Albion Hotel

In the 1880s Brisbane experienced an economic boom, the population increased dramatically and there was an associated boom in the building and accomodation industries. By the late 1880s and early 1890s Albion was one of a number of prosperous suburban centres that had arisen in response to the expansion of Brisbane from its former small core. 

Between 1883 and 1886 the original Albion Hotel was replaced by the present building which was designed by renowned Brisbane architect Francis Drummond Greville Stanley. As Queensland’s longest serving Colonial Architect from 1872 to 1881, Stanley was highly respected within his profession and had a flourishing private practice. Some of his most prominent building designs in Brisbane include the General Post Office (1871-72), the Supreme Court at North Quay (1874-79), Lennon’s Hotel in George Street (1883-85) and the Government Printing Office (1872-74), to name but a few.  Stanley was also the foundation president of the Queensland Institute of Architects. According to Watson and McKay ‘he is the best known of all Queensland early architects because of the quality, diversity and extent of his work’.

During the 1880s the licensee of the Albion Hotel was Margaret Magdalen Hughes who held the license until 1889 when it was transferred to James O’Brien who held it until 1897. From 1908, the Albion Hotel has been associated with the Stewart family, who were well known in the hotel industry. When Castlemaine Perkins purchased the Hotel at auction more than 60 years later in 1971, the property was still being leased by the Stewarts who also ran the Criterion and Hamilton Hotels. 

In 1927 alterations designed by architects Hall and Prentice were made to the hotel. During the 1950s and 1960s, when the hotel was owned by Castlemaine Perkins, further alterations and additions were made including the addition of a drive-in bottle department in 1968. Further additions were made during the 1970s including the construction of a covered barbeque area and off-street parking for guests. The Albion Hotel survives today in its original capacity and continues to be a popular meeting place for the local community.

1. 1990 ‘Prints Start Albion Story’, The Sun, 25 September

2. 1969 ‘Busy Albion Blends Old, New’, Telegraph, 1 March

3. Watson, Donald and Judith McKay. Queensland Architects of the 19th Century: A Biographical Dictionary. Brisbane: Queensland Museum, 1994

4. Historic Titles, Department of Natural Resources and Water

5. Norris, M, 1993 Brisbane Hotels and Publicans Index 1842-1900. Brisbane History Group Sources No. 6

6. Brisbane City Council Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Detail Plans