature of the existing and anticipate d d eve lopme nt in the area.

( of \ Many industrial concerns require s e rvic es a size which MhO GERAH w:>uld supply hundre ds of ordinary dwelling s. The majority of f DAM industries today use water in some form or other. The Tennyson \ \ ,.., ! and New Farm and Bulirnba Power Houses use a treme ndous amount 'JIC' \ \ Sc11lo of rriles : 0 ' of water for rooling purpose s . Borthwicks, the Ab ottoirs and the i ...... , f Grave l De pots, together with the Fish Board utilise water to a . ' ·..._,...\j great exte nt and their position on the rive r banks is rightly AgnctJltur11l ft11ts Resen1oor 11re11 - Moogerah Dem __....._ justified. C11tC:Yl'ltnl eree -Wamll C,eok Roads - Ralfwllys The r e are only small irrigation schemes which f e ed off the LOCALITY MAP Some rset Daro, but in August 1964 the Moogerah Dan appm xirnately 64 miles south-west of Brisbane situate d on Reynolds Cr e ek, a tributary of Warr ill Cree k flowing into the Bre me r River, was opened. 32

The dam is a multi purpose project designed to provide permanent water for private irrigators and industrial areas and ensure a measure of flood mitigation in the catchment are a of the fertile Warrill Valley. Expansion of irrigation has been restricted because of inadequate supplies from natural flow and frequent necessity to impose restrictions on pumping for irrigation. Water is brought to 66 land holders who would otherwise have faced excessive costs in obtaining wate r from the streams.

The catchment area of this dam is 88 square miles. The reservoir has an area of 2,J:80 acres with a storage capacity of 20,000 ~illion gallons. Supplies to the landholders are metered and allocated on a licencing basis. Landholde rs are required t o pay for 75% of the annual licenced volume. At present 126 irrigation licences use water from streams served b y the dam. Provision has b een made to supp ly the S.E.A. of Queensland with 8 ,000 acre feet of water per annum for cooling and other purposes a t the thermal power stat ion unde r construction at Swanbank. The authority will draw wate r 1rom a location on the Bremer Rive r through its own pumping equipment and rising main from the point of diversion to the pumping station.

The dam will also provide an assured supp ly of water for urban use in the towns of Boonah, Kalbar for which water is drawn by the Shire Council from a pumping station at s.7 miles on Reynolds Creek. 33

Expansion o:f irrigation is expect2d to :follow the current pattern o:f luce rn £or hay and other fodders :for dairying and other livestock production as well as a wide range of vegetable production.

The area is particularly .ell suited :for expansion in view of its proximity to the expanding markets of the capital city of Brisbane and the large urban centre of Ipswich with a population 0£ over 50,000.

Expanded irrigation will not only result in increased production :from the valley lands hit will benefit livestock· production ins.irrounding dry land areas.

As will be seen :from the foregoing the supply of water to Brisbane and surrounding districts is a very costly undertaking. Water is the cheapest commodity available and work is constantly in progress to ensure that the city has a reasonable supply at all times.

( B ) DRAINAGE

At the moment the Brisbane River is not an open sewer, but this could happen in the future if strict control is not exercised in the dispe rsal o:f industrial wastes and sewers into the rive r.

In the United States, this situation is a very s e rious one and the Hudson River in particular is almost in the catagory mentioned above.

Of course the case o:f the Hudson River is slightly different to that of the Brisbane River. The Hudson River is part of a 34

wide ne twork of inland waterways which have citie s the s ize of Brisbane e ncroaching on its banks . The Great Lakes are als o part of this waterway and starting f rom t he s ource , cities obtain wa ter from the river and lake s and a large proportion is poured back in the form o f industrial waste s . Mo st times very little control being exercised on their distribution. Moving towards the Atlantic the progressive use and rotation of wat e r continues. By the time New York is reache d the water is f ull of bacteria , slime and slush not fit f or human cons umption or the maintaining of fish .

The above statement is a very gloomy p icture to paint but this is just emp hasising the importance of dispersal of s ewer and waste. water into the River.

Within the Centra l City a ~e a of Brisbane the re are approx imately thirty stormwater lines ente ring the rive r. The re is no limitation to the number o f line s e nte ring t he rive r except in the case of industrial wastes.

The re is fairly strict control on a ny sewerage or indu s trial waste wate r entering the tidal wate r o f the Brisbane Rive r, this control being administe red by the Harto urs and Marine Department . Many was t es have to pass through a filtration me dium before e nte ring the rive r. In the case of the Tennyson and Ne w Farm Powe r Houses , wate r from the rive r is passe d through and u sed as cooling medium f or the turbines . Any \tate r collected f rom the rive r a nd by the nature of such u sage becomes contaminated mu st be purified '3CUM ON THE KUDSON RIVE.I< U.S.A . before entering the rive r. 35

We in Brisbane or £or that matter in Australia are very fortunate that we do not have an inland waterway. If this was the case there would be very many problems to solve in the control 0£ e££luent entering the river not only in Brisbane but other towns associated with it.

The main sewerage system £or Brisbane £lows out at the mouth 0£ the river known as Luggage Point. Originally there were disputes as to the location 0£ the outfall. At one time Parker Island just downstream £rom the Hamil ton Wharve s a::ea was suggested as an outfall but finally, on the 4th November, 1913 a Gove rnment o££icial a£ter returning from overseas, considered the question 0£ the outfall and was 0£ the opinion that the site 0£ Luggage Point selected by the board was the best that could be found. There are two syphons carrying sewe rage across the river, one being located upstream and the other running from Bulimba on the south to Hamilton on the north bank. The syphon consists 0£ a gallery 8' O" in diameter and 1976 fee t 1.ong £ram sha£t to sha ft carrying two 2811 diameter steel mains and one 12" main at depth of 195 £ eet below ground l e vel. 36

It was in 1846 that the Steamer " Experiment" ran a regular shipping service between Brisbane and Ipswich. This proved to be a n un£inancial success . Since this time Rive r traffic has inc reased in volume and importance every year. There are many companies which use the rive r as a means 0£ transportation 0£ raw mate rials and £or transportation 0£ people in the form 0£ Ferry Services.

Among these companies a re The Queensl,and Cement and Lime Co. Ltd., Rive rside Coal , Moreton Tug & Lighte r Co . Pty. Ltd., Hay les Cruises Pty . Ltd. Other companies which make use 0£ the river £ or ove rseas trade are the Oil Refineries, namely Amoco and Ampol, the recently constructe d A .c. F. & Shirley 's Fertilizer Plant, the Fish Board, Evans Deakin and many others.

1 QUEENSLAND CEMENT & LIME CO . LTD.

The Queensland Cement & Lime Co. Ltd. began their ope rations in 1931. The coralline deposits surrounding Mud Island in Mor eton Bay are o f prime importance £or the development of Queensl and. It is most advantageous that the raw mate rial is so close to Bri sbane . With the£ actory situate d at Darra it has proved to be a very economical proposition.

The whole deposit round Mud Island i s uniform in characte r. It is 1 8 f eet to 20 feet in thickness ove r the area between high a nd low wate r. The Company has three v e s s els ope rating ' 37 the dredge "Coral" which was use d as a tank landing ship during World War 11. In 1950 it w as purchased by the company and conve rte d into a suction dredger. At the ste rn o:f the dredger are two mooring posts which enable. the vesse l tooo pivoted and turned in an arc as required.

The suet ion ladder is 80 :feet long and carries two cutte rs and suction p ipes. The ladder is hinge d and controlled :for cutting and.feeding the coral to the pump.

The "Cementco" was purchased by the company in 1948. It has six propellors and six rudders, and cruising speed o:f 7½ knots The hopper capacity o:f the "Cementco" is 2 ,000 tons.

"Morib" is a carrier or 800 tons capacity. It was originally used in Malaya and the Far East and purchased b y the company in 1953.

DRr;DGING AND CARRYING

The "CementCo" is moored alongside the "Coral" which is stationed at Mud Island. The deliv e r y pipe from the "Coral" is connected to the loading pipe o:f the "Cement c o " and the dredging pump is started. The approximate time o:f loading the "Ceme nt co" is 2 hours 40 minutes . Once loading is completed the "Cementco" proceeds to the Company's Whar:f at Oxley. The river ttr ip o:f 40 miles taking 5 hours. At the whar:f the "Cement c o " is moored, the hoppe r doors opene d, and the cora l rumped in the river where it is r e cove r e d b y whar:f cranes .

A:ft er unloading the "Cementc,:> " r e turns tot he "Coral" the return trip taking approXimately 4½ hours. 38

The full round trip is 12½ to 13 hours. This operation is carrie d out on e ve ry tide from Monday to Friday. All in all 800,000 dry tons a year are dredged from Mud Island.

RIVERSIDE COAL TRANSPORT CO. PTY. LTD.

Another firm which operates e xtensive l y on the river is Riverside Coal Transport Co. Pty. Ltd. This firm is mainly concerned with the Transportation of Coal from the upper reaches of the river to New Farm and Bulimba power houses, in addition to general towing work on the river.

There are four colle ries from which coal is o btained namely Rylance,Abermain, Moreton,and rivoli Colleries,all in the vicinity of the Junction of the Bremer and Bris bane Rivers. Four tugs are ope rating at the moment namely the'Hustler", "Carslyle", "Olympia", and " Br emer" with :five barges, two being self propelled.

Once again Riverside Coal use the tides to their advantage, and all their vessels have to b e of a reasonably shallow draught to enable them to encounter such difficulties as S2venteen ,, Mile Rocks and other shallows. // RIVER'510E c..DAL. OIL FUEL LIG.t·frSE.. Besides coal transportation Riverside Coal dredge :for silica sand in the Callopie Passage of Moreton Bay, and large quantitie s of this are supplied to James Hardie & Co. Pty . Ltd., With the advent of the Ampol and A.mi>cDoil refineries, Riverside Coal have been vo rking in conjunc tion with them int he in the bunkering of ove rseas vessels. These v essels generally anchor outside the Pile Light and the oil field :freighte rs proceed to this point. 39

This saves many shipping companies the expense 0£ port £e~ s which can be very costly especially if the ship is in port during a wha rf labourers strike . It also assists in the development o~ not only the refining industry 1but of the port itself.

General towing work is also carried out~ Rivers:ide Coal £or only l~ght loads. A new tug is now being bJuilt by Riverside Coal to cope with the increasihg demand £or rive r transportation.

Riverside ( OFL) will £orm the n c ucl0.1S 0£ a fleet 0£ Rarges which will grow in a c c ordance V1.i. th the requirements 0£ oil and s h ipping executives.

GRAVEL ~ 5AND "DS:fOT NEAR W\U.\AM JOLL'( SR11>GE GRAVEL AND SAND DEPOTS

Moreton Tug & Lighter company is one of the three gravel and sand companies operating on the Bristane River £or the Dredging 0£ sand an gravel. The other two companies involved are Gravel and Sand Pty. Ltd. and William Collin§ & Son Pt y . Ltd.

This industry is one 0£ the most important industries connected directly with the river. There are ample deposits 0£ gravel in the rive r 0£ va rious gauges and c ertain positions may be chose n to credge in order to obtain the ne cessary gauge required.

Gravel and Sand Pty. Ltd. ope rate beyond Seve nteen Mile Rocks round the Goodna area. The company was formed in 1911. Grave l and Sand own £our sel£ propelled dre dges and several freehold properties adjacent the William J o lly Sridge where the washing and scre ening process 0£ the gravel material takes SAN't> ~ GRAVEL DEPOT. place. 40

Moreton Tug & Lighter Company was f ormed i n 1945 and at present ope rate further downstream from Sevent een Mile Rocks . In the f irs t few yea.rs of the forma t ion of the company, their activities included the transportation o f mine ral sands f rom Dunwich to the mainland, and the wholesale s upply o f gr avel to w. Quince & Co . Pt y . Ltd. at Oxley. The comµa ny is primarily conce rned with the dre d g ing of g r a ve l and sand from the river but do dredge £or sand in the Canipa Passage of Moreton Bay, this sand being use d by the glas s works. The company operates a fleet consisting of 2 tugs , 2 sel f propelled lighters, and five barges . They also have a licence to o perate the Sir J ames Holt Ferry.

Towing work is carrie d out to a small degree by the company and one o f their ma jor contra cts this year was the towing of dutch dre dge "Captain Ne ilse n" in Moreton Bay up to a s e l ect ed mooring place on the Brisbane River.

The gravel and sand depots are a ne c e·s sity to Brisbane . The economic factor must be kept in mind , so that any attempt to move them from their e xisting position on the rive r should be seriously c ons i der e d. At the present time costs of sand or grave l in Sydney a r e a pproximately$43i>pe r yard, whilst in

Brisbane it is $2 0 25 i:e r yard. I£ these yards are removed from the city a r e a and r e - estab lished outs ide the city the price of sand and grave l would rise by 80¢ per yard which would ser iou s ly affe ct t he cons ume r a nd certainly inc r ease the cost of build ing in Brisbane . It is o bvious that s omething should be implemente d to s creen these yards and provide an I \ AMOCO OIL RE FINER'< 6UL.WER ISLAND attractive l a ndscape instead of a v e ry untidy motly of timbe r 41

s caf folding. OIL REFINERIES During the pa st two years w ith the discove r y of oil at Moonie, Amoco Au s tralia Pty. Limite d and Ampol established oil refine ries u t Bulwe r Island and Lytton r espectively.

A few years before 1960 Bulwer Island might have been considered one of the unlikeliest sites for any kind of industrial development. The island was v e r y low, and partially under water at high tide. It was muddy a nd ove r grown with mangrove and othe r swamp vege tation. But it had one factor in its favour - strategic location - which is important in the light of Australias' active growth and subsequent discovery of new petroleum and natura l gas r e sources less than 200

I \ AMOCO RE.F \NE.RY. miles away. This is the site of Amoco's new refinery.

Although a considerable portion of Australian crude oil may be r efine d, more is required from othe r lands. Hence oil lade n tanke rs need a r (! a s onably deep habour and so s ub stantial d r edging was necessary and t his offe red significant i mprovement to the Brisbane harbour approaches .

SHIPBUILDI NG

Evans Deakin have an extensive shipbuild ing yard at Kangaroo Point and just recently much money has been spent on large scale improvements. This industry i s a very important one connected with the rive r but because o f t he limitations imposed by the width of the rive r at this point any ships built ha ve to con1orm to a stipulated maximun length for launching 42

purposes. This is not an ideal spot f or the shipbuil ding industry and probably would be better located where the rive r is much wide r.

FISH MA RKET

Due to proposals put forth by the B. c . c ., and als o due to the implementation of the Wilbur Smith traffic p l an , the existing Fish Board headquarters adjacent to Victoria Bridge wi 11 be demolis h e d and new headquarte r s w ill be constructe d at Comslie. This was finally agreed upon aft e r succe ssful negotiations between the Que ensland Governme nt and Common wealth Department o f the Interior, £ or the acquisition o f a suitabl e down rive r site. The Comslie proje c t will provide for immediate and future expansion in the spheres of marketing and proce ssing. The Comme rcial f ishing industry can now claim prominant status as an important food producer £or Qu eensland. With the introduction of modern p roce ssing t e chniques Queensl a nd 's s urplus seafoods a r e sought by the worlds mos t f a s tidious importe rs and because o f this demand the re has been a marked increase in the sise of the trawling f l eet .

The ne w Comslie site,has a 904 foot rive r frontage , and an area of 3½ acres and alre ady the s ite ha s a natural land scape with trees at the r e ar oft he property and a gentl e slope down to the rive r's edge . Developme nt of the s ite will be accomplished int hree stages ove r a p e riod of 24 months . It has been desi gned with considerable thought g iven t o its relationship with the rive r and will incorporate the f o llowing:- 43

(1) An unloading quay_, with low tide depths from 8 feet to 10 f eet capable of accommodating vess els up to 80 feet. The quay will be equipped with three mechanically equipped concrete piers jutting out into the river and will provide at least eight berths for trawlers f ran 45 to 80 feet.

(2) An inner boat harbour :fort he mooring of fishermen's trawlers with a first class slipway fuelling facilities, marine workshops, fishe rmen's amenities section and a car park.

( 3) An auction hall together with oold storage, fish cleaning and filleting hall.

(4) The Processing Factory which will be built behind the unloading quays with a stone pitched rive r bank at the front and a landscaped garden behin~.

(5) A two storey Administration Block which will be built on top of the processing factory overlooking the Royal Queenslarrl Course on the northern bank.

The new site has a distinct advantage over the previous site as it is close r tot he mouth of the river and offers much more convenient docking facilities. This follows the general trend of industry moving :further down the rive r where there is more room to manipulate the big ships and where t ime is $aved in not having to steam up as far as the Victoria Bridge. The n ew Comslie site has a distinct advantage economically over the present site of the Fis h Markets. 44

(D) PORT FACILITIES

The existing port £acilities 0£ Brisbane have not improved ve ry much ove r the past six toe i ght years, but there has been a noticeable movement £urther downstream of many industries and consequently many.wharves have ceased their ope rations.

As far back as 190 1 Kangaroo Point , Gardens Point, and Bulimba Point were always a menace to shipping and attempts were made to remove these extremities . From 1901 to 1914 improve ments on the river we re being instigate d continually to obviate areas which w ere a menace to shipping.

During the 1914 - 1918 war there was a decline in shipping on the river, and in 1933 the quarry was opened at Kangaroo BE.LONGIN<:. TO t-\A.RBOURS c MARII\\E OEPAIZ"TMEITT WHARV'f:S Point for the employmmt o f relie£ labourers.

The~Lytton tra ining was raised by relief work and much of this area was subsequently reclaimed. S imilarly much 0£ the area behind Hamilton Wharves was reclaimed by relie£ labour. The original scheme was to provide parkland and parking facilities for the wharves.

In 1938 a Flying Boat Basin at the Eastern end of Parker Island was excavated£ or the Commonweal th Government for the accommodation and mooring of flying boats.

There are twodry docks on the Brisbane River, namely Cairn cross and The South Brisbane Dry Docks . Cairncross be ing the bigger of the 'two. 45

At the present time dredged channels in the river a re a minimum width 0£ 400 £e et and generally are dredged to a depth 0£ 28 £ eet £rom the Bar to Bulirilba Re ach and 22 £eet £rom Bulimba Reach to the Victoria· Bridge.

Many 0£ the larger ships entering the Brisbane River cannot advance up £urther than the Hamil ton Wharves, as the river narrows down considerably at this point,and the costs 0£ maintaining a very deep channel would prove to be quite expensive.

It has been · stated int he newspaper during the past £ew months,that Brisbane is losing its position as a major port and in ten years time exports £rom the port 0£ Gladstone will £ar exceed that 0£ Brisbane.

With the adve nt 0£ new oil r e£ineries at Bulwer Island and Lytton and the reclamation work that has been expedited, it is 1 obvious that this is the beginning of a new era £or Brisbane as a port, £or it is this section of the river, that o£fers tremerldous C: skope £or the d e v e lopment 0£ ne w wharves, combined with large scale d r edging and r e clamation work.

( E ) RECREATION

The Brisbane River forms a waterway £or many £orms 0£ recreation. The main £orrrso£ recreation taking place on the rive r are:- ( 1) Sailing ( 2 ) Boating (3) Waterski-ing ( 4) Rowing 46

(1) SAILING

Sailing is one :form o:f recreation which has increased in popularity during the past :few years. Most 0 £ the sailing a c tivity on t he river takes place :f ran the Hamil ton Reach down to the mouth.

Ski££ Clubs, 1 8 ' sailing clubs, and the Royal Que ensland Yatch Club occupy various areas on the South side o:f t he Hamilton Reach. It is a very pleasant s''ite 9' on a Sunday afte rnoon to see the vivid colours of sails d otting the surface of the river in all' shapes and sizes.

( 2) ·$ 01).TING

It is only neces sary totake one or two trips up or down the river to realize how beautiful a river can be and eSJ:2 cially because of the number o:f twists and turns the Brisbane River makes to captivate ones interest. The re is always something interesting round the m?Ct corner.

Most o:fthe tourist :facilities conne cted with the river and bay trips are handled by Hayles Cruises Pty . Ltd. the head o:f:fice b eing at North Quay, tucked down almost under the Victoria Bridge a nd o b scure d :from view by a mass o:f :flowering trees .

Th e company run; :four boats on picturesque River trips to Lone Pine and scenic bay trips to S tra d b roke I s land, Bribie I s land, and Point Lookout , and Dunwich .

Special cha rte r trips may a l s o be made :for parties or conventions .

HAYLES C.RUl':>E'S P-rY. LTD

1HE VtciORIA SRIDGE 4 7

(3) WATERSKI-ING

This sport takes place in the river from the Unive rsity Domain up, as far as the Br ·emer River . There are many clubs operating on the River new, namely the Brisbane Water Ski Club, Yeronga Water Ski Club , Oxley Water Ski Club, Indooroopilly Wate r Ski Club, Pine Waters Water Ski Club.

This section of the river where the clubs ope rate is idea l for this type of sport because of the absence of river traffic in many of the r e aches.

(4) ROWING

Toowong Re ach, because of its length and situation is an ideal part of the river for all rowingevents. It is relatively sheltered from many bree zes and the North Bank of Coronation Drive provides an e xcellant spectator position for such a sport.

Such schools as c.E . G. S ., B. B.c., and the Brisbane Grammar SchoolJ all have their rowing sheds bordering the river bank, C.E . G. S . being situated at Mowbray Park, the others along Toowong Reach. 48

{F) PUBLIC TRANSPORT There are eight cross rive r Ferries ope rating on the river plus two Ferries ope rating between Mowbray Park and1he Customs House . Mo st of these ferries operate from five ·. in the morning to e leve n o 'clock at night and these services extend from the West End, St . Lucia Ferry tot he Hamilton Bulimba Ferry.

Travelling by water a ppeals to many people and give s them great relief from the congestion of our city roads. With the implementation of the Wilbur Smith plan, however, the existing cross river services seem to fulf ill the prese nt day nee ds.

Our rive r is such that is lends itself to aome form of public tra n sportation . The first indication of this idea, is the introduction of the Ferry s e rvice f rom New Far m to the Customs House. If this f orm of transportation is t o ·be s uccessful spe ed will be the secre t · of success. This is governed to a large exte nt by the Hartours and Marine s Authority who stipulate a speed not greate r than 4½ to 5 knots on the rive r .

The wash create d by many launches and small !:oats does have drastic effects on the river banks and tends to e rode many sections. This may only be overcome by the introduction of shallow draft ve ssels or hydrofoils. At the present time our e conomy is such that is cannot support h ydrofoils . The cost of running hydrofoils on the rive r compare d with the weekl y return on passengers fare s would not balance . At the prese nt time Brisbam's pop ulation is not s uf ficie nt to support such a scheme. 4 9

The ve hicular £erry Sir James Holt was introduced at tl:e beginning 0£ the year to relieve tra££ic congestion on the three main bridges across the rive r. This as mentioned be£ore is under lice nce to Moreton Tug & Lighte r Co. The Ferry operates between Bulimba and Hamilton. FUNCTIONS OF TH-E RIVER

MANAGEMENT 0 F T H :l B R I S B A N E R I V E R

At the pr-esent time the management of the Brisbane River comes under £ive : authorities . (1) Hartnur's and Marine Department

(2) Irrigation and Water Supply

(3) Brisbane City Council

(4) Private Enterprise

( 5 ) Water Police.

(l) The Harbours & Marine Department control all tidal parts of the rive r and the Irrigation & Water S upp ly control al 1 other parts conl'E cted with the River •

All flash signals, buoys, and DB. rkers on the rive r banks are erected and maintained by the Harbours & Marine Authorities. All d redging on t he rive r since 1900 has been administered by Harbours & Marine.

During the 1930 1 s much reclamation work was carried out at Hemmant and Lytton and Pinkenbah, 166 acres were r e claimed all told. Much of the stonework £mm the Petrie Bight and Kangaroo Point quarries, was used for raising and improving the river walls.

With the advent oft he new oil refineries much reclamation work has been instigated round the mouth of 'the River and at Bulwe r Island. New wharves have been provided but many more are needed toc..evelop the port facilities of Brisbane . The Harb:>urs and Marine Department also h a ve control over the Graving Docks at Cairncross and South Brisbane . 5 1

At the prese nt time d r edged c hannel s in t h e rive r are a mi n imum width of 400 f eet and dre d ged to a d e pth o f 28 f e e t from the Bar to Bulimba Reach and 22 f eet f rom Bulimba Reach t o Victoria Bridge . Cl earance of the Story Brid ge i s 100 f e et above the high wate r mark .

The Harbours and Marine Department also control the d ischa r g ing of industrial wa ste s and s ewerage into the rive r. Most of this has to go through a rigid filtration proces s bef ore be ing d i s cha r ged into the rive r. This control also ext e nd s to ships in the Port of Brisbane. All waste and f oodstuff is to be kept in s pecifie d r e cepticale s whilst in port, nothing i s to be discha r ged into the river.

All small boats , large s h ips, and a n y othe r f orm o f wate r transport are t o a d he r e to ce rtain r egulation s a s s e t out i n the Saili n g Dire ctions manua l i ssue d by t he Harbours a nd Ma rine De pa rtme nt.

Just a s rules and r egula tions are introd uce d on the road, so the same a p plie s on the rive r. It is t he d uty o f the Harto urs and Marine Depa rtme nt to see that a l l r egulations a r e a dherre d ·to by t he marine rs conce rned. The wate r police who have the ir depo t ne ar the Cu s toms House do work in conjunct ion with Har bours and Ma rine in e n f o r c ing law on the rive r traf f ic. (2) I RkI GAT I 0N AND WATER SUBPLY

The Irrigation .and Wate r Suppl y Comm i s sion only cont rol wa t e rs vhich are a bove the tidal portion o f t he r i ve r. -53-

(3} THE BRISBANE CITY OOUNCIL

The only conne ction that the B.c.c. has with the Brisbane River is by way of' the Brisbane Water Supply System. As mentioned previously under · 1Ce scription of the Brisbane River" the B.c .c. has ·control of' two dams, Somerset Dam and LaKe Mancheste r which a re the backbone of Brisbane's Water Supp ly System.

This wate r from the dams arrives at the Treatment Plant on the river and undergoes a number of processe s to give a high quality product finally distributed. The first step of the process is the removal of the bulk of suspended mate rial, then through the filtration plant.

From the filtration plant the water is pumped to various reservoirs strategical ly positioned round Brisbane.

Besides wate r supply, the Brisbane City Council does have some responsibility £or such River Drives as Coronation Drive and parks along the river such as Newst ead Park, New Farm Park, Merthyr Park, Mowbray Park, White Park, The Botanical Gardens, Davies Par k, and the adjacent Riverside Rese rve, Orleigh Park, Dutton Park, Sir John Chand l e r Park, Sherwood Forrest Park.

The majority of these parks a re in reasonable condition h ~t the river banks oo rdering the parks a re in most cases neglected. In the past few )ears the B:risbane City Council has made some effort to improve these parks and open spaces 54

not only those associated with the rive r bu t throughout Brisban e . If some t hought was given to r e t a ining the banks such as rock faced walls etc., a much more pl easant appearance would be achieved.

All b uildin g works associa t ed with River frontages are administe r ed by the Brisbane City Council , and in gen e ral there i s a f ixed distance f rom the river bank on which no build ing works are to take place. I£ j etties or wrarves are r equired then permission has to be obtained from the Department 0£ Harbours & Marine . 3 The Quay line is the dividing line gene rally situated a certain distance out f rom the river bank towards the ce ntre of the rive r and is the dividing line between the B.c .c . responsibilities and th:,se of the Harb ours & Marine Depar tment.

RIVER BP.NI<.~ OF INNER CIT'{ 55

(4) PRIVATS SNTSRPRISE

Private Ente rprise plays a major part int he management of the Brisbane Rive r banks and not so much in the management of the River.

Many industries which have acquired land on the banks of the river during the past few years a re making some attempt to beautify the banks and adjacent land.

This is particularly noticeable where the oil refineries have b een constructed at Bulwer Island and Lytton, A.C.F. & Shirle ys new chemical complex at Pinkenba/and the new Fish Board project at Comslie.

The above a re only some of ~he industries as·sociated with PF21VATELY OWNED LANO ON RIVER 6AtJI< . the river. Shipbuilding yards and gravel depots are others which can help in providing some form of maintenance to the river banks.

The river is much too large to exµ?ct one authority to manage all the various aspects associated with it. 56

(5) WATER POLICE

The principal duties of the Water police are as follows:

(a) Patrol all wharves and fore ign shipping, kee ping close watch on ships cre ws and dessertion of ships by crew members.

(b) Registe ring of all boats , pleasure or business craf ts.

(d) Investigation of all drowning fatalities and my shipping fatalities on the river.

Besides the river the Water Police admi niste r all ID ating on dams from the Border t o Tewant in.

However all industrial wastes and sewerage effluent enterin g the river are controlled and administe red by t he Health Department. Regular tests are carried out on the s ewerage discharge at Luggage Point to ensure that pollution does not occur at the mouth of the river.

A S S E S S M E N T 0 F C U R R E N T S I T U A T I O N

At the present time the r e is much to be done on the river banks. The re is an obvious lack of mainte nance except in some areas such a s the banks of the Bota nical Gardens and

c e rtain Parks dotte d here and the re which do present q.i ite a r e spectab le appearance.

Existing development along the river banks at the prese nt time does l e ave much to be desired. Many gravel depots do pre sent a disorganised appearance. Industrial development until about a year ago was ve r y hap hazard. At the present time land adjacent to the Brisbane Ri \.er mouth s eems to be developing in a more orderley manner. RIVER. !3ANK. AOJ!l(:ENT TO THE. 'ilCTORIA BRl~E I\IORni 'SIDE Brisbane as a River Port is not as important as it was two or three years a go. This is largely because 0 £ the distance ships have to travel up the rive r to~rth and second ly because of the restriction of the width o f the r ive r imposed upon ships turning in mid stream. Today the revolution that is a b out to h.irst on Australi3.. n shipping is containe risation. This inuolve s the packing of a miscellancy of goods - called _general cargo in shipping parlance - which at the present time travels in toxes, bags, bales and cartons of all shapes and sizes>into a me tal containe r and s imply moving the bigger b ox. The box 8 ' x 8' x 20' or 40 feet long will be transported, shipped r eceived and umpacked in one continuous door to d oor conveyor belt ope r a tion. The time is fast approaching when Australia's imports and exports for the U. K. and the continent will be RIV E.R ~AIIIK AT THE. \30TAN1cAL GAR'DE.N':,. 58

carried in thirty huge ships inste ad 0£ hundre~ds 0£ smaller ships used t oday.

Australia's import e xport b ill costs us $600 million annually and e ven a small cut would be important. It is possible that Australia's trade will double ove r the m xt ten years, with the possibility 0£ the rreight bill going up to $1800 million annually. The r equire me nts 0 £ a container port will be to provide £or s hips 800 feet long 90 feet wide and d rawing up to 30 f e e t 0£ wate r. An essential r e quirement will be 15 acre s - more ideally - 0£ land per be rth £or the transit storage of containe rs.

Two shore gantry crane s 0£ up to 40 ton capacity will be n eeded. Good road and rail conne ctions to inland consolidation and break bulk depots as vell as good inland communications to the main industrial centres will also b e paramount.

Becau s e 0 £ the l a nd require d £or the implementation o f the containe r vess e l, the port 0£ Brisbane at this stage is quite capab le 0 £ providing such £ acilities round the Serpentine area at the mouth 0£ the river. Brisbane has the essential i rgredie nts £or expansion and each opportunity must be grasped and expl o ited by vigoro ~ s - f orward planning and a ction.

Many wharves upstream en the s outh side 0£ the bank near the Victoria Bri dge and further towards the mouth are gradually being demolished to make way £or a proposed parkland strip between the rive r a.nd S tanley Str eet . This will he l p to 59

improve the value or land in this vicinity provided this area is not developed in a pie c e meal f ashion.

The n ew Victoria Bridge and proposed freeways along the north bank of the river on the South Brisbane Reach are designed to relieve traffic congestion. The banks of the river are the obvious places £or t he new road system but the aesthetic appearance may prove to be very disappointing. The landscaping of the banks under the new roads will have to be given careful consideration.

The resiting oft he three rowing sheds on the North Quay side of the South Brisbane reach will have to be considered to make way £or the new road syst em.

CENTRAL Cl"TY FROM Tl-IE ~U"Tl-l 8AN1' KANGAROo PT: Existing mooring facilities on the river are inadequate and careful consideration should lbe given £or the provision 0£ a suitab le s ite where such demands may be satisfied.

At the present time, the rurrent situation in relation to t he river, is such that with so much activity t aking place along its banks, in t he way 0£ road and bridge builc;iing, comme rcial and industrial development and increased river traffic, much thought will have to be given to the way in w which this developme nt evolves.

This can only be successful in all respects if some form of rigid control be exercised by all parties concerned with the river itself and rive rside development.

,·. ,., -

CENTRAL CITY FRO!,,/\ THE SOUTH B~K. NEAR TH~ VIC.ToRIA 8RtOOE ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT SITUATION

RE COMM END ED P R O P O 5 A L S

When considering proposals for the river it is very difficult to restrict oneself to a specific area of land. Howe ver, for the purposes of this the sis proposals for the whole of the river will be discussed and then more detailed proposals will be submitte d for the redeve lopme nt of the specified area.

The prime object of these proposals is to bring to

readers I at tent ion that much 'WO rk may be accomplished with very little expenditure. Admittedly some proposals will involve considerable expenditure but this may be reduced by developing in stages.

The Broad scale proposals are as follows : -

(1) MAINTENANCE As mentioned before there is a very drastic need for some form of maintenance program on the rive r and its banks. At the present time neither the City Council nor the Harbours & Marine Department have taken any responsibility for maintaining and improving the banks of the rive r. Consequently rubbish is dumped here and there and washes caused by river traf-:fiqlend to e~t away at the unkept banks.

This is very noticeable at the North Quay.

Private Ente rprise also contributes to the squalor of rive rside development.

WHARVES AJ)J.ACENT TO WILLIAM 'ST, Cl,Y 61

The formation of an authority composing the Brisbane City Council, the Harbours & Marine Department, and Private Enterprise should be instigated to administer some over-all control on the river and its deve l opment. This control may r equire all riverside developers to maintain the bank by the building o f a batter wall according to a standard specification. This may be of stone and concrete or just plain concre t e . All mooring facilitie s on the rive r for small private boats shall only be ins pecified areas and if any jetties a re built they shall be according to a standard specification.

The mud banks at Ga rden Point and Kangaroo Point should be removed to allow for easier movement of rivertraffic.

( 2 ) MOORING FACILITIES As ment i o ned previously, with the increase in the number of registered private boats the existing mooring facilities on the rive r are totally inadequa t e an d many b oats which are moored in the creeks and in the river dot e nd to hinder general navigation. Because of this certainareas of the rive r would be very suitable £or the construction o f a 1:D at hartour.

With a s ubstantial a c count of dredging the a r ea of wat er east of ~arker Island would be ideal f or a boat harbour.

The Aquarium Passage , Br eakfast and Norman Creek would be also useful i f something was done to deepen the c r eeks , provide some sort of stone wall on to th sides and with a standard type of j e tty construction be ing introduced. The 62 condition of some jetties in these creeks at the present time is well below standard and this does paint a very drab picture of existing creek moorings.

(3) PORT FACILITIES

Our existing port facilities are very inadequate. Brisbane as a river port cannot remain as sich if it is to meet . future ove rseas demands.

Now that containeration1 • has loome d its head we in Brisbane must thin~ ahead. In many ports throughout the world essential features on Yhich port expansion has b e en based is

(1) Probability of large tracts of industrial land adjoining the port.

(2) Depth 0£ water 35 feet and over

(3) A thriving export marke t

(4) Good commercial outlets

(5) Good communications system for access and distribution. With industrial development being more prevalent at the mouth of the river and with the availability of eleven thousand acres of land int he Serpentine area, much reclamation and dredging could be instigated to provide attractive sites £or fostering the right kind of industries. 63

At the present time t> ydney and Melbourne are in the process 0£ constructing container berths which should be completed in 1968. We here in Brisb ane have little time to lose and much thought should b e given in £oste ring this (. development. ChalYanges £rom Gladstme in the north and Iluka in northern New South Wales poses real prob lems £or the f uture 0£ Brisbane as a river port if measures are not adopted to act at once.

The provision 0£ port facilities in the Serpentine has e verything in its £ avour.

(1) Availab ility of suitable industrial l~nd.

( 2) Proximity to the city

(3) Proximity to rail and road communications.

Containers are sealed by the customs authorities and despa tche d all ove r the world. Ship s transporting the containers will be able to discharge 10,000 tons a day.

With the tonnage 0£ ships increasing every year, port fac ilities £or container ships are most important. Brisbane could well b ecome a manu£acturing and d istrib ution base to serve the Orient and Asia. Because 0£ the stability of the e conomic and political situation, Brisbane could attract outside capital

The more d e tailed proposals a re as £allows: -

( 1} CULTURAL C ENTRE

The most picture sque spot on the river is at the present GRAVING DoCI< SOUTH B~t'58ANE 64

time occupied by the Harbours and Marine buildings adjacent to the South Brisbane Graving dock. The Botanical Gardens are directly opposite with the Brisbane Conservatorium of Music occ upying the South Brisbane Town Hall. The cliff faces of Kangaroo Point provide an excell~nt foreground with the Story Bridge in the distant background.

This is the site the writer sugge sts £or a cultural centre. In 1970 a replica of Captain Cook's ship " Ende avour" will sail out to Australia and cove r the same ground as Captain Cook. At the present time no p rovisian has been made £or doc k ing this famous ship. The South Brisbane

THE. CONSERVA.TORIVM Of: MU'51C. SOUTH 13Rl'Sf3P-NE. Graving Dock would be an e xcellant position £or this, also being part of a cultural centre .

{2} SOUTH BRISBANE REACH

At the present time the south side of the South Brisbane Reach presents a ve r y dilapidated app earance f rom the north side of the river. However in the past few months much & demolition has been taking place and filling has been d eposite d £or car parking purposes. The Fish Board wilding will be demolished very soon. Many b uildings ha ve been demolished to make way £or the new Victoria Bridge .

The area of land between Victoria Bridge and the South Brisbane Graving Dock should be developed as i:arkland inte rspersed with occassional off ice blocks and tourist b ureau facilities . With the implementation of the Wil bur Smith road system most of the north bank of t he South Brisban e 65

Reach will be encroached upon by new expressways. This will have its effect on many £unctions associated with the river namely Hayles cruises and the rowing sheds of Commercial Grammar and Brisbane clubs. Some thou ght should also be given for placing more emphasis on the John Oxley Memorial which at the present time is'iiery insignificant surrounded by tall grass and a fence behind it.

Hayles Cruises Pty. Ltd. would benefit much more in the form of advertising using their boats as a medium if they shifted to the opposite side of the river where there is ample deep water and easier access for people. Their offices would be in a parkland setting.

The rowing sheds $X)U ld b e repositioned on the south side THE. NORTH 13ANK r-r- THC,. SO vr = UTH 8Rl$8ANE REPCH. of the Milton Re ach adjicent to the William Jolly Bridge. There have been proposals put forth for a Riverside Drive along the south bank of Mil ton Reach and these club houses may be incorporate d in a strip of parkland b2 tween the drive and the river banks. Some thought should be given tot he river banks themselves along this side of -the reach. A riverside r e staurant would also be fitting on the south bank of the South Brisbane Reach with mooring facilities for small boats. At the present time there is no such restaurant in Brisbane and many fine views of the city may be seen f rom this spot. 66

(3) IBE NORTH QUAY ,i At the present time the river banks at the North Quay ~I are very delapidated. With the new express-ways being built much 0£ the land under these roads will have to be landscaped with the incorporation 0£ riverside boulevards suitable lighting and planting. Many people would enjoy a riverside walk, but at the present time there are no £acilities £or this type 0£ recreation.

( 4) LANDSCAPING With a small amount 0£ expenditure many parts 0£ the river may be tidied up and suitably landscaped. The gravel and sand depots are not a very pleasant site in their present state . To suggest moving these depots out 0£ the city would increase the cost 0£ gravel to the consumer and consequently the cost 0£ building would rise. A suitable £orm 0 £ screening these depots would be necessary to make them pre sent a b le £rom the river. The cli££ £aces opposite the Botanical Gardens are"'llery unkept at the pres ent time, but with the planting 0£ suitable txees, and shrubs and cleaning up the rive rbanks this area could be most picturesque. Many old wharves and buildings round Kangaroo Point should bb be demolished and as this area is so close t o the central CLIFF FAcE'S ADJAcENT TO RNe.R TERRACE. city area some £orm 0£ river wall and boulevard should be KANGAROO Pr. envisaged.

(5) KANGAROO POINT REDEVELOPIBNT

At the present time this are a is in a very neglected 67

state, especially on the extreme point where some light industry has been established. However, some effort has been made by many residents to renovate their homes and gardens during the past few months.

As this area is only a ·f ew minutes awa y from the central city, it would s e rve a very useful purpose £or the cxmstrucJion of multi story high density residential development set in a landscaped park. This area is relatively free from traffic and many 0£ the existing light industries in this area should be demolishe d . and r e locate d.

KANGAROO PT

WHrt£S PARK KANGAROO PT. RECOMMENDED PROPOSALS

C O N C L U S I O N S

It is to be hoped that some thing may be instigated to plan for future deve lopment along the Brisbane River. Because of important economic factors involved development may be planned in stages. Howe ver such impm veme nts a; boulevards and landscaping would not be ver_Y costly items, and maybe implemente d almost immediately. It is marve llous the improvements that may be achieved by a coat of paint in the right place.

The object of this thesis is not to p roduce huge deve lopme nt schemes, but to be sympathetic with ecist ing

and proposed deve lopment and in some way or other r e shape c11 d re-organise a 11 proposals so that everything forms a homoge neous pa t t e rn. Nothing will e ve r be achieved if deve lopme nt is allowe d to progr ess in a hap haz~rd manner, andespec iallywhen the Brisbane rive r has so much in its favour.

Artificial banks and esplanades always enhance the

THE. rive rs charm.

Wat e r can become a town's a sset. It is irridescent goes up a nd down and r emain s flat. It charm.s you and provides a foil to modern e ve ry day p r essure s. 69 . -

A P P E N D I X 1

So far, tw~nty-three s e rvice reservoirs are in use, with a total capacity of 47 million gallons. Details of t hese reservoirs are as follows:-

Reservoir Capacity Top Water Outlet Level (R.L.) Level Tarragindi 13,377,000 262 241.S Bartley's Hill, No. 1 1,803,000 262.5 244.37 Bartley's Hill, No. 2 2,560,000 262.5 242.9 Highgate Hill 2,176,000 198 .42 18 7.83 Role s Hill 1,790,000 167.66 148.16 Wickham Terrace 550,000 164.67 146.92 Eildon Hill 5,000,000 264 243.50 Buliniba 750,000 201.75 172.25 Cavendish Hill 750,000 300 280 .50 Sparkes Hill s,000, 000 264 248.09 Brackenridge 2,000,000 180 165.50 Paddington Elevated 100,000 340 325 Manly Elevated 250,000 244 210 Grovely 1,000,000 309 2.84.25 Government Road, Richlands 12,200 274 266.5 Inala 2,020,000 245 225 Sunnybank 2,020,000 250 230 Sparkes Hill High Level 300,000 337.5 312.5 The Summit, Mt. Coot-1ha 100,000 961.67 938.67 Mt. Gravatt High Level 250,000 429 409.25 The Gap 2,000,000 340 310.25 Milne Hill 3,000,000 330 300.2

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

OATS OF TITLE AUTHOR PUBLISHSR PLACE OF PUBLICATION PUBLICATION

Archite ctural Knapp Drewatt 9 -13 Queen Anne's 1964 Revie w & Sons Ltd . Gate , Westminste r

Saturday Evening The Curtis The Curtis Philadelphia U. S . A. 23rd April Post Publishing Co.Publishing Co. 1966 Philade l phia u.s .A.

Urban Geography Griffith Methuen & Co. London Septe mbe r Taylor Ltd. 1946

The Tay Valley Ro bert Lyl e The East Central Burns & Harris 1950 Plan Gordon Payne (Scotland) Ltd . Dundee Regional Planning Advisory Committee

The Italian I vor De Architectural London 1963 Townscape Wolre Press

Cente nary 0£ Watson, Watson Fe r guson Brisbane 1924 Brisbane 1823- Fer guson & & Co. Ltd . 1923 Co . Ltd .

Brisbane 1859- Professor Oswald L. 1959 1959 Gor don Zie gl e r Gr eenwood 71

B IB LIO G R A P H Y ( CONT' D ) DATE OF TITLE AUTHOR PU l3LISHER PLACE OF PUBLICAT ION PUBLICATION

Triumph in the Sir Ra phae l Smith & Pate rson Kemp Place 1959 Trop ics Cil e nto and Pt y . Ltd . Fortitude Valle y Clem Lack (Snr) Brisbane . (.! .

Queensland Penrod Pub- Courier Mail Bowen Hills 1959 Cente nary lishe rs Pty. Printing Service Brisbane . Ltd.

The Ge ography of Arthur E . Hutchinson's London Wl 1953 Towns Smaile s Universit y Library 7 3

N O T E S

1. Refer to Brouche r published by Queensland Cement & Co. Ltd.

Re£er to the annual reports £ rom 1931 onwards £rem the Harbours & Marine Departnent.

The Quay Line is an imaginary line on the river's edge which define s the boundarie s of responsibilities be twe en the Ha r b ours & Marine Department and tle Brisba ne City Council.