Addresses
Type of place
Office building, Administrative offices / building
Period
World War II 1939-1945
Style
Composite
Primary Industries Dept Office
Primary Industries Dept Office
Primary Industries Dept Office
This is an image of the local heritage place known as Primary Industries Dept Office
Primary Industries Dept Office
Addresses
Type of place
Office building, Administrative offices / building
Period
World War II 1939-1945
Style
Composite
Manuel Hornibrook, a leading Queensland building and engineering contractor, constructed this building as his main office around 1940. Its design combines elements of both Georgian Revival and Art Deco architectural styles, making it a rare example of its kind, even more so for its residential nature. The building was occupied by Hornibrook Constructions until 1969, from which time until 1992 it was occupied by the office of the Department of Primary Industries. The building continues to be used as an office block.
Also known as
Hornibrook House, M.R. Hornibrook (Pty) Limited building
Lot plan
L506_SL6021
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Tile;Walls: Face brick
People/associations
Hornibrook Constructions (Association);Manuel Hornibrook (Builder)
Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (B) Rarity; (H) Historical associationInteractive mapping
Also known as
Hornibrook House, M.R. Hornibrook (Pty) Limited building
Lot plan
L506_SL6021
Key dates
Local Heritage Place Since —
Date of Citation —
Construction
Roof: Tile;Walls: Face brick
People/associations
Hornibrook Constructions (Association);Manuel Hornibrook (Builder)
Criterion for listing
(A) Historical; (B) Rarity; (H) Historical associationInteractive mapping
History
Hornibrook was born in Ann Street, Brisbane in 1893 and commenced an apprenticeship as a carpenter at an early age. In 1913 he formed a partnership with George Fockes and two years later he opened his own contracting business. By the 1950s Manuel Hornibrook (later Sir), was the largest building contractor in Queensland.
Hornibrook concentrated on residential work for the first few years until he secured several civil engineering contracts in 1918, including stormwater drainage and sewerage systems for different metropolitan shire councils. Building projects he was involved in included: improvements to the Queensland National Bank, Queen Street which involved remodelling of the banking chamber; the first section of a ginnery at Whinstanes; bulk stores in James Street, the Valley; large bulk stores at Newstead for Dalgety and Co; the Savoy Theatre at Clayfield; and numerous other works in and around Brisbane.
In addition to buildings and drainage systems, Hornibrook built 100 bridges during his career, including the William Jolly Bridge (1927-1932) and the Hornibrook Highway Bridge at Redcliffe (1932-1935), which he actually conceived, organised finance for and constructed. In 1935 Hornibrook Constructions (Pty) Ltd and another Queensland firm, Evans Deakin, won the contract to construct the Story Bridge. When the bridge was opened five years later on 6 July 1940 it was Australia’s second largest bridge.
Hornibrook purchased this property in 1940, the year that the Story Bridge was completed, with the intention of expanding his business. His headquarters had been at James Street, Fortitude Valley, and he also had offices in Kangaroo Point and Bowen Hills. His new office on Breakfast Creek Road was first listed in Post Office Directories in 1941. It was built in an unusual style mixing Georgian and Art Deco features. The modern building was a fitting symbol of Hornibrook’s considerable stature as a builder and engineering contractor. In the late 1920s Breakfast Creek Road was predicted to become ‘a thoroughfare lined with palatial residences’. This may have influenced Hornibrook’s chosen design for his new headquarters, which, although being a commercial building, is a residential style. Despite the predictions of its becoming residential in nature, Breakfast Creek Road became an important inner urban commercial and industrial strip.
During the Second World War Hornibrook Constructions was involved in war contracts. After the war, the company undertook several major works including Northbrook Bridge in 1950, the Breakfast Creek Bridge just near the Company’s office around 1951, Victoria Bridge in 1969 and the shell roofs of the Sydney Opera House, completed in 1973. In April 1969 the Crown bought the property from M.R. Hornibrook and the Department of Primary Industries occupied the building until August 1992 when approval was given to sell the premises. In October 1992 after refurbishing the building the Queensland Principal Club moved in.
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:
Supporting images
The Green Studio, H.B. Green & Co. (photographer),
'Headquarters of M.R. Hornibrook (Pty) Limited in Newstead, Brisbane, ca. 1945',
John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
Unidentified photographer,
'Hornibrook House lit up for the Queen's visit in Newstead, Queensland, 1954',
John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
Manuel Hornibrook built offices for his company, MR Hornibrook in the 1940s at Newstead, Brisbane. This photograph shows the building lit up and decorated for Queen Elizabeth when she visited Brisbane for the first time. The building later became offices of the Department of Primary Industries, and late offices for private business. (Description supplied with photograph)
References
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O’Connor, C, Story Bridge: A Conservation Study, Brisbane City Council, 1992
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Post Office Directories.
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Titles Office Records
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The Architecture and Building Journal of Queensland, 7 March 1924, pp. 17-18
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The Architecture and Building Journal of Queensland, 10 May 1926, p.55
Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)