O'Reilly's Free and Bonded Stores
2014 saw the destruction of a lovely group of early 20th century warehouses on Margaret St in the Brisbane CBD. Together with a group of heritage enthusiasts and concerned citizens we managed to put a temporary stop to the planned demolition in eary 2014 while the Queensland Heritage Council considered our application for entry to the Queensland Heritage Register.
Unfortunately Heritage Council voted against the application, by a 5 to 4 vote, and the buildings are now gone. But we learned much from the process and will be in a better position to mount the next campaing when the time comes.
The attachement to the application for a listing under the Queensland Heritage Register, detailing the history and significance of the buildings, is embedded below. The introduction is dedicated to technicalities but the history section begins on the bottom of page one, illustrations on page four and the fulfillment of Heritage Criteria on page 13.
More information on the O'Reilly Stores saga is available on the Brisbane Heritage website.