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

Brisbane·"tOSPend $45m on 'unique centre for culture' PLANS for a new '46 million cultural ccnl.rc to oc~upy 13,000 1quare metres on the south bank of the Brisb11ne H1ver were announced ye,terday by the Queensland Treasurer Sir Gordon halk. S Brisbane a cultural desert or a ripe artistic plum yearning to be picked? .... ~- I ,J ./ -- We-;.m probably nc•cr luuiW-;lud••"• 5y thi r•t• thr Gonrnmcnt i1 going towortl provitfitt• e11r city with on orfl centre. P, , oosed clatf' for a new e,t ,.1..,.. i• 1979, whilf' ot. r 't'oh1oble pointin91 refflein 4i1pleyell '" • city office buildin9. A, ,ncmbcrs of the Queendan4 lolfet co,,, e11- ••••• not to foll off the. tiny state et Her Moj..ty'1, the planner, •rt lookin9 towa,41 tha 19101 te .,.. •i4f' theM with More ,oo,.. to n10••· • Effort, to ,oi1e much 4ust 1,. th• worl.t of cult•N toe ahe• . h • n hunrd out to H •••Y 4•"'• efteir9. Meloly l>eteuse of the cofflplete lec• ef fecllltlft .... tRHUNlffflel•t ef e "'•iot 11•t1tre ,... .... GGnn1•e11t. We ,...lac 111r• our leader tfoe111't "••• te .., elteut I• eut-ot•dete eirc,oft •"-' PerUeMe11I itNlf le ,....,... Netfy for "'•Hi•• iMJr•••••.. h ill itl 11¥1.. .,,. ........... Net lter4 te .,,..,,,.,.,.., why •11• ...,,,.,..., ...icie111, ecton, 4e11c•rt •"t1 eth1n •••II ....., cit._ IR which te •n•I• their teleRh, Of courn, the Go..,.._., ""' It••• ...,., '– .,., ertl1tlc future. A $45Mlllien HMPle• '" te11r tte9N will ntntuelly teke 1he.- et S.uth lri1lte,.., Tho fl,ot 1101• - tho ert 1ellery - will N ,.• ., lo 1979. A .,.,fe,,..i•!t ert1 •'"'" wlll h••• • 2000• _, cNcort hell, •• 1100-Het • .,.,. •"• ltellet thHIN I.,,.••, lool•t criticise• •• tN ,.,,n I ,,.., • 400-Net lht4io thttlN, ' .. "FINANCIA}''REVIEW" · 'l. ✓ Sydney, N.S.W. ~ z:2 ocr 191s The Include a Ing arts building containing a 2000· seat concert hnll, an 1800·& e a t I yr I c theatre to seat 400. An urt i(HllCl'Y, ,UUri· eum, lluor:,. ,..tour~nt, aleterlu •nil •n•ck l>•r Will also bo lncluuded In the comp: 0 ,x. P•rkln~ will be provided for 500 con. A •tort on the II ve– phose project 11 cxpoct– ed durlnw the present flnunclnl yuu1· 11ml lho c-omplox 1:1 due fur com – pletion Ill IOHJ, Sir Ourc1on sa1d lht• Ctillrr WIJUld be UL lrust, th.: rqudl uf tUIY other In the southern lwml• sphere. "It will uo a 1reat national osaet and somethlnic ol which Queen• I "n d will be proud ," he snld, Completion or the first stnge, which will include n undge over Stanley Street, plazl\S, landscapm~. the uudlt– orlum, rcstuurRnt an kitchen, hnvc been ten– tntlvely oct for eorly 1979. Sir Gordon said u,e fl~ure or $45 million wus bnscd on calculotlons mudc In October Inst ycor ond wos cerlRln to increase becl\USe of tn • Oollou. "llut we are not going tu nllow this to l>ccome another Sydney Operu llou.,e sltuutlon with costs splrnllln~ out of control," he snu.l. "U111lkc tho Opera House we hnve plans fully completed before the ouut of construction and " definite program of work to be followed." The architect, Mr Robin Olbson, said the Include many u1rn1ue features which would make 11 the equal or the superior of any similar complex In Aus– \ralrn. He said the would be os fine In 11>• world an Soccer pools go-ahead Uy tht Poh11cal Reporter A lill to l11ali11 S.cce, peals i• Q1t11n1lond ••• epPro"d br the jol11t Go•– ernt11tnt pertie 1 r••t•r4ay. Mcmb,•rs, lncludlr11 Mr. Pol'lrr •Llb., Too• \\'Ollij: I, !<tOU~ht H. clo.~e wnl r ll nu the youth and .... II or l 1 11 r,: ,u·1l\'1t1e., 011 Whll'h 11111., 1 ol lh~ Gm•– e1 n111t•111 :-. "tuke" rrom lhl! pool~ will 111· :-i11t·11t. Th r '1'1t•nsurn tS1r n II r ,t n II Chnlk1, who IHl'l'l'll lt•c1 1111• U1ll. 111~0 ,'lll(Tr.1•cictl Ill ~Nllllj:l UJ) 4 ~~-~:~;•~~ .~~~~ 1:- 1 htl~iOCul l1!,!]!l --r,rr, -nrn, ·,'1!11 the JJ/'OIJO.~t•t1 S~O 1111111011 cul 4 lur,11 n ·111n• t·ornplcx a t S1Hlll1 llri:,llllne. Tiu, Ci11lrlc11 Cttskel will hc·!11 l111a111·e u. H11· Gonton'!-. dr1trt BIii In , n!ic1at,• the char~inJ,: 111 :-IRIIIIJ dUl\" Ull ho nk – ('j1rc!~ 1:...." wni llllUl'O\'rtl. By CHRl.'i f A.\'rnELL A. ULTURAL centre \\ hich "will not be shaded by anything in the south– ern hemisphere" was un– ' .:iled i Bri,banc yr,ter– day . $45ID cultu1'al centre ~~/1v:i 11 i~~:~<1r!~i1 ~t~~~ ne~~~byh~\!lt':.'•.\i~:ri~~,que and •uperb looking •cheme here Rnd I look rorwRrd to ,,L,ltlng It In the future, •• I •hall cert•lnly return Just to .,ee It. I •hall also be telllng goulhcrn friend., thRl Bris– bane Is not t.he cultural dc.o;ert I was led U> bellel'e. Con~ratulatlon• - you wlll be the envy or every other city. - Alleen ·Allen, Adelaide, Get with show BRISRANF. hu heard It all beforr, ~nentrl!preneur J\llchHI E d I I e y nddrd nnthlnr nrw with hl11 "cultu• ral wa~tf!land" blut. ai performlnr artll' racllltlrs thl11 week. Thr need for' lm– prov,•ct. Indeed even proper, facllltles tor dnnce, music and opera has been obvious since World War JI. B r e a s t - beatlnit about the need,. ha~ been going on for Just 11!1 Jong. The State oovern– mPnt. has a 12- monl h~-nlct plan tor n $4S million mull.I• purpo~e arts centre •,;uon thP. south bank of Tlrlsbane River. Fine, It ~remed like the breakthrough at last. There Is to be a centre for the per– forming arts,. art gallery, llbriry, restaurant - • a I I within eaisy strolling dist.1mce of the city. But when do the bricks and mortar begin to take shape? A pPrlod of econo– mic nicesston m a y seem an Inappropri– ate t,tme to begin pro– jects far removed from d11y to day nePds. Yet. the prt!s– Pnt roaring Inflation is Just as good a l'l!a– ~on tor I\ speedy 1t1trt. T H E 14 5 . million e!ltimate 11lready will hll'l'fl !!Oared, Th ft Natlnnal Gall,ry In ('n"hl'rrll, II t II 't "d with a .tartrl't nt $13.9 million, nc,w II estimated to emit 121 mllllnn by the time It Is tlnl!lhed In 1978, A start on the South Bank project Is urgent if that "cultu– ral wasteland" cllche is not to become an enduring tact. Thi! time-table for the project is five ta seven ye11 rs. But the city's m a j o r I I v e theatre, Her Mn,lrst~··s, m:iy not ln sr. rh .,t. ctlsr.:rncr. tt. l.s unctrr t hrrat. of dPmolttlon . Where to then? Brisbane m1s11es 11n– ough of the major performlnl arts al– ready.