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.