Brisbane Trades Hall
The Brisbane Trades Hall was a Trades Hall building in Edward Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
First Trades Hall
The foundation stone of the original trades hall in Turbot Street, Brisbane, was laid on 4 April 1891 by Sir Charles Lilley. There was a procession of unionists from Ann Street, along Queen Street and then up Edward Street to the building site.[1] However, by the 1920s, a larger building was needed as the labour movement had succeeding in unionising about two-thirds of the workforce.[2]
Following on from the extension of the railway line and tunnel underway from Roma Street in 1889 to Central Station, concern with the weight of the first Trades Hall over the tunnel resulted in land resumption, with a new site selected at Upper Edward Street.[3]
Brisbane's first Trades and Labour Hall building shortly after construction, 1891
Union members outside Brisbane Trades Hall during the 1912 Brisbane general strike
Second Trades Hall
The foundation stone of the second trades hall was laid on 1 May 1920 by the Queensland Lieutenant-Governor William Lennon.[4] The site was on Turbot Street looking down Edward Street, adjacent to Jacob's Ladder.
The building was used by the Queensland trade union movement for meetings, offices, social and educational events, and is the location of the Trades and Labour Council, now known as the Queensland Council of Unions. In the late 1960s, part of the building housed the FOCO club and bookshop, where the group Society for Democratic Action (SDA) met.[5][6]
In 1984 the Trades and Labour Council, as the board of management, sold the property and moved to a new property at Peel Street in South Brisbane, known as the TLC Building. As the original property was granted for the specific purpose of being used as a Trades Hall, the Brisbane Trades Hall Management Act 1984 was required to be passed authorising the transaction, with planning controls on the use of the original historic building.
The building was subsequently demolished and the site is now occupied by the high-rise IBM building.[7][8]
Brisbane Trades Hall, 1924
Brisbane Trades Hall, 1926
Brisbane Trades Hall, 1928
TLC Building
Following the sale of the Trades Hall building on Upper Edward Street, the Trades and Labour Council moved to their new headquarters at 16 Peel Street, South Brisbane. Their new building, the TLC Building, is a 5 floor commercial-style office building and does not contain a traditional grand meeting hall.
16 Peel Street is owned by the former Trades and Labour Council (known as the Queensland Council of Unions since 1993), and has several additional tenants, including:
- The Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party | Level 1[9]
- Young Workers Hub | Level 2[10]
- St Mary's Community South Brisbane | Level 2[11]
- Safe Work College | Level 2[12]
- Refugee and Immigration Legal Service | Level 3[13]
- Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance Queensland Branch | Level 3[14]
- Youth Advocacy Centre | Level 4[15]
- Professionals Australia Queensland Branch | Level 4[16]
The Queensland Council of Unions offices are located on Level 5.[17]
Front face of the TLC Building, South Brisbane, 1994
Eastern side of the TLC Building
Western face of the TLC Building
See also
References
- ↑ "TO-DAY, APRIL 6". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 6 April 1891. p. 4. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Explore the Classic City Centre" (PDF). Brisbane City Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Trades Hall deal". Toowoomba Chronicle. Vol. LII, no. 27. Queensland, Australia. 1 February 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 29 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "BRISBANE TRADES HALL". The Queensland Times. National Library of Australia. 3 May 1920. p. 3 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Dangerous spaces – youth politics in Brisbane, 1960s-70s". Queensland Historical Atlas. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ↑ Neilsen, Frank and Gray, Peter (2013). "'Australia's Most Evil and Repugnant Nightspot': The FOCO Club, Brisbane, 1968–69". Labour History. 105 (105): 221–236. doi:10.5263/labourhistory.105.0221. JSTOR 10.5263/labourhistory.105.0221.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Trades Hall". Your Brisbane: Past and Present. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ↑ "Jacobs Ladder, Spring Hill". MustDo Brisbane. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ↑ "Contact Queensland Labor". queenslandlabor.org. Australian Labor Party (State of Queensland). Retrieved 26 April 2026.
- ↑ "Young Workers Hub". ywhub.org.au. Queensland Council of Unions. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
- ↑ "Contact St Mary's in Exile". stmaryssouthbrisbane.com. St Mary's In Exile. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
- ↑ "Contact Us - Safe Work College". www.safework.qld.edu.au. Safe Work College. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
- ↑ "Contact RAILS". rails.org.au. Refugee and Immigration Legal Service. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
- ↑ "MEAA Contact". www.meaa.org. Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
- ↑ "Contact YAC". yac.net.au. Youth Advocacy Centre Inc. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
- ↑ "State & National Contact Details". www.professionalsaustralia.org.au. Professionals Australia. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
- ↑ "Contact Queensland Unions". qldunions.com. Queensland Council of Unions. Retrieved 26 April 2026.