The History of BRISBANE CITY HALL

[@Sem5626]

that square still shits me to tears every time i look at it

[@TheJapanChannelDcom]

The obsession some people seem to have with NOT FILMING is irrational. If you are in any public place filming structures, it should never be an issue, even more so in a city hall which should be welcoming and accomodating to citizens.

[@growlusnotneeded3251]

Because people will film you in public for provocation or build a library of stock footage for the purpose of making money, you can request that your face not be shown only.

[@TheJapanChannelDcom]

@@growlusnotneeded3251 "filming structures,"

[@kevinrobbau]

I hope someone from City Hall sees this video and improves their photography permit training

[@samdrew4746]

Not surprised about the security. Sorry to hear about that, it seems it's so hard for people to move around in inquisitive peace these days. There is also a Red Cross Cafe underneath that does (or at least used to) amazing work with young people.

[@rauri1077]

I hope you can make an official complaint or feedback, this isn’t how the council should treat the public who have a genuine curiosity about our city and history!

[@lesley2493]

Thank you Rob. you cant expect any better from the council. Sorry they treated you this way. I remember going thre as a child for immunisations. The front of City hall looks so drab without the fountains thre. Pretty the place up, Brisbanites pay enough for a beautiful town

[@VHMMP]

Ah, the joy of interacting with petty bureaucrats. I am one of those who had the fortune, as a child, to go up the City Hall clock tower before there were any high-rise buildings to block the view. Thank you Rob yet again for a great video of the insights of Brisbane. Just a pity you weren't able to shoot more of the grand interior.

[@ipullstuffapart]

Why are they taking exception to filming at all? What is there to hide? It's a publicly funded building after all.

[@doodlegassum6959]

They hate us. We know this. Then they get worried.

[@ronaldronz4599]

Exactly

[@jessdean5500]

Beacuse majority of councils are corrupt and have something to hide

[@Shelldrakeaus]

Probably coz they offer tours and they feel it would be taking money from them

[@troycarpenter4913]

Because the building is FULL of occult symbology & they don’t want people filming & explaining it’s meaning.

[@nikzane]

What year did you move to Brisbane, Rob? King George Square was a beautiful little inner-city oasis with grass and fountains that was sadly all ripped up and replaced with the concrete wasteland it is now; no grass, no fountains and no character. It's brutal at the height of summer now! 😔

[@domdouse3575]

Agree completely- the stone wasteland is a furnace in summer - zero shade, just intense sunlight - it would be way better with some nice trees, a few sections of shrubs, some greenery and shade not the stark stone wasteland

[@lexchambers8329]

Thanks for the video Rob, and yes I agree with Lesley apologies for our council/secuirty behavior, you obviously had permission to record there, I might add that it's a Public building so it shouldnt have been a problem anyway, and your promoting the City of Brisbane. On a better note, what a magnificent building, glad they did the Renovations and saved it for the people of Brisbane That auditorium is magnificent , I also remember getting our Polio vacinations there in the early 1960's

[@tamsin1969]

As a Brisbanite, your videos have made me aware of how ignorant I am of its history. I love history, but have always researched other countries. I'm so familiar with every place you've walked, so found the back stories fascinating. My son went to the day care in the hall for 3 days in the early 90's, yet I never looked around the hall itself. It will be my next planned trip to the city. I'm so pleased I found your video's and love your very Australian sense of humour. Thanks Rob.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@tamsin1969 you're more than welcome! It's comments like this that really make me happy, and want to try harder to do better work.

[@CaesarSausage]

Great video Rob! Hope you put a complaint into the City Council for the behaviour of their staff and security. As a rate payer your video was an excellent chance to see ‘our City Hall’ only to see you constantly and needlessly harassed by over officious staff.

[@spoonbang]

Great stuff Rob! Fantastic work, I think this might be your best video yet! (sucks about the security but you dealt with it extremely well).

[@hohepateika1]

Thanks for the Tour. I think I'll do the Public Tour in the near future. I think the BCC or Management of the Town Hall have a disconnect between the left and right arms in their organization after you had approval to film. They need to get a grip and realize that your tours actually promote the city and places of Brisbane encouraging tourism? Much appreciated and keep up the good work.

[@jesusislukeskywalker4294]

👍🏻 big ups Rob

[@lawdpleasehelpmeno]

Detestable the staff tried to tell you off for inoffensively filming. Glad you put them in their place.

[@SlimjimMK11]

70 years ago when I was 5 years old, my dad and mom took me there to show me Brisbane city from THE HIGH PLACE.. You could see most of Brisbane back then. Now I guess you would just look into office windows.. But the best part as a kid, my dad let me stay there until the clock struck noon.. I can remember feeling very sick when all the noise ended and I came down to the entry.. Thanks for the video and a big shame about the security.. I really love watching your videos because I left Australia many years ago and they bring back many memories of my first 60 years..

[@suzetteperkins1089]

‘Pray, hope and keep your pants on,’ 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@RosemaryChalmers-gm7lu]

I left the Brisbane area in late 1974 but have been back many times since as I still have family there. Love these videos. In 1963 I sang in the school choir on the City Hall stage and another time danced on the stage for my ballet schools yearly event.

[@peggynielsen4808]

Pray, hope, and keep your pants on .......🤣🤣🤣 Gold!

[@michaeldalessandro3020]

Awesome video

[@jonh9561]

Well, I really enjoyed this video and I learnt some history of City Hall to. It's a special place for me as I remember seeing pictures of the building when I lived in the UK, little did I know then that I would end up working there for a few, but very rewarding years and I also did my citizenship ceremony there to. Thanks Rob, greatly appreciated.

[@OZSCQUADS]

I remember going to day care here as a child. Lots of memories.

[@diecybenmtb]

had my school formal there, me and my best mate wandered off and went exploring. Great doc Rob

[@ronsmith2241]

Excellent video. Thanks Rob. Well researched and presented. Interesting that a Pride flag was being flown outside. How very different from previous years. Also there used to be statues of men on horses outside. One was of a previous king. When her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 visited she commented that the statue of her great grandfather (?) was facing the wrong way. Apparently it was corrected after that. For years it was the tallest building in Brisbane. But very glad I never had the job of changing the red light bulb on the top of the tower. (Sorry you had such a difficult time with security. Also sorry you were not given permission to do a video on the City Tabernacle Baptist Church on Wickham Tce.)

[@TheTigerQuoll]

I went to the day care center on the roof during the 70's with the open air playground at the base of the tower,great place.

[@andrewh6034]

Thanks for showing this. I had never seen that aspect with the two fountains before that I can recall. 👍

[@paulw4090]

Despite the authoritarian restrictions it was really good and informative 😀👍 Thanks Rob 😀

[@hikewithmark]

Great video Rob. Very informative and entertaining. 👍👍

[@jamescolindaley]

thanks rob for amazing knowledge of these places ,,,,that i never knew ,,,visited most of the places u go to coz i was brought up here .....but never knew anything about them ...

[@PhillipMcCallum]

Great video thanks for your time

[@SteveMack]

@walkaboutwithrob Not to mention that it's a PUBLIC building, and from what I could see in your shots, weren't restricted access area/s.

[@maxsonthonax1020]

Shots were certainly fired in this video! 😂 Good for you, telling them off via this medium & shaming them publicly for lousiness. BCC sure has some ignorant thugs on staff, in all sorts of areas. Good video too! Covered some good ground.

[@straightedgeredhead]

Another brilliant video - thank you. The right hand staircase going up in the front is discoloured, compared to the opposite one. The marble has been stained as the area was a smoking area back in the day

[@t-rocks1960]

Great Vid Rob, I love this building, Especially the irony of the Swastikas in the foyer floor tiles. I know it pre-dates the Nazis, but it gives me a chuckle considering the attitude of the security staff to you. I have some geology on the foundation stones, and the quarry they came from, I'll try to get something together tonight. Sorry they Gruppenführers got to you, still it's a great vid, I learnt a lot. Thanks T-Rocks

[@shellebelle53]

This would be really interesting to know

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@t-rocks1960 thanks Tony. I actually had a lot of fun making this one, all things considered. Looking forward to seeing your upcoming video.

[@Diggles67]

The ‘swastika’ is an ancient Sanskrit symbol meaning ‘good luck’. It is used extensively on Hindu and Buddhist temples. There is also a Norse version that may be related. The symbol was incorporated into neo classical architecture of the 1920s as well. The German National Socialist party adopted the symbol as their moniker in the early 1930s. My grandmother had post cards featuring the symbol sent back from Egypt by her brothers in 1917 during WWI before its nazi association.

[@aardvarksteve1]

My Dad was one of the guys who dug out the King George Square car park with a jack hammer, pick and shovel. I remember him bringing home clay inkwells and clay pipes that he found whilst digging!

[@BARNESSHANE713]

Love the history attached this building

[@PhillipMcCallum]

In king George bus station there's a monument for wheat creek

[@raylenepreuss1430]

I remember the fountain at Wynnum West. It functioned as a fountain into the early 90s, I think. Kids would often put washing detergent into it, and it would pump out mountains of bubbles.

[@michaelodendaal5776]

awesome video love it very interesting

[@lepermessiyah5823]

Gonna have to stop by City hall when I come back in couple of weeks for leave, need to give the security a piece of my mind. How dare they treat Rob dog like that! That aside love the videos Rob, really love hearing the little pieces of history you find and share, makes it better that its about Brisbane of course.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

Thanks! History is my passion and its so cool to know that others feel also get enjoy learning about it

[@petermartin4807]

When I was a young fella my father worked for the QSO, they used to rehearse and preform at City Hall I even went to kindergarten on top of City Hall this was back in the 70s no security BS back then

[@shellebelle53]

Absolutely fascinating Rob, and such a beautiful building. I would think the original motto of hope, pray, keep your pants on would be more appropriate 😂 Such a shame it was spoiled by overzealous security and management staff but typical of government departments, nobody knows what they're doing.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@shellebelle53 I think the old motto is pretty good advice for every generation. It's a lesson I'm gradually learning.

[@shellebelle53]

@@walkaboutwithrob 🤣🤣 Could make for some interesting videos 😁

[@danielthunder9876]

Great work with this channel. I have lived in Brisbane all my life but really don't know much about the history. Very interesting.

[@growlusnotneeded3251]

Just a bit of a FYI from those signatures in the basement, they're actually of Australian WW2 servicemen, not US servicemen. US military didn't dwell at any time in WW2 as they had other building assigned to them. And those 100 signatures that can be seen, all returned from WW2 conflict.

[@michellenpeter]

Absolutely brilliant tour and information Rob. Love the research- so much more in depth than I did when I was running my photography tours and gave a bit of history of the building. Shame about security though. You’d think by the age you get to be a security officer they should be able to read and understand a permit. Luckily you filmed a lot before being forced out. Michelle K

[@walkaboutwithrob]

Thanks very much Michelle. I very much enjoy doing research and finding all the little tidbits of history most people are unaware of.

[@sgtkeml]

Amazing as always rob 💚

[@Snorklefester]

I remember the library, Rob. We moved from Sydney when I was small as well and we joined the library in city hall. It was on the 2nd or 3rd floor and I thought the building was really creepy.

[@datwistyman]

I feel kind of ashamed of myself that I've never taken the time to look at this place in detail a have always just walked right past it and taken it for granted. The only thing i knew about this building is its where i found out i was scared of heights. When i was kid we went in the elevator to the top of the tower and i was scared out of my mind and had nightmare's about falling from for year's. I really must go have a proper look now. Great video 👍

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@datwistyman thank you! That's what I love doing, digging deeper into the places we think we know...

[@earleswan4151]

The head plasterer built a house in Chelmer. Very nice house with the same plastering in the house as city hall.

[@mikeledgerwood5882]

Good video. Amazing building. I used to go there in the 70's as a child to watch performances. Sounds like everyone see's themselves as the boss there. Those types love authority and shouldn't be anywhere near it.

[@honestpat7789]

The security and management-that’s just the extension of Anna Bjielke Palachuks Junta state enforcements 😂

[@Sherbet4ever]

In case you missed the news, the LNP has controlled the BCC for years. In Australia there are three tiers of government. Local government is one, the State government another. Either the education system has failed you or you‘re wilfully ignorant. Which one is it?

[@DaniPitchford]

Amazing building. What a shame about the management. That place could be so much more.. And with its history to back it up. I almost want to go have a look. But if you got treated badly, then ive got no hope.. Exceptional videography. Love your videos :D

[@walkaboutwithrob]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@malcolmknowles9310]

Great little Video Rob back in the day (Prior to 1977) this used to be the administration centre with all the rooms occupied by staff from Rates, Water Supply & Sewerage, Works, Planning, Health,& Electricity Departments.With your permit to photograph they should have provided a guide/security member to assist you. Since 9/11 security has been tightened up in a lot of places, try doing that in any of the other buildings around any city.

[@rtcharger7484]

Don't anymore, Provided a guide/security member to assist you ...

[@rossprentice4975]

My grandfather who designed the city hall would be horrified what the Clem Jones led council did to the building. The stone steps up to the city hall were demolished, they were a major part of the design. All this vandalism for a carport, bustards.

[@jimmyboy2]

Awesome vid. Keep it up! ❤👌👏👍

[@suzetteperkins1089]

I remember when this was the tallest building in town and I was taken up top n was very scared. I think I was about 3 years old

[@Sunny-qc2dm]

I live in Inala for a few years. I don't know much about Brisbane until I watch Rob .

[@alfenwick8402]

My grandfather worked on the copper roof as an apprentice plumber for the council. All hand soldered together with lead.

[@laurelvize6269]

Thank you for what you do. Was it Brisbane city council chambers on a cemetery ? Or is it Sydney chambers ? Rockhampton council chambers sits on ground where, corrobberees were once held. Still has old doorways. Very narrow.

[@gabbyb7342]

My great grandfather built the spire on top of the Brisbane City clock tower

[@Dogscatsdonkeys]

My grandpa worked there as a carpenter. I so wish there were more photographs.

[@gabbyb7342]

Totally agree@@Dogscatsdonkeys

[@davincisghost9228]

Loving it all Rob...so is me Mum! Got yourself an agent yet? ☺😘😎🤠

[@kerriebarron]

Yes indeed, your visit needed to be on a central diary for all front of house staff to be aware of and to facilitate. A bit disgraceful really these days. So correct about the nature of the institution. I was innoculated there as a young child and then sang under the old dome with an annual Brisbane primary schools eistedford. How great to be reminded. Tlks Rob, can I book a town hall tour with you for 2059 please? I'll be 100 :]\

[@liamthompson9342]

In some institutions I believe they have the sophisticated expedient of a wearable permit tag. Like backstage at pop concerts.

[@EzraH]

Thanks for the video I'm 100% going to have to do a tour

[@suzetteperkins1089]

Yes I remember the library and the tea rooms and toilets underneath

[@nickheath1927]

You should have pointed out to them that they are videoing you and that in a public place/space you have every right to video especially when you are doing this for education. It just shows you how out of control the bureaucracy is at that moment.

[@cinemaipswich4636]

I remember the Cinema across the road from the city hall. Where the Reserve Bank Building, and the Wesley Mission are today.

[@rogergreen9861]

One lanyard upon entry could solve so much. I remember well going at Xmas to see the giant tree in the Square, next to the old T&G building, and visits in the late 60s to get polio vaccine. Recently saw Dara O'Briain onstage there as well, so I think that fills my quota of weird connections. Cheers, Rob. Did not know about the marble.

[@toby4235]

The old Brisbane theatre on queen st (now an information centre) also has been shot at. Inside there are a few bullet holes from a shootout between an escaped prisoner and police many years ago

[@troycarpenter4913]

“To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wandering about in a great library without touching the books” Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages

[@walkaboutwithrob]

Very true

[@seanflanagan3926]

suggest a video on laidley

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

LOL! Now you know why that kid let loose with the Daisy. Probably was cheaper than a couple of Cream Pies! 🙄😉 Probably why they needed all that Michelangelo Marble - with all the small appendages that hang out in City Hall. 😁

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

I was just remembering that I did a run through the Denver Capitol some years back. There was security there of course, but they were a hell of a lot less officious than that Brisvegas crowd. 😱

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

Shame on Brisbane Council. The place seems to be run by the Keystone cops! Why did they not just give you a Visitor‘s pass when you first arrived so that you were not constantly hassled and held up like you’re some criminal?

[@peter360adventures9]

Nice building nice to see more of it. Yes council staff are F. Would have been nice to see more. It's been 40 years since I have seen inside that old building. More awesome work from you would have finished off the tour.

[@davidsea1482]

Great, as always. Thanks for your videos.

[@ausi14u]

Excellent presentation as usual. As for the Brisbane City security and admin. typical of the current ruling party of the council, disorganised and authoritarian. It's a shame they didn't see this as an opportunity to better their image and assist you in your presentation. Appreciate your great work.

[@FutureSystem738]

Rubbish. It’s not the bosses or the “ruling party” administration - why do you think he was given a permit - it’s little people with whom power goes to their head.

[@a.t2427]

Great video. I was so late watching this one. Not sure why I didn't get notified for it even though I set it to notify me on KZbin :( not blaming you of course, I know it's probably a KZbin fault or glitch. I do go to the city once a week usually and I do look out for someone filming to see if it's you 🤣🤣 maybe one day I'll spot you

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@a.t2427 If you do see me out and about filming one day, be sure to come over and say hi. It's always great to meet people who I know only from written comments. I will be at Redcliffe this coming Sunday, and then in Brisbane City on either Monday 9 or Tuesday 10, probably somewhere along William Street and North Quay.

[@a.t2427]

@@walkaboutwithrob ohh I'll be in the city on the 10th!!

[@Diggles67]

Brisbane City Council (BCC) was created in 1925 under the State Government’s Greater Brisbane Act (mirroring the Greater London model). Hence the need for a new large centralised ‘City Hall’. Twenty smaller town and shire councils were amalgamated to form BCC, now the most populous metropolitan city council in the Southern Hemisphere. The copper dome of city hall had to be replaced as copper oxidises (turns green) over time becoming thinner and more fragile. The copper roof of Brisbane’s parliament house was replaced in the 1980s for the same reason.

[@NathanMorris22]

great video again Rob thanks!!

[@1247rimini]

I could have saved a fortune travelling to Italy and just have gone to Town Hall 😂

[@Garymatrix73]

the council are such knobs now ,,,i have good memories of sitting at the lookout above the clock playing a acoustic guitar for hours back in the late 80,s early 90,s

[@maxsonthonax1020]

Knobs indeed. Why do you think it changed?

[@habitatmatt944]

Intruder alert! Threat detected! Panic!! Then tells the “intruder” to go off and find the security office and report to them. All involved previously worked at Stalag 13 before hugging clipboards at City Hall 😂😂😂

[@suzannePhillips-k1m]

like your tour

[@continental_drift]

I'm confused. Someone demanded that you go to security but couldn't be bothered to accompany you. Too many chiefs in that building.

[@lawdpleasehelpmeno]

That's when you just ignore their unreasonable direction but keep on going.

[@katecritt]

It's a shame that such a beautiful old building that used to be the "beating heart" of the city is now full of empty rooms and bored, power-tripping bureaucrats instead of all of the services it used to offer. I got a COVID shot there a couple of years ago and apart from that the place might as well be an empty façade for me.

[@kidfreejones]

There's volunteers who conduct walking history that you can join for free and its backed by BCC so this vid is great but if you want more then I'd join one of those tours, the people are fantastic.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@kidfreejones In the documentary you will see that I did indeed join those tour groups. One was an overall exploration of the building, while the other was into the clock tower.

[@norasno1768]

Big thumbs up from Toombal, brisbane

[@KarlDMarx]

A couple of things that I might have missed: the Red Cross "rest rooms", the "Golden Room" and the LEGO replica.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@KarlDMarx The Red Cross facility has been permanently closed for quite some time now. The LEGO model of City Hall was last on display in 2020. And I have never heard of the Golden Room.

[@KarlDMarx]

@@walkaboutwithrob The Red Cross Rest Room houses the Marhaba Cafe, I saw the LEGO replica about 5 months ago and I visited the Golden Room last week.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@@KarlDMarx I was told the cafe was closed. The lego model was not there at all (otherwise I would have filmed it) and the Golden Room is for special functions and not open to the public.

[@KarlDMarx]

Put a nobody in a uniform and give them a badge ... and they turn into little gods. I was physically and verbally aggressed by a security thug during the CoViD era when I tried to go to the toilet without a mask.

[@geoffrey1967]

Hey Rob, you should have mentioned about the ghost in City Hall to.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

I don't actually believe in ghosts.

[@geoffrey1967]

@walkaboutwithrob I'm sure you must of heard of all the ones in the city alone, and I myself don't believe in the traditional view of ghosts either but that they're actually demons disguising as dead people to deceive.

[@ozrucasa]

#1

[@uzetaab]

It could certainly have been handled better by management/security. Ideally you should have been given a guide, or at the least a special badge so that people would know not to bother you. It's easy to see why, it's an official government building. I'm sure terrorist threats are a serious concern in a place like that, and you could have been "casing the joint". Still could have been handled better, this can't be the first time someone has needed/wanted to shoot there. Great video, as usual.

[@thepunpolice7932]

Have you done Toowoomba before

[@JennyEkberg]

It is beautiful! But I think my favourite building is Old Government House. It was within my work place when I lived in Brisbane (QUT campus) so I would go there almost every day for coffee. I miss it! I never saw the ghost.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

I was in a movie there many years ago with Billy Zane that was shot in the Old Government House. The movie was called 'The Diamond of Jeru'. Not very good unfortunately.

[@BillyBobbinson-vs9mm]

Had school formal there, people did coke in the toilets 💀

[@Diggles67]

You forgot to mention the reason for building City Hall was not that the old town hall in Queen Street was too small, it was the fact that the State Government of the day amalgamated twenty town and shire councils under the greater Brisbane act to create the behemoth metropolitan Brisbane City Council. Many of the old town halls still exist as council and private buildings and the old council names are commemorated by the room names in City Hall, e.g., Sherwood, Ithaca, Balmoral, Hamilton, etc.

[@Occulted_Porridge]

Did you happen to find any actual construction photographs of this fine building Rob? cheers

[@walkaboutwithrob]

Yes I did.

[@hayleysimone5470]

I think I spotted you in the line for coffee at Griffith Nathan this week, was that you?

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@hayleysimone5470 Not me, I've literally never bought a cup of coffee in my life.

[@hayleysimone5470]

You have a doppelgänger! I swore it was you because he was wearing the same hat and blue shirt as you were wearing in this video @@walkaboutwithrob

[@dingobonza]

I remember moving to Sydney, seeing their city hall and laughing at how small it was because all i ever knew was Brisbane City Hall. Never realised it's actually the largest one! Yet another thing we did better than Sydney 😂😂😂