Naval Gazing
by
HawMorFords
An urban micro cache located in the heart of
Brisbane's CBD.
Inner city coordinates are always a little dodgy
but the one's posted should put you pretty close - you're
looking for an Eclipse container that is magnetically
attached to a galvanised octagon.
***************
The Brisbane Naval Offices, constructed in 1901,
are significant for their association with the defences of colonial
Queensland and the Commonwealth of Australia.
The building is associated with the Queensland Marine Defence
Force, established in the 1880s as a volunteer defence corps to
help protect Queensland's considerable coastline. The construction
of this building, at the corner of Edward and Alice Streets was
undertaken at a time when the colonies were preparing to amalgamate
their defence forces into one large Commonwealth force. The
building became Commonwealth property in 1911 and under navy
administration with the formation of the Royal Australian Navy in
1913. The Brisbane Naval Offices are therefore symbolic of
Australia's transformation from six independent colonies to a
federated Nation in 1901.
The present building was constructed to provide
offices for the Naval Commandant and his staff. It was
completed in 1901 and replaced the original Naval Defence Building
which had been badly affected by subsidence.
The Naval Offices, together with the former Naval
Stores across the river at Kangaroo Point, have great significance
as part of the Queensland Naval Heritage. Together they
formed the main base for the Queensland Naval Defence Force with
it's two gunboats, the 'Gayundah' and 'Paluma', steam launches and
torpedo boats.
After Federation in 1901, the Queensland Defence
Force was incorporated into the newly established Royal Australian
Navy. The premises were occupied by the Navy until 1959 and
were subsequently used by various Commonwealth Department until
being leased as a restaurant in 1982. The building has
remained remarkably intact externally except for the unfortunate
removal of the fleche on the roof.
It is a fine example of a Federation period
building and forms part of a historically significant precinct with
the adjoining Port Office, ferry terminal and Botanic
gardens. Architectural style is mainly Baroque with an ornate
entrance porch pediment incorporating the Naval Defence Coat of
Arms. The large semi-circular window with the name of the building
cast in renderr underneath is typical of the high quality of
workmanship throughout the building.