Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 5 : Presscuttings, June 1972 - November 1976

Queensland aru circles paid h1rh tribute ,·e•t•r• d..- LO the late ~{r LaUr1e Thomas. a former Queensland Ar Galler ' d trfl'Ctor. Q:h n rt1ed tn S\·dney t tus WPPk . Mr, Thom as. 5fl, dted :,J~r O'i,eJO~f l~~l'r~ta11~•~ ieadln~ arl author1t1,.s, and a Journalist. lrcturer, cr:ttc and author. H• <l1td 1n Srrlney on Tue•da y and w a; cremated yesterday. He ha.s left a widow, Mr. Thomas was Queensland ttJi c:;_~uf ~A 7 ~!rector from \\l .. hll.-. unfnrhtnalely, "''" "·on't ha,•e nur nr."'• lemporuy Art G • IIC"f"Y al th• l\i.l,M , llulldlnr opr,n In Um.- for i-;ho"' - ioer~ to ,:o lfl ltt"foru ur .-ft~r the F.kka - and ndl. no, no firm epen– in~ datr ,·rt I • 8el - You will have not•rl from thut ..,tory In 1'.·Jon• rlnv·s TeJegrnph tlU\l th'e Mus.cum. udjominJ; the olfl. unsure Onllery, wiJl be cnrrying on re– ~nrclleBs with n workirw ~l,J~:~) 1 l\.~ll~l~fictf~,:l~l~la attraction. So Just for !he record, It seemed timely Urne to check th1Lt there·d be no least risk of structural cave-in or crash-down, f~~~tee! 5 or 10 i~!regtuft~: works or art to insist 011 :losure and on removal of t heir painted trea– sures. Bui no, said a Mu- ~~~~ i~te:w~~g~t ~~r be well. Even with that bor– rowed air compreHsor thumfilng away to acU- ~~e,,,, h~a~nf/,~• kr~~P!';!cj all who cared to come, would go as safely .., they came In. You're still forlorn at the thought or not hav– ing an Art Gallery, even if you wouldn't have gone that way when you :~t! •.f~~;? out tn Slrle- Latest report on thn t culture front Is thnt shortag~ or mnteriol!i has delayed the com– pletion or the con– versJon of the two floors being converted at 160 Ann Street and, on top of thnt, lnstnJlntion or Rtr condlt1onJng ls on the In -on list, too. Brisbane, Old. USEUM BUILDING IN POOR STATE The Queenaland Museu~ 1 9i!!ildlng appears to be falling Into further repair, and the future of the building is under consldera• tlon, 'J'hf' Ct1l l\11'HI Aff111r, Mlnl,::t('r, S ir Alnn Fk lchcr, ~mid to<lny ;1 c 111T c nt 11H·c.~tig11 tlon into 1he structure of the Ar1 iullt•ry . ..:cc-1ton or Lhe bullrllnc lrnd been cs tc1Hlccl tu l11Cl i1cl~• t lw whoJtl l>ullding, Mr. Om•i~ , A.L.P. Orisbn 11c) sn1cl 1here W<'l'f" re• l >Ol'lS lhBI 1111• lll\1!'1C'lll11 building w1is 111 clnng1·r of ,eln~ cu1Hlt'1t11a•d trn :I asker! If it wrrr In 11r.cd ol mn· Jor 11?1mlrs. Sir Alnn c;:nul Wnrks Oepnr.tt1w11 1 offlcr rs hod in• ,·cs11~n1rrl l lu· ... trur tul-€ after 1101.--c.11 wr1·r hrnrcl In one ~cc•tion. Thr nrrn r n1wcrnect hnct bern ropecl off nnd the public hnd nnt brt>1t iuhnitlcrl to It. As n rr:, ul t nr 1hr :leprnt.rnenlnl im •p,1:1,lgollon U httcl been dcdclcr1 10 l'X lCncl lhc C\IITf' III hwrs 1lgn1lon l>,· co11.•-:iiltn n1s ot the nrl g,; !lcrv stna·turc to inchult:' .1i1r n111~t•u111 h ui lrll11~ n lc;;o. ' Sir Ahtll ~nld thr COlllenl s Wf'l'f' lrnrnrccl for $10 m ll• lion ORHin.•:t flt'(• nnd ~XlJ'UtlCtlll!- rlsk.c;. Thcrr wa.'i n $2 milliorl publlr r1~k pollc~· wh ich nlso rm·rt·ctl 111n1crln l 01 I I l l . lllllSl'Utn. "' ~---- The Sunday Mall AUGUST 4, 1974 BEHIND-THE-SCENE moyes are being made that could lead ta the Queensland M~s~um building ending its ~ay1 as it started - as the property of the Royal National A11oc1at1on. ' Spec ulolion over the building's future hos increased since a feasibility study lost November recommended that a new Queens– land Museum should be established in Brisbane's Albert Pork at ' a cost of nearly $9 million, Anct lhe Quccn. innd Art Gallery, which OC· ~~.~~es ,~\~Je\,;r \)~~iJl~~~ ls nlOVlllR out, Work on a new gallery, In Soulh Brisbane, is expected to start In a few months. The museum building has been a landmark at the corner of Bowen ~;.·\ll~;r~~a:11 ati1. ~:.~r~: n-. rt was built b,· the R.N.A. - and almost rulnecl the association II· nanclally. The State Government took It over In 1897 In clear the association's debts. The bulldlnJ has been IR.belled a fire trap, and Jr the Government of– fered It to the .. ,oclallnn It most likely would be demolished, rt·s not the building but Lhe II hcclare, or land it occupies that would be e:-.prc~ed ,o interest the nssoclntion. The move would "tidy ~r~~li c1~6~,er ~~~;1~J1u~~ the association, ~•hich would · then have the whole or it exce~t ror a :r:~lis~:~~ ~~~it~~- Ro)'· II wnald also Jive the annual Show more brtalhln1 space, Olltclals are expecting Iha! Lhr 98th Show, starting next Thursclay, will top the 750,000 at– tendance mark for the llr,st time. They say this won't Rh'e them nny undue problems. The blgge.st one-dav crowd will ex– ceed 100,000 but wlll still b• a long wny below the on e-d a y allendance record or 165,000 which was set Just aller World War II. Expanded In the meantime the Show hus expanded Its holdings nnd has nlso In– troduced a Sunday ·•f•m• ii)' rlny." The a.,soclnllon secl'e– lary I Mr. F. J. I<ennedy) ~~~e l~~~n~~~~~>~e:/~u'(. 0 w But, with an eye on ru- ~~~gci1W~~nf., ~~ 1 t 115 tiu1\~~ Ing any more single– storey bullrlln~s and Is utilising the land It has to the be.'.t, Rct\'RnlRge. It"s nnt onlv the at• tendnnce that ·will ao u11 th s year. UP will go the admls- ~~0~1~ro~~eti~ '~t'u~~~'t: ii; ~h!/:i~~~dwllra:s,v·get·~~ for 20c, and, except for the final r hree day,, so will pensioners on pro– ducing their medical en• tltlemenl cards. UP will go the cost of staRing the show - to $550,000 compared with $423,000 last year. , UP will go the ,·alue or prizes - to $110,000 ngalnst $98,000 la.st year. M/ ~~neJ'c.•'N$ 1 ~~il ig the standari of entrie.~. The Show "the Ek;;a" - mirrors lire In Queensla.nd, rcflectlng 11,s prosperity, dllrlcultles, Industry, mood and in– terc~ts. !ii n, I n t h • 1 e In– flationary t- I m e •• It's onl:r to be cxr,eclecl II wlll be -the\oeU Nt Show yet to be !ii.«ed "Ith lhe c o • t II e • t e"hlbll• IS55 million worth In the irrand parade alone I, 1'w Stale 0o""1fflent .... W'Jffl ~n1ay to Pia& more tlfort Into optnlnc Qlllenaland'• 11,!'t rallen, no-w lftnporarffY '-ii In M.I.M. bulld– lr ·, In Ann StrttL ~~~~iiLto':d-:::: lament tn I.he ma11en or public lntffl'Mt dlbat.e, that ii wu rldlaulOUII \hit CM gallery 1hould be clOled for t.h--i!uar– ten ot \he Year, po • &lb!J mort.