Photos by Oldtime Brisbane res… : on the map, in Google Earth (KML)

Your photo of the tower is nice but the double hipped red roof just behind it is also an important Brisbane landmark. It is a roof over the water storage facility that was fed from the spring that was located nearby (hence the name of the area is Spring Hill) and served the colony during its colonial period between 1842 anf 1901.

The oldest buildings in Brisbane were this mill and the Commissariat Stores both built with convict labour in 1829. The wind driven mechanism sent from England for this mill was a failure and a treadmill mechanism was installed. Convicts on punishment were set to walk the treads around as though climbing a stair. This punishment was incredibly cruel. A public execution also took place when two miscreants were hanged from a beam extended through the upper window. The ball atop the tower was raised at 1:00pm local time daily, a cannon fired and the ball dropped so that ships in port could set an accurate time. The tower remained in use as a weather reporting point well into the 20th century.

Whatever happened to graceful design. Think of the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth. Now they cram more on to make it cheaper to cruise and then tell us the Queen Mary II is an express liner not a cruise ship. I suppose express liners can be ugly whereas a cruise ship shouldn't be. Big is not always beautiful and Queen Mary II certainly is not beautiful.

Thanks for posting the correct name.

Sorry people! Why don't i just rename the photo "old boat"

Thank you for visiting and your further explanation. I trust that the location is correct since I remember that it's in front of the National Library William street.

Warm greeting with regards

This building is the Conrad Jupiter Hotel. It was originally the State Government Administrative Building.