Lands Offices
Lands Department, Sydney, New South Wales
Photographed 2001 Lands Department, 23-33 Bridge Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 1876, James Barnet; completed in two stages by 1890. Clock tower added, 1938. Built by John Young, the building’s framework is reinforced concrete and steel, the floors and ceilings are concrete, the internal walls are constructed in brick, and the facade in sandstone. The roof features a copper dome which measures five square metres at its base; it was designed as an observatory. The other feature of the roof is the onion domed stone clock tower; the clock was installed in 1938. The facade is decorated with statues of explorers. Reference: Smith, Keith and Irene Smith’s Guide: Sydney City, Smith’s Guides, 1988, p. 120. NSW Heritage Branch, Department of Planning website, http.www.heritage.nsw.gov. Apperly, Richard; Irving, Robert; Reynolds, Peter; A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture, Angus and Robertson, 1989, p.p. 56-58. Leary, Frank and Judith, Colonial Heritage, Historic Buildings of New South Wales, Angus and Robertson, 1972, p.32.
Lands Office, Armidale, New South Wales
Photographed 1990 Lands Office, 118 Faulkner Street, Armidale, New South Wales,1887, James Barnet. Constructed in brick, the dominant features of this building are the curved verandahs. They feature corrugated iron roofing and cast iron columns and balustrades. The hipped roof has tall chimneys. Reference: The Illustrated Register of the National Estate, The Macmillan Company of Australia, in association with the Australian Heritage Commission, supported by H.C. Sleigh Limited, CRA Limited 1981, p. 2/237. Armidale Heritage Study –Built Heritage, for the Armidale City Council, January 1991.
Lands Board Office, East Maitland, New South Wales
Photographed 1991 Lands Board Office, 141 Newcastle Road, East Maitland, New South Wales, 1897, W.L. Vernon. This two-storey building has impressive arched windows and entrance on the ground floor. The central bay rises to a pediment. The footings and sandstone sills, string courses and lintels provide a pleasing contrast with the red brick. The slate hipped roof has gable vents and decorative ridge. Reference: The Illustrated Register of the National Estate, The Macmillan Company of Australia, in association with the Australian Heritage Commission, supported by H.C. Sleigh Limited, CRA Limited 1981, p. 2/201. NSW Heritage Branch, Department of Planning website, http.www.heritage.nsw.gov.au
Titles Office, Melbourne, Victoria
Photographed 1990 © Joan Beddoe Titles Office, 283 Queens Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1874-89, J.J. Clark. The Titles Office was built in three stages. It was constructed in brick and stucco on bluestone footings. The roof with domical vault and mansards is edged with an ornate parapet. The Queen Street façade has five bays; the central bay has a grand arched entry below a colonnade on the first floor. This floor finished in smooth render has tall arched windows. The ground floor, which has a banded finish, has simple windows slightly curved at the top. Reference: The Heritage of Victoria, The Illustrated Register of the National Estate, Macmillan Company of Australia in association with the Australian Heritage Commission, supported by H.C. Sleigh Limited, CRA Limited, p. 58.
Lands Office, Brisbane, Queensland
Photographed 1989 Lands Office, 1901-1905, Elizabeth Street, Brisbane, Queensland, (design claimed by A. Morry of the Government Architects office from which he resigned in 1886; also attributed to Thomas Pye). Constructed in sandstone with a banded finish, this three-storey building is set behind gardens across from the Treasury. Its grand proportions, which included 15 foot ceilings, were considered extravagant for the time. The entrance is a monumental archway. The arch is repeated above on the windows of the top floor, and again in the segmented pediment. Colonnades extend on either side of the central bay on the middle and top floors – the upper colonnades feature six tall columns. The building features prominent string courses and a pedimented parapet. Reference: Reference: Cameron Ian, 125 Years of State Public Works in Queensland,1859-1984, Boolarong Publications, 1989, pp. 125,126. Historic Public Buildings of Australia, Australian Council of National Trusts, Cassell, Australia, Limited, 1971, p. 270. Watson, Donald;McKay, Judith, Queensland Architects of the Nineteenth Century, Queensland Museum, 1994, pp. 127, 149. Hogan, Janet, text; Stringer, Richard, photographs; Building Queensland’s Heritage, reprinted Boolarong Publications, 1987, p. 26. Apperly, Richard; Irving, Robert; Reynolds, Peter; A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture, Angus and Robertson, 1989, p. 102.
Lands Administration Building, Perth, Western Australia
Photographed 1993 Lands Administration Building, (East Wing Extension), Cathedral Avenue, Perth, Western Australia, 1893, George Temple Poole. This building extended the block of government offices to the north from St. George’s Terrace along Cathedral Avenue. It was initially occupied by the Department of Public Works and Railways. Officially known as the East Wing Extension, this three-storey building has two end pavilions with mansard roofs. The ground floor is set back under a balustraded balcony with Ionic columns which support the structure of the top floor. The huge console brackets which support the cantilevered balcony were designed with a stone core. The structural ingenuity of this building is matched by its unique architectural qualities and is a fitting reminder of the value placed on government architecture for the public buildings. Reference: Van Breman, Ingrid, The New Architecture of the Gold Rushes in Western Australia. Government Buildings under the Direction of George Temple Poole, 1885-97, Ph. D. thesis University of Western Australia, February 1990, p. 175. Van Breman, Ingrid, ‘Romancing the Stone, Victorian Architectural Ideals in Public Buildings of Western Australia 1886-1896’, Essays on Art and Architecture in Western Australia, edited by David Bloomfield, Centre for Fine Arts, University of Western Australia, 1988. O’Malley, Dinah, Historic Buildings of Australia, Macmillan Pocket Guide, Macmillan Company, Australasia, 1981, pp. 79, 80.
Titles Office, Perth, Western Australia
Photographed 1993 Titles Office, (North Extension of the Government Offices), Cathedral Avenue, Perth, Western Australia, 1896-98, George Temple Poole. This building extends from the Lands building to Hay Street. Built by Paterson and Taylor at a cost of 21,216 pounds, the construction is of red brick. Structural steel and reinforced concrete were used for the floors, ceilings and the projecting two storey colonnaded verandahs. It was one of the first government buildings in Western Australia to have a hydraulic lift. It is four storeys high but only one room and a corridor deep, and the main entry is through an imposing Romanesque style archway. Four departments occupied it initially: Land Titles, Registrar General, Education, and Railway Construction. It is unfortunate that the facade can be viewed at an angle only because of the narrowness of Cathedral Avenue, and the proposed continuation of the facade around the corner along Hay Street did not take place. Reference: Le Page, J.S.H., Building a State, The Story of the Public Works Department of Western Australia, 1829-1985. Water Authority of Western Australia, 1986, pp. 228, 229. Historic Public Buildings of Australia, Australian Council of National Trusts, Cassell Australia. Limited, 1971, p. 242-244. Van Breman, Ingrid, The New Architecture of the Gold Rushes in Western Australia. Government Buildings under the Direction of George Temple Poole, 1885-97, Ph. D. thesis University of Western Australia, February 1990, pp. 176-79. Van Breman, Ingrid, ‘Romancing the Stone, Victorian Architectural Ideals in Public Buildings of Western Australia 1886-1896’, Essays on Art and Architecture in Western Australia, edited by David Bloomfield, Centre for Fine Arts, University of Western Australia, 1988.
Lands Office, Northam, Western Australia
Photographed 1993 Lands Office, Northam, Western Australia, 1894, G.T. Poole. This brick building with a high hipped iron roof and shady verandahs has a simplicity of design which reflects its utilitarian function.
Registry of Deeds, Hobart, Tasmania
Photographed 1999 Registry of Deeds, corner of Franklin Square and Davey Street, Hobart, Tasmania, 1894, probably designed by William Waters Eldridge. This building houses all records relating to land including grants dating back to 1827, sales, transfers, mortgages, and wills. Reference: Tourist information board, Franklin Square, Hobart. ‘Historic Parks and Government Buildings’.