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Railway Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 1 Station Road, Gympie, Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Alexander Brown Wilson and built in 1915 by J J Georges. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 12 June 2008. == History == The Railway Hotel at Gympie is a large, two-storeyed timber building constructed in 1915-1916 for owner Charles Caston. Designed by Brisbane architect AB Wilson, it replaced an earlier single-storey Railway Hotel erected in 1882 on the same site.〔 Gympie was established after the discovery of gold in the Mary River district in October 1867. The new goldfield put Queensland on the map as a significant gold producer, contributing much needed finances to the young colony. Thousands of people arrived at the Gympie goldfield in the months after the discovery and a fledgling settlement emerged.〔 The early makeshift structures of Gympie gradually gave way to more permanent and substantial public and private buildings. The township provided a ready market for local timbergetters and the growing number of agricultural producers in the surrounding district. By the end of the 1870s, an intensive phase of underground reef mining was underway, facilitated by the injection of capital into mining companies for machinery and employees. During 1881, mines began yielding large amounts of gold, marking a new era of wealth and prosperity for Gympie.〔 The 1880s were an important period of expansion for railways in Queensland, with new lines opening throughout the state. The economic importance of Gympie's mining industry was the key factor in the approval of the construction of the railway line between the sea port of Maryborough and Gympie. The line was officially opened in August 1881, and soon became the dominant transport artery for the movement of goods and people in and out of Gympie.〔 Gympie railway station, located between Tozer Hill and Caledonian Hill, was erected adjacent to land owned by Walter A Compigne, Gympie's first Clerk of Petty Sessions in 1868 and registrar of the Gympie District Court by 1874. In 1882 Compigne took advantage of this proximity to the station by constructing the Railway Hotel on his land.〔 As Queensland's railway system expanded, hotels joined other businesses in clustering around the rail stations. Use of the name "Railway Hotel" was common by the 1860s, a popular means of advertising proximity to the railway station. By the early twentieth century there were close to 70 "Railway Hotels" in Queensland.〔 Compigne did not conduct the Railway Hotel himself, preferring to lease it to licensees. Following his death in 1884 the property passed to his wife Mary Ann, who continued leasing out the Railway Hotel.〔 In 1888 construction of the North Coast railway commenced simultaneously from Brisbane and Gympie. The southward extension resulted in further land resumptions, with the allotment on which the Railway Hotel stood being reduced in size. In May 1888, tenders were called for the removal of the Railway Hotel, possibly to reposition the hotel following the resumption.〔 The Gympie-Brisbane rail line was opened in 1891, linking a coastal route from Brisbane to Bundaberg. The extended scope of services from Gympie railway station generated more activity around the railway precinct. In 1892 title to the Railway Hotel and adjoining land was transferred to Charles Caston, a second generation Gympie mining secretary. The Caston family maintained an interest in the hotel for over 60 years. Caston continued to lease out the Railway Hotel.〔 On the night of 1 February 1915, the Railway Hotel was almost totally destroyed by fire, except for some detached rooms at the rear. In May tenders were advertised for the construction of a new Railway Hotel, designed by Brisbane architect Alexander Brown Wilson. After working in the private practice of Colonial Architect, FDG Stanley, and studying in England, Wilson began his own architectural practice in Brisbane in 1884, maintaining a long and distinguished career until his retirement in 1928. He was responsible for buildings in Brisbane such as the Plough Inn at South Bank, Kinauld at Highgate Hill and Leckhampton at Kangaroo Point.〔 Gympie builder JJ Georges was awarded the contract for the construction of the new hotel in June 1915 and this was completed by February 1916 at a cost of £1980. The new hotel was a large two-storey timber building with first floor verandahs and a double gabled roof with a detached kitchen to the rear. Wilson's design responded to the requirements of a subtropical timber hotel, providing well ventilated rooms with high ceilings and guests quarters that opened onto front and rear verandahs. The interiors of the building were enhanced by the inclusion of pressed metal ceilings. The exterior of the hotel shared similarities with popular domestic architecture in its decorative treatment of the verandah and gables. Two earlier detached rooms were repositioned at the rear of the premises. Between 1916 and 1920 Charles Caston held the license to the hotel.〔 The building's elevated position on a rise overlooking the station made it a prominent landmark in the city.〔 The rebuilding of the Railway Hotel coincided with a substantial upgrading to the Gympie railway station between 1911 and 1915. Crew barracks for overnight accommodation were built in 1914. Other work included a new large station building, pedestrian subway, an underpass linking Station Road to Mellor Street and conversion of the platform into an island. In 1915, a large overbridge was built from the island platform linking Lady Mary Terrace and Station Road. The new bridge was a welcome development for the Railway Hotel, with pedestrians alighting from the overbridge directly in front of the building.〔 The opening of the Mary Valley railway to Brooloo in 1915 and the connection between Cairns and Brisbane in 1924 sent more goods and people through Gympie. The Gympie district was the largest producer of bananas in Australia in the 1920s and an important pineapple growing area. Fruit trains began operating from Gympie to Melbourne and in 1923 the Gympie Fruit Growers Co-operative Association erected premises opposite the station on Tozer Street. The Wide Bay Co-operative Dairy Company also was located on Tozer Street and in 1925 built one of Australia's largest butter factories. By 1927 one tenth of Queensland's milk production was from the Gympie district. The centrality of the railway precinct to Gympie's economy offered enhanced opportunities for the Railway Hotel to generate business.〔 In November 1928 newly formed Brisbane brewer Castlemaine Perkins Limited acquired an interest in the lease of the Railway Hotel from William English. The purchase of the leasehold by Castlemaine Perkins exemplified their practice of acquiring hotel freeholds and leases throughout Queensland. This process of vertical integration continued into the 1930s, ensuring the companies domination of the Queensland market.〔 A licensing inspection report from 1936 indicates the Railway Hotel's internal arrangement of space followed a layout typical of early twentieth century Queensland hotels. The first floor contained 12 guest bedrooms, a sitting room, one bathroom, two water closets and front and rear verandahs. On the ground floor were eight guest rooms, one sitting room, dining room, large kitchen, laundry, parlour, bar, and cellar. Four detached rooms at the rear of the premises were used by the publican and servants and a garage with space for two cars was available for guests. The Railway Hotel was a prosperous and well maintained place at this period. Used extensively by the travelling public and commercial travellers the hotel averaged fifty guests a week, mostly persons of "good character".〔 Castlemaine Perkins maintained an interest in the hotel until 1945, through leases and sub-leases to and from publicans. In 1953 the Caston family ended their association with the Railway Hotel and since that time a number of owners and publications have been involved in its management.〔 The public bar was enlarged in 1966, by incorporating the parlour bar at the far end from the street entrance. The dining room has been extended into the front sitting room and kitchen capacity has been expanded by widening the original walkway. The garage and detached rooms have been removed and in recent years a beer garden has been added at the rear of the building.〔 With the electrification of the North Coast railway line in 1989, a new railway station for Gympie was built east of the town. Since 1998, the original Gympie railway station has become an important tourist attraction for the city with the Mary Valley Heritage Railway operating steam train excursions through the Mary Valley. The Railway Hotel continues its role of providing drink, food and lodgings for visitors and locals. A regular local clientele drink at the public bar and a number of long-term residents occupy rooms on the first floor. Memorabilia throughout the building celebrates the hotel's long association with the railway.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Railway Hotel, Gympie」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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