Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens

The Brisbane City Sketchers went to the Japanese garden at the Mount Coot-tha gardens today to sketch.  It was a fabulous morning, much fun and laughter.

A5 Holcroft sketchbook lamy pen loaded with carbon ink.

 

Watercolour added.

127 Margaret Street Brisbane

I had a lovely morning sketching the HB SALES Building (Acme Engineering Works) on Margaret Street Brisbane. Designed by Frank Longland and it was built in 1912.

This whole area right down to the Botanic gardens was known as Frogs Hollow.  Frogs Hollow was a low-lying area that stretched from Elizabeth St down to the river at the Botanical Gardens and bounded on the other two sides by George St and Edward St.

If you walk along Edward Street down to Smellie and Co there is a cafe there with Christopher Trotters artwork on the wall and a plaque paying tribute to Frogs Hollow.

The area was not only a swampy area, it was also a bad area, with brothels, in fact it became Brisbane's red light district, where prostitution, sly grog and even opium dens were the norm'.

  A4 Holcroft Sketchbook - Lamy pen, and watercolour

Both of these buildings (there are 2 side by side) Acme Engineering and Watson Bros..are heritage listed, thank goodness.

Acme Engineering Works remained in the premises until 1928, after which it was owned by Charles Jeays who operated in plumbers' supplies. After WWII the building was occupied by Gardiner Batteries and then HB Sales from 1958. The last couple of inhabitants appear to be vendors of bicycles and accessories.

Saturday Sketchout day

First up was sketching at the beautiful Manly Boat harbour.  Manly Boat Harbour is now the largest boat harbour facility in the Southern Hemisphere, and a fabulous place to go sketch.  So many nooks and crannies to go draw.

Today, however, I decided to sketch the esplanade.  It was way too hot for me to sit in the sun.  Go figure, it is only spring here..

5.5" x 7.5" Sketchbook (double page) Lamy pens (I have 3 - Fine nib  - Medium nib - Calligraphy nib.)

After lunch I piked up a friend and headed to the city to sketch.  Again it was so hot, that we headed to the Three Monkeys cafe, and over a Ginger Crush (drink) we sketched.

Same sketchbook as above.

Brisbanes Oldest Convict Built Building

This structure started life as a mill for grinding wheat into flour. It was built in 1820s by convict labour, and at first it had sails, but there wasn't enough wind, so they took them down and put in a treadmill. (A wheel like a paddle steamer wheel) that the prisoners and to "walk' all day long. In 1861 the mill was converted to a telegraph signal station. A time ball was added to the roof of the tower in the 1860s – the ball dropped each day at 1pm so Brisbane’s residents could set their watches. The time ball operated until 1930.
During the 1890s the fire brigade used the tower for observation. The Queensland Institute of Radio Engineers conducted radio research from the tower in the early 1920s, and Queensland’s first television broadcast was transmitted from the tower in 1934.

 A4 Holcroft Sketchbook lamy Pen and watercolour

 

Teach me to sit under a tree to sketch. hahahaha

Castle Rumble

Logan’s best kept secret is Castle Rumble, a medieval-style 'castle' built brick by brick by Brian Rumble, an artist and sculptor (whose past projects include work on Brisbane’s Grammar School, St Andrews Church and Dreamworld). (Extract from Must Do Brisbane - Deb Lidster)

Like the Addams Family house, the castle is creepy and kooky. Set on four hectares, the castle is guarded by gargoyles at the gated entrance. The gardens are landscaped with quirky sculptures and statues while the home itself is a mixture of Tudor meets medieval with a touch of Gothic thrown in. The castle is complete with turret, lead-light windows and a courtyard straight out of the Middle Ages. The latter has been used in the past to host banquets, birthday parties and even weddings. Inside is equally intriguing with dimly-lit rooms covered in cobwebs and a thick layer of dust. 

Visitors can only access the first floor of this four story home; however the turret offers 360 degree views from Mt Coot-tha to Cunningham’s Gap. Behind the castle, there’s a vine-covered two-story dwelling with a workshop of sorts on the ground floor, while upstairs you’ll find a bed chamber, stunning stained glass and intricately carved timber wall and impressive views.

Nice to know – Castle Rumble is currently on the market (at time of visiting in September 2017) for the right buyer. While developers have shown an interest in the land, the family would like the new owner to keep the castle and let Brian’s labour of love live on.

 

A4 Sketchbook Lamy Pen and Watercolours.

 

 

Saint Stephens Girls School.

St Stephens School is a heritage-listed former Roman Catholic school.  It was designed by architect John Ibler and built in 1892 by Thomas Rees..  

This three-storeyed school building is built in the Gothic Revival style. The school stands on land which was designated for church use in 1847 and officially granted to the Catholic Church in 1849.
Classes had been conducted in various "second-hand" buildings since 1845, but on 20 March 1892 Archbishop Robert Dunne, a trained teacher, laid the foundation stone for this purpose-built school. 

A tin capsule containing copies of the three Brisbane daily newspapers and The Australasian was lodged under the stone.

11" x 15' Bockingford paper Lamy pen and watercolour.

BRISBANE CITY SKETCHERS

 

Roma Street Parkland

The area that is now called Roma Street Parkland has a long and varied history; from a meeting place for local Aboriginal people prior to European settlement, a gazetted park in the 1870s to a railway goods yard the area that is now called Roma Street Parkland has been a focal point for the people and commerce of Brisbane.

The Turrbal people used the area around Roma Street Parkland for a variety of purposes prior to the arrival of the first Europeans, uses which included recreation, hunting and camping. On at least occasion in the 1840s it is recorded that the Roma Street area was used for a major gathering of Aboriginal groups from south-east Queensland and was probably the last of such gatherings in the Brisbane area.

7.5" x 5.5" sketchbook

Lamy pen and watercolours.