Page 16 - eMuse Vol.9 No.08

Steel and Glass Hide

a Historical Site

(Above Left) 100 Creek Street. (Above right) The Gresham Hotel during the 1893 flood.
The law at the time clearly stated the legal drinking age in were more like guerilla fighters trying to save their country.)
Queensland was twenty-one. Although we didn’t qualify, me and In 1890 the Gresham Hotel was built here by Henry Holmes for
my yobbo mates were young soldiers on leave and didn’t care. £15,000. It was designed by Architect J. H Buckeridge. It contained
We argued with the firm conviction of flawed logic, “If we’re old 77 hotel rooms and small office spaces fronting Adelaide Street.
enough to fight for our country, we’re old enough to drink in it!” The first licensee was Mr I. A. Phillips who also arranged the inter-
The barmaid obviously noticed our youthfulness when she nal decoration of the hotel.
asked in a single sentence that almost sounded like one word, “Are- This was never meant to be an ordinary hotel. Its classical de-
you-blokes-over-twenty-one-say-yes!” We felt right at home. sign made it look like an important government building — a bit
In our minds the Gresham Hotel instantly became a top spot. more salubrious than the average inner-city pub. It was run by
Typical of young men our age, we had no idea that we were drink- dynamic and progressive people who were quick to realise the ad-
ing in a historical site. Clearly we had a lot to learn on many sub- vantage of installing a new technology called electricty.
jects, including this one. Within two years of opening disaster struck. The lower floor
We had no idea, that back when our forefathers were negoti- was inundated by the 1893 Brisbane Flood. However, in this case
ating Queensland’s separation from New South Wales, this then at least, it takes more than a flood to dampen enthusiasm. The
undeveloped site was not always a safe place to be. An Aborigine Gresham quickly became a place for the social elite to be seen.
called Ommuli was killed here in an attempt to capture him. Like Just to drop a name, Australia’s world famous opera singer Dame
his recently executed brother, Dundalli, he was wanted for murder. Nellie Melba was among the more well known guests here in 1909.
(Or so claimed the powers that be. I think Dundalli and Ommuli History important to all Australians was made here in 1920
when when Hudson Fysh, Paul McGuinness and Fergus McMaster
met to sign the documents to inaugurate Qantas.
In 1942 The Gresham was centre stage in the infamous Battle of
Brisbane — a riot between US troops and Australian Diggers. From
the vantage point of the upstairs verandahs, war correspondent,
John Hinde was on a balcony overlooking the melee. He stated
“The most furious battle I ever saw during the war was that night
in Brisbane. It was like a civil war.”
The Battle of Brisbane is an amazing subject to study. (See next
page for the whole story.) It really happened but some of what
really happened is flavoured with fascinating furphies on the side,
like civilians being shot with Owen Guns, a tram (complete with
civillian passengers) tipped over on its side, the fire brigade using
their hoses to disperse the brawlers, and, many other things that
never happened at all.
War time censorship suppressed much of the story but people
will talk. What the authoities could not hold back filled the news
with furphies and urban legends that lived on for generations.
“Never let the facts get in the way of a good story” was a con-
cept not overlooked. But even when all the facts and all the myths
get properly identified and placed side by side, it still is a great sto-
ry. Knowing what actually happened and what was folk lore adds
to the legend.
The Gresham’s fatal blow was the 1974 Brisbane Flood. Dam-
age dictated it be demolished. The replacement was the building
made of glass and steel, with the unimaginative and uninspiring
name “100 Creek Street.”
There’s not a hint of its former glory and past history. Little
wonder so many people say “nothing ever happens here.” How
sad! If only they they knew just a little . . .
Dame Nellie Melba leaving the Gresham Hotel 1909.
16 eMuse August 2020