Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 9 : Construction of the cultural centre, 1977-1981

' . ,.,w.· ~~M.· PROGRESS on the Queensland Cultural Centre looked good from where Sir David Mull the Cultural Centre Trust chairman, and Trust members stood yesterclay. They were viewing the new art gallery, across the pla?a built ovr • Stanley Street, South B1·lsbane. Cultural without a scandal THE Queensland Cultural Centre i$ progressing on time and is within the pro– jected cost. That la the problem. There have been no strikes, no out•' landtsh money problems nothlnir at all to creale a scan• dal. What will become one of Aus– tralia's most Important tourist attractions and· a centre or Im– mense value to Queenslanders Is quietly, ,·cry quietly, tnklng shape on the south bank ol the Brisbane Rll'er. Members ol the Queensland Cult u r a I Cen11·e Trust, the ··tnndlorcts", Inspected progress yesterday. One trust member sntd the project was probably more s1g– nllicant than the Sydney Opera House. But the control'ersy, scandal nnd publicity which sur– rounded the Opera House was missing because the Brisbane complex was running lo sclJed– ule. Few people outside Queens– land, he said, were oware the state wns creating n centre like none other In the world. "I am waiting !or the court case which has bodies burled in the foundations of the Rl'I, gnl– lery," the trust member mid. ''It seems It Is only this sort or sen– sational publicity thal puts a project like this on tlie map," But the Queensland Cultural Centre wlll not need outlandish pub 11c It y. It Is sensational enough to Instil n sense of pride In Queenslanders that It should be In their state and enough to hu,·e l'lsltors from around the world queueing at the doors. The ltrst stage, Ute art gallery with restaurant nnd auditorium, wlll be completed by the middle of next year. It Is completed to a point now which lets the ,·tsltor appreciate the enormous scale of stage one. The art gallery Is a complex of Interconnecting galleries which will allow the ,•\sltor to take In as much as !le likes. There wlll be no set route march from polm A to point B. The \'lsltor will be able to take In one or two galleries easily or the lot at his convenience. There will be landscaped open by JOHN GARDINER areas and gardens lit by sky– lights deep in the complex. The re•laurant and auditorium will make lull use or views over the Brisbane River and the city. The auditorium will be completely flexible and could be partlt toned oil or opened up for banquets, conferences or dances. The restaurant will hold 120 people and the auditorium a maximum of 450. The ongoing work on stai:e one already la at• tractlng more than 400 visitors a week. Stage two, the performing arts centre, will be completed In 1982, stage three, the Queens– land Museum, In 1983, and 1tage lour, the State library, In 1084. By 1984 the $71 million project will be the completed tool which w11 1 re,•ltaltse the arts in Queensland to an as yet only dreamed ol standard. It also will be a tourist attraction people wilt travel around the world to sec.