OReillys Buildings

Attachment to Application Form, Entry of a State Heritage Place in the Queensland Heritage Register
1. Building Location
The OReillys Buildings comprise three adjacent buildings on Margaret St, Brisbane CBD, specifically 105, 107 and 113 Margaret St. 105 and 107 Margaret St are known as OReillys Bonded and Free Stores, and 113 Margaret St as Hotpoint House. Historically, these buildings have collectively been referred to as OReillys Buildings. Figure 1 illustrates the boundaries (in red) of 105, 107 and 113 Margaret St. The application includes the easements 113A Margaret St (1RP1075), 111 Margaret Street (1RP45960) and Lot 2 (RP45960), to the extent that the boundaries of the buildings encroach on these easements and/or the building operation requires access from the easements. The application includes the brick or concrete awning above the entrance to 105 Margaret St, marked 93-105, which extends into the road reserve. T he approximate location of the awning is indicated in figure 1.

2. Features Contributing to Cultural Heritage Significance

OReillys Bonded and Free Stores on No. 105 Margaret St were constructed in 1913. The main building is a three-level timber and brick structure in the Federation Warehouse style typical for the early 20th century, featuring plain brickwork facades with (on the Margaret St side) emphasised piers and grouped windows capped by prominent arches. The Margaret St faade of No. 107 comprises a single level building with two garage doors. This building carries the sign OReillys Bonded Stores and Estd 1864, which refers to the original establishment of the business in another location. Research indicates that this building was constructed at the same time as the adjoining No 105, in 1913. The three-level No. 113 Margaret St, or Hotpoint House building, shares many design features of the other two buildings with the addition of more sandstone dressings, ornamental cornice and an embossed Hotpoint House sign under the cornice. Some controversy remains regarding the construction date however the likely completion date is 1922 or 1923, which will be detailed below. The three OReillys Buildings provide a significant and coherent example of the Federation Warehouse architectural style that was once widespread in the wharfside districts of Queenslands largest port. Together with the adjacent Watsons Brothers and HB Sales buildings, dated 1887 and 1912, they illustrate the evolution of Queensland commercial architecture from 1887 to 1923. Furthermore, The OReilly Buildings and the OReilly name have an intimate association with the Australasian Steam Navigation Company (ASNCo) and the vital sea trade between the major Queensland ports and southern states from the 1850s through to the mid-1900s.

3. History
The establishment of the port of Brisbane was driven by the influx of settlers to the Darling Downs and the upper reaches of the Brisbane River in the early 1840s. Rural produce, in particular wool, required a seaport for access to export markets and although Cleveland and Ipswich were strong contenders the increasing tonnage of ships eventually forced the use of deeper berths along the lower reaches of Brisbane River. Thus the need for a port became a driver for the conversion of Brisbane to a free settlement in 1842. 1/13

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Dredging of the Brisbane bar commenced as early as 1863 and over the following decades wharves were established on the northern shores of Petries Bight and along Eagle Street to Alice Street. Wharves were also established on the southern side of the river, along the Kangaroo Point Cliffs and Southbank, and on North Quay. A snapshot of the extent of city wharves in 1926 is provided in figure 2. Captain Henry and Charles OReilly Captain Henry OReilly was born in Ireland in 1824 and became the youngest master mariner ever to sail out of Dublin. By 1852 he was the captain of a propeller steamer based in Liverpool. Dissatisfied with his pay and prospects he decided to emigrate with his wife Mary to Australia, and embarked on the Sydney-bound Athlon with thirty pounds in my pocket and an implicit trust in divine 2 providence . On arrival in 1853 he was hired by the Australasian Steam Navigation Company (ASN Co) and began sailing to Brisbane as the captain of the first propeller steamer to ply the route, the City of Melbourne, and later on the steamers Telegraph and Boomerang. Over the following 10 years he 2 made 320 voyages between the two cities on board the Telegraph . ASN Co became one of the leading Australian steamship companies of the late 1800s. The company 3 built a Brisbane wharf in 1864 which eventually expanded to cover most of the Eagle St precinct. By the 1870s, the company provided weekly services to the Queensland ports of Maryborough, Gladstone and Rockhampton, and every 10 days a service to Mackay, Broad Sound, Bowen, Townsville and Cooktown. Steamers left for Sydney twice a week and for the Hunter River four times 4 per week . The importance of frequent and reliable steamship services for the growth of trade, provision of government services and people transport during this period of economic and population boom cannot be overstated. In 1863 captain OReilly was appointed manager of the Brisbane ASN Co and relocated with his family, initially settling in the house Montpelier on Bowen Hills and later in Toonarbin in South 2 Brisbane. The hill on which Montpelier was located later came to be known as OReillys Hill . In 1866 the A.S.N Co constructed new offices and a Bonded Store on Mary St for use by Captain 6 OReilly and another local agent . A bonded store is a secured area in which dutiable goods may be stored or manipulated without payment of duty. If the operator of the store is private, a customs bond is posted with the government until such time that the goods are either exported, destroyed or 7 withdrawn for domestic consumption after payment of duty . Captain OReilly continued the bonded stores and agencies business on ASN Cos premises on Mary St. until his death in 1877. During his time in Brisbane, his name had become renowned and intimately connected with the ASN Co and the vital sea trade between Queensland ports and the 8 southern colonies. A newspaper reported from his funeral : The attendance was one of the largest and most respectable that has ever been witnessed at a funeral in this city, including Sir Maurice O'Connell, Chief Justice Cockle, several members of both Houses of the Legislature, a number of professional men, nearly all the principal businessmen of the city, and many others. The Revs. T. Jones and R. Creyke officiated at the internment, and the whole proceedings showed how general was the esteem with which the deceased was regarded. The Bonded Stores and agencies passed to his son, Charles OReilly, who was born 1854 and only 23 years of age at the time of his fathers death. The stores continued to operate from the ASN Co 9 premises on Mary Street and by 1894 a second store had been built on Ann St .
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The OReilly Bonded and Free Stores on Margaret St In colonial days the Margaret and lower Albert Street had been referred to as Frog's Hollow, a lowlying and flood-prone area scattered with residential cottages. Landfill operations in the 1860s and 70s provided ground for workers dwellings, shops, workshops and boarding houses, and in the booming 1880s the areas proximity the Petrie Bight Wharves made it a principal warehousing precinct. Development of the neighbourhood slowed during the 1890s depression but resumed in the 10 first two decades of the 20th century . A newspaper notice from 1912 reported Charles intention to construct new stores and to vacate the 11 ASN Co property on Mary St . An entry in the Brisbane City Council building register from June 1912 documents the approval for a brick warehouse on Margaret St, to be constructed by the local 12 contractor H Roberts . A second newspaper notice from April 1913 confirmed the relocation of the 13 OReilly Bonded Stores to the new Margaret St address . Contemporary post office directories confirm that the Bonded and Free Stores had the street numbers 14 93-105 , corresponding to todays No. 105 as indicated in figure 1. Hotpoint House It is likely that Hotpoint House, which was referred to as part of the OReillys Buildings, was built in 1922 or 1923. Evidence supporting this date includes: Hotpoint House originally occupied Nos. 111-113 Margaret St, which can be confirmed by the original 113 signage remaining on the building. In the 1915 and 1921 PO Directories, OReillys Stores were listed on Nos. 93-105 Margaret St and the next address was the HB Sales Building, occupied by Acme Engineering Works. No 14 address was listed between these buildings, and the Nos.111-113 were absent . In the 1923 PO Directory, the Nos. 111 and 113 had been added between OReillys Stores and 14 the HB Sales building . This indicates a construction of Hotpoint House after 1921 and prior to 1923. The Brisbane City Council Building Register of November 1921 documents the approval for a 15 brick warehouse to be constructed on Margaret St by C. OReilly . This supports a construction of Hotpoint House in 1922/23.

The building housed a number of long and short-term tenants over the following decades, including 16 the oil merchants J. H. Gardiner and John Fell & Co . The name Hotpoint House was possibly added by a later owner, who may have had a stake in this brand of electrical home products. History after 1923 Charles OReilly died in 1925 and his son Harry, the third generation of the family, took over the 19 business . Advertisements for OReillys carriers, shipping and customs agents on 93-115 Margaret Street featured in the local press until the mid-1950s and possibly beyond. The establishment of the new port at Fisherman Islands in the late 1970s marked the end of the wharfside industry of central Brisbane.
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4. Illustrations

Figure 1. Boundary (in red) of the buildings and awning covered by this application.

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Figure 2 1926 Central Brisbane map with wharves and OReillys Buildings highlighted.1926 Refidex Directory Maps, Central Brisbane Area,

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Figure 3 Captain Henry OReilly, date unknown. Australian pioneers and reminiscences. Bartley, Nehemiah, Knight, J. J. Brisbane. Gordon and Gotch, 1896

Figure 4 Wharves along Petrie Bight, or Circular Quay, date unknown but predating completion of Town Hall in 1930. Souvenir Brisbane, Views of the City, Suburbs and River. Queensland Book Depot, year unknown.

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Figure 5 Advertisement for the Australasian Steam Navigation Company, 1876. Henry OReilly is listed as Brisbane agent. Note the extensive services to other Queensland ports. Baillieres Queensland Gazetteer and Road Guide, 1876.

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Figure 6 Advertisement for Charles OReilley; carrier, bonded warehouseman, shipping, forwarding and customs house agent, 1913. The picture probably shows the Free Store on Ann Street. Tours in Central District, Queensland Railways, 1913.

Figure 7 Charles OReilly. Queenslanders as We Seeem, 1915.

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Figure 8 105 Margaret St, viewed from Margaret St

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Figure 9 107 Margaret St, viewed from Margaret St

Figure 10 113 Margaret St, viewed from Margaret St

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References
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

E.J.T Barton, Jubilee History of Queensland, 1 Ed. Christopher Bray, Toonarbin, Biography of a House, 1 Ed. Greenwood and Laverty, Brisbane 1859 1959, 1 Ed. Baillieres Queensland Gazetteer and Road Guide, 1876. The Courier, 7 November 1863, p2 The Brisbane Courier, 10 November 1866, p5 Wikipedia, accessed 5 February 2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonded_warehouse The Queenslander, 24 February 1877, p28 Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser. 23 June 1894, p3
st st

st

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QLD Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Heritage Register, HB Sales Building. Accessed on 27 January 2014. https://heritage-register.ehp.qld.gov.au/placeDetail.html?siteId=14900
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The Brisbane Courier, 22 May 1912, p5

Extract from the Brisbane City Council Building Register, 27 June 1912. Plans approved for new building on Margaret St. Brick bond warehouse. Applicant C. OReilly, contractor H. Roberts of Adelaide St.

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The Brisbane Courier, 1 April 1913, p7 Extracts from Post Office Directories, 1915-1923;
1915 directory, Wise. The OReilly Stores and the HB Sales Building (occupied by Acme Engineering Works) are listed, but no address is listed between these two.

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1921 directory, Wise. Same as 1915 no address listed between OReilly Stores (93-105) and the HB Sales Building.

1923 directory, Wise. No 111-115 (Hotpoint House) have now been added to the OReilly buildings, occupied by Fell & Co and Wm Stephenson Motor Engineer.

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Extract from Brisbane City Council Building Register. 30 November 1921. Plans approved for building on Margaret St. Brick warehouse. Applicant C. OReilly, contractor H. Roberts of Adelaide St.

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Miscellaneous Post Office Directories, Wise 1923 and Wise 1937, Wise 1941 The Brisbane Courier, 7 April 1925, P6 RHSQ, The Genesis of the Port of Brisbane, 1933

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5. Cultural Heritage Criteria

Criterion A. The OReilly Buildings and the OReilly name, which features prominently on the building signage, have an intimate association with the Australasian Steam Navigation Company (ASN Co) and the vital sea trade between the major Queensland ports and the southern Australian colonies in the late 1800s. The buildings further demonstrate the evolution and expansion of Queenslands portside industry, caused by a rapidly increasing population and trade, in the early 1900s. Criterion B. The buildings constitute a remnant of the formerly extensive wharfside warehouse architecture of Queenslands largest port. Criterion C. The OReilly Buildings provide a historical continuity to the heritage listed and adjoining Watsons Brothers and HB Sales buildings, both light industrial and warehouse buildings dated 1887 and 1912. Together, the group of buildings illustrate the evolution of Queensland commercial architecture from 1887 to 1923. Criterion D. The buildings demonstrate the principal characteristics of the Federation Warehouse architectural style, with plain face brickwork facades and ornamental details typical for the construction years of 1913 and 1922/23 Criterion E. The buildings are significant for their streetscape contribution to Margaret Street in terms of the scale and rhythm of the facades, and style compatibility with the adjoining (and heritage listed) Watsons Brothers and HB Sales buildings.

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