Addresses
Type of place
Warehouse
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Warehouse
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Queensland Primary Producers Woolstore (former)
Queensland Primary Producers Woolstore (former)
Addresses
Type of place
Warehouse
Period
Interwar 1919-1939
Style
Warehouse
This imposing four storey brick warehouse was built in 1935 for the Queensland Primary Producers, a co-operative formed in 1920 by Alan Walter Campbell. The Co-op acquired the site of over half an acre between 1929 and 1933. The Newstead-Teneriffe area attracted industry from the late nineteenth century due to the proximity of wharves and railway sidings which allowed the transporting of goods. The wool industry in particular came to dominate the precinct with several large woolstores built between 1909 and the 1950s. The Queensland Primary Producers wool store was transformed in the mid-1990s to 66 apartments built around an atrium with a restaurant and shops on the ground level. It was amongst the first of several former wool stores to be converted to residential use during the revitalisation of the Newstead/Teneriffe area in the 1990s. The project won the Lord Mayor’s Award for Urban Renewal in the Queensland Housing and Construction Awards for 1995.
Also known as
W4
Lot plan
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Face brick
Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (A) Historical; (H) Historical associationInteractive mapping
Also known as
W4
Lot plan
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Corrugated iron;Walls: Face brick
Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (A) Historical; (H) Historical associationInteractive mapping
History
The potential of the Newstead/Teneriffe area (previously known as Bulimba) for deep water wharfage was first recognised as early as 1864 when the Riverside Coal and Transport Company was established to provide a barge service between Brisbane and Ipswich. From around that time, residents were also attracted to the area. Wealthy merchants and professionals built their homes on the heights of Teneriffe Hill, taking advantage of the views and cooling breezes. Workers’ cottages filled the slopes and river flats, within walking distance of employment. From the 1890s industry began to establish in the area, and by the 1920s had changed the face of Newstead and Teneriffe. Industrial activities encouraged the development of more workers’ homes but eventually led to the erosion of the area’s residential nature.
Three important events promoted industrial development of this area in the 1890s – the construction of the Colonial Sugar Refinery and its wharf at the New Farm end of the Bulimba Reach in 1893, the completion of the Bulimba rail branch and the extension of the CSR siding in 1897 and the growth of Queensland’s primary industries which took place in this decade.
Eventually this area attracted Brisbane’s most important specialised wharves, devoted to the handling of wool. The wool stores themselves were constructed in response to the economic fortunes of the industry. Most of the stores were built during the two boom periods between 1909 and 1915 and in the 1920s, however some were built in the mid 1930s and the last two were constructed in the 1950s. Wool was railed to the stores, displayed under good lighting and stored until it was sold. It was then pressed and baled and trolleyed onto the wharves where it was loaded onto ships for export.
This woolstore was constructed in 1935 for the Queensland Primary Producers Co-operative. . This Co-operative was formed in 1920 by Alan Walter Campbell, who had been the sub-manager of the Brisbane branch of the Sydney wool, produce and stockbroking firm, John Bridge and Co since its formation in 1910. In 1919 the Farmers and Graziers Co-operative of New South Wales acquired the assets of John Bridge and Co in New South Wales and around the same time Campbell, who had recently returned from service with the AIF conceived the idea of a primary producers co-operative for Queensland.
In 1920 the Directors of John Bridge and Co contracted with Campbell to transfer to his care “the whole of the …business and assets of the vendors in the State of Queensland…comprising all lands, buildings, plant, machinery, furniture, fittings, records and accessories of every description”. Campbell paid £75 000 for the transfer of assets, including freehold land and wool store premises at “Bulimba” (Newstead/Teneriffe), office facilities at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground and an office in Rockhampton. Campbell continued as the Managing Director of ‘Primaries’ until his retirement in 1968 at the age of 88 years.
In 1940 the co-operative amalgamated with Stumfels Primary Producers Co-operative Association Ltd. In 1975 Queensland Primary Producers Co-operative Association Ltd (Primaries) amalgamated with Mactaggarts Primary Producers’ Co-operative Association Ltd to form Primac Association Ltd.
In the mid-1990s, as part of the urban renewal programme of revitalisation of the Newstead-Teneriffe area, the former Queensland Primary Producers wool store was converted to a complex of 66 apartments. It was one of the first wool stores in the area to be changed from an industrial to a residential use and heralded the transformation of Teneriffe into a vibrant cosmopolitan precinct.
Statement of significance
Relevant assessment criteria
This is a place of local heritage significance and meets one or more of the local heritage criteria under the Heritage planning scheme policy of the Brisbane City Plan 2014. It is significant because:
References
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A Concise History of the Queensland Primary Producers Co-Operative Association Ltd “Primaries”. Unpublished
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DERM. Titles Office Records
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Urban Renewal. Newsline No. 15, Dec 1995
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)