Foresters' Hall (former)

The first Foresters Hall opened five months after the court’s inauguration with about forty members and friends present.  The hall was attached to the Foresters’ Arms Hotel, whose publican George Warren was the court’s Chief Ranger.  The old Hall was intended for use for concerts, lectures and was ‘available in many ways to meet the demands of a progressive community’.  The hall also enabled the Foresters to provide a free reading room, open to the public.  However, in 1861 the Foresters Hall was adopted for use as the Fortitude Valley primary school.  A new Foresters Hall was constructed by George Warren in January 1862, but from April 1863 Court Fortitude Foresters’ meetings were held in Harvey’s Castle Hotel. 

The benefits of membership of the Foresters society were varied and numerous.  Primarily, the Friendly societies were charitable institutions, guaranteeing financial security for members in hard times.  The object of the ‘Foresters’ Benefit Investment Society’, noted in the Moreton Bay Courier on the inauguration of Court Fortitude, was, ‘to give its members independency from the cold frown of the world’s scorn, at a time when the father and husband may not through the vicissitudes of life be able to pursue his calling.’  Court Fortitude, in accordance with this objective, held benefit balls for the widows and families of former members in 1882 and 1885.  In addition were preventative measures: the provision of medical services.  Many courts, including Court Fortitude, contracted with a medical professional who would provide medical attendance to its members and their families.  Without the society, these services would be unattainable luxuries to many of those within the working-class in the nineteenth century.

The societies also performed a social function for their members: annual balls and reunions of the Court Fortitude throughout the 1870s and 1880s were frequently reported as great successes, with meals, speeches, musical entertainment and dancing (sometimes until 4am).  Chief Justice Lilley affirmed this role in his speech at the opening of the new Foresters Hall, describing Court Fortitude as the working-class equivalent of a members’ club. 

Court Fortitude’s first three decades were marked by prosperity and success: by 1871 400 members had joined, although due to death and transfers only 120 members were active.  There were 200 active members in 1880 and in 1888 this had leapt to 280 financial members.  The court’s stable financial position mirrors its popularity: the court’s bank balance rose from £300 or £400 in 1871 to £3,592 in 1888.  Of Queensland’s 345 Foresters in 1880, 220 were from Court Fortitude.  The rise of the Valley Foresters’ popularity coincides with the development of the Valley itself a small residential population, growing slowly until the economic boom of the 1880s which created dense working class settlement in the Valley.  Membership of Foresters in the 1870s and 1880s was around four percent of the population of Fortitude Valley which in 1881, for example, was 5,148.  Effectively, however, a much larger proportion of the population was covered by Foresters membership, as the families of the men of Foresters were also cared for by the court.

Given its increasing membership and stable finances, a new and permanent meeting-place was highly desirable.  Tenders were called for a new Foresters Hall in February 1880.  The hall’s architect, John Richard Hall, was a member of the Oddfellows Society and had designed alterations to the Oddfellows Hall in 1879.  After the death of the original contractor, the hall was constructed by John Daniel Heal.  Heal, as well as being one of the court’s founding members and for many years its secretary, was a prominent Valley publican, Alderman (1870-1894) and former Mayor of Brisbane.  He had been a member of several of the Brisbane Municipal Council’s committees and was the original owner of the land on which the hall was constructed.  Heal remained a trustee of Court Fortitude until his death in 1908.  

The new Foresters’ Hall was built for in a surprisingly short amount of time for such a substantial building – the call for tenders closed in March 1880 and the hall was opened in October that year.  Its size (90ft x 40ft) and position close to public transport were proudly highlighted when the hall was advertised for rentals. 

Following the construction of the new Foresters Hall, both the United Brisbane District of the Ancient Order of Foresters and the Fortitude District held their meetings there.  The Hall became a popular venue for balls, concerts, fundraisers, lectures and public and political meetings and meetings of other societies, such as the Oddfellows.  It was also used as a Fortitude Valley polling station.  Extensions in 1887 added a second storey, so the ground floor could be let to other groups while Foresters meetings were held on the second floor.  Further improvements in 1888 extended the length of the hall and added extra facilities.  It also meant that Court Fortitude owned two-thirds of the wealth in the United Brisbane District.

The court had enjoyed success, but by the 1890s it was not without troubles.  Secretary Alexander Bell was prosecuted for embezzling nearly £300 from the court’s funds in 1896.  As industry moved into the Valley, assisted by the progress of the railway line, the residential nature of the Valley began to be eroded.  Instead, courts established in suburban areas thrived, including ‘Court Foresters Hope’ in Paddington ([601662]). The Fortitude Valley Foresters Hall was offered for sale in major newspapers in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in late 1900 by the court’s trustees, and again in 1902.  The court however maintained possession of the hall and hosted its meetings there until 1923, but from 1910 the hall was primarily used for other purposes.  Gradually, improvements to State-provided social security diminished the appeal of the societies.  In the 1930s the focus of Foresters shifted away from its original social and mutual aid functions.  Foresters’, amalgamated with other friendly societies, exists today as a financial institution.  

Foresters Hall continued to be a meeting place for Valley residents and visitors when it began its new life as a picture theatre.  Foresters Hall was leased to Sidney Cook, who renamed it ‘Cook’s Picture Palace’ and, after some internal alterations, opened it on 4 June 1910.  This was the first picture theatre in Fortitude Valley and the inaugural sessions played films including the Sydney memorial service for King Edward VII to crowded houses.  The hall was still rented out for meetings and even religious services.  In March 1913 alterations to the building submitted by Mr S. Cook were approved.  These alterations were designed by respected Brisbane architect H.G.O Thomas.  It is believed that the internal pressed metal sloped ceiling was installed at this time.  The alterations probably consisted of two single-storey brick buildings flanking the hall, as shown in a 1911 photograph.  Both wings were sold and removed in 1924.  

The picture theatre ran until 1922 when Cook subleased it.  In 1923 the land was sold to Francis Bruce Charlton for £7,250, subject to a lease.  The hall’s additional brick wings, comprised of approximately 10,000 bricks, were removed and sold in 1924, as they were projecting onto the land that had been resumed for Barry Parade.  Various lessees have occupied the building since then, plying trades as diverse as hairdressing and running a wine saloon.  The building has also been used as a café, a millenary factory, the ‘Shamrock Billiard Saloon’ in the early 1930s, when the site was used for illegal gambling, cabaret hall and nightclub.  Alterations were completed in 1974 and 1979.  Title passed to the current owners in 1994 and permission was granted in 2009 for further alteration work, primarily to the interior, in order to refit the building as a live music venue.

Cornice lines delineate each change in level, with another heavy bracketed cornice below a parapet with cast balusters. A triangular pediment spans over the central bay, and the pilasters carry up through the parapet and support cast urns.

Alterations have included a truncated suspended awning at the ground floor springing line, alterations to windows and painting.

1. John Oxley Library Photograph Collection

2. Moreton Bay Courier, 1861

3. The Brisbane Courier, 1863, 1864, 1867, 1875, 1880, 1888, 1902, 1910-1, 1923-4

4. Queensland Land Titles Office Records

5. F. Brown, Manuscript Papers, Box 5, Box 7, John Oxley Library

6. Pugh’s Almanac and Queensland Directory, Brisbane, The Proprietors, 1880, p.182

7. T.H. Kewley, Social Security in Australia 1900-1972 (2nd edition), Sydney University Press, 1973

8. Greenwood, G and Laverty, J, Brisbane 1859 1959

9. W.F.Morrison The Aldine History of Queensland 1888: Book 1 – Brisbane

10. Brisbane City Council Heritage Unit, Fortitude Valley Heritage and Character Study, 1995