Arthur William Colwill was born in the then, Shire of Windsor, 1892. He attended the Bowen Bridge Road State School that existed for 50 years in the current Windsor Memorial Park – next to Colwill Place. After earlier employment in the drapery business, he purchased (around 1923) the Windsor land, and built a shop on the site. This shop carried lines such as stationery, newspapers, magazines, confectionery, and Kodak supplies.
By 1925 he had added a second shop to cater for the increasing demand for motorists’ supplies, and he installed a kerbside Shell petrol pump, a hand operated “Bowser” which later was supplemented by another pump for Plume petrol. A dwelling was built at the rear of the shops for the family. As the business began to grow and flourish, he developed the concept for a larger building, and this came to reality with the construction of Colwill Place.
On the rooftop he added an open-air tennis court with lighting for night tennis, a dance pavilion with a kitchenette and a roof garden. On the first floor he created a mini golf course. Various shops traded over the years. In 2011 there was a concern that the building would be demolished to make way for the Northern Busway Project. However, this did not happen due to efforts of the Windsor Historical Society and others. In 2020 the building was renovated and still stands proudly today as a local icon.
Source: Windsor & Districts Historical Society Inc.
Tags: culture cultural history historic heritage windsor brisbane queensland australia
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Arthur William Colwill was born in the then, Shire of Windsor, 1892. He attended the Bowen Bridge Road State School that existed for 50 years in the current Windsor Memorial Park – next to Colwill Place. After earlier employment in the drapery business, he purchased (around 1923) the Windsor land, and built a shop on the site. This shop carried lines such as stationery, newspapers, magazines, confectionery, and Kodak supplies.
By 1925 he had added a second shop to cater for the increasing demand for motorists’ supplies, and he installed a kerbside Shell petrol pump, a hand operated “Bowser” which later was supplemented by another pump for Plume petrol. A dwelling was built at the rear of the shops for the family. As the business began to grow and flourish, he developed the concept for a larger building, and this came to reality with the construction of Colwill Place.
On the rooftop he added an open-air tennis court with lighting for night tennis, a dance pavilion with a kitchenette and a roof garden. On the first floor he created a mini golf course. Various shops traded over the years. In 2011 there was a concern that the building would be demolished to make way for the Northern Busway Project. However, this did not happen due to efforts of the Windsor Historical Society and others. In 2020 the building was renovated and still stands proudly today as a local icon.
Source: Windsor & Districts Historical Society Inc.
Tags: culture cultural history historic heritage windsor brisbane queensland australia
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Following the introduction of compulsory military training in Australia in July 1911, all males between the ages of 18 and 20 (with few exclusions) were to undertake a specified amount of drills per year. Compulsory cadet corps were also established for youths 12 to 18. The small number of drill halls, which had been erected in various suburbs and towns during the late nineteenth century to aid the training of volunteer and militia forces, were inadequate. A program of drill hall construction was undertaken, intensifying during the World War I years. The drill halls, although often used as recruiting bases for the AIF, were not used to train the Australians volunteering for overseas service. They continued to be used for the training of the citizen militia.
The various State Governments undertook the construction of drill halls on behalf of the Commonwealth, and in 1914 the Queensland Government let the contract on the Albion drill hall and offices. The drill hall, which included offices and an earth closet block, was built by John Kelsall for a contract price of £1383. Based on a design used for the drill hall at Ayr, the hall was wooden framed and sheeted with iron. It covered an area of approximately 101 feet by 68 feet. This included a drill area of 100 feet by 50 feet, the remainder being taken up with offices. Steel trusses supported the roof, and a continuous ventilator ran along its ridge.
After World War I the citizen military forces were re-established to reflect the divisional organisation of the original AIF. The compulsory training provisions of the defence act were also watered down after the war, though a voluntary militia continued. Over the years and usually around the time of a major international conflict, compulsory military training has been re-introduced. A corresponding growth was experienced in the militia, known after WWII as the Citizens Military Forces and lately as the Army Reserve. Evidence suggests that work was carried out to the premises in 1924, 1948 and 1965.
During World War Two, the drill hall was used initially as the Australian Army Albion Training Depot. Later in the war, it accommodated the Army’s 4th Advanced Base Stores Depot (ABSD).
With the establishment of larger Reserve training centres within Brisbane, the Albion training depot was surplus to Defence requirements. The property containing the drill shed was sold by the Commonwealth of Australia in 1988 to the Peace, Social Justice and Development Centre Incorporated. As “The Albion Peace Centre” it was home of the Australian Peace Committee – Brisbane Branch, Brisbane Organic Growers Inc, Community Aid Abroad, Global Learning centre, People for Nuclear Disarmament and the Youth Enterprise Trust.
Source: Brisbane City Council Heritage Register.
Tags: drill hall house drill hall drill house militia military solider soldiers forces army train training trained facility facilties building architecture architect culture cultural history historic heritage albion brisbane queensland australia
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