The Dalgety Offices is a heritage-listed office building at 1–13 Sturt Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Walter Hunt and built from 1923 to 1925 by William Hornby Turner. It is also known as Sunskill House. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 26 August 2005.
History The two-storeyed office section of this large reinforced concrete building was erected for Dalgety & Co. Ltd in 1923–24 and the single-storeyed warehouse, which fronts Denham Street, was constructed in 1924–25. The designer of both sections was prominent local architect Walter Hunt and the contractor was William Hornby Turner. The complex was constructed during a period of economic boom in Queensland and overall rising rural prosperity, despite the collapse of the north Queensland beef export trade in 1921.
In 1846 one of Australia's largest and most successful 19th century pastoral companies was established in Melbourne as Dalgety, Borrodale and Gore. The company flourished during the 1850s gold rushes and in the middle of the decade opened an office in London. In 1859 this became the head office from which the company's various Victorian and, by then, New Zealand interests were controlled. The firm expanded to New South Wales in 1878, to Western Australia in 1889 and South Australia in 1897. The first Queensland office was established at Rockhampton in 1891 in response to the company's heavy involvement in the Central Queensland grazing industry. A branch was established in Brisbane in 1894 and a Townsville branch in 1896. Subsequent Queensland sub-branches were opened in Hughenden, Longreach, Blackall, Charleville and Toowoomba. Dalgety and Co. Ltd. played a significant role in the development of the pastoral industry (particularly through wool brokerage and property investment) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was the single largest supplier to Queensland's first wool sale, conducted in Brisbane in 1898, which contributed to the establishment of Teneriffe in Brisbane as Queensland's principal wool-stores precinct. By the late 1920s, the company was promoting itself as the largest wool-selling house in Australasia.
Dalgety & Co.'s Townsville office and warehouse were housed initially in leased premises in Denham Street, just south of Sturt Street. By 1920, the need for additional accommodation was becoming critical. Dalgety had emerged as a major provisioner to North Queensland pastoralists and farmers and purpose built Townsville premises would consolidate their position. In 1920 Dalgety & Co. acquired title to a site at the northern corner of Denham and Sturt Streets, which had remained vacant since the destruction by fire of the Day Dawn Hotel some twenty years before. The company commissioned Walter Hunt, arguably Townsville's most experienced architect, to prepare plans for new offices and warehouse facilities. Hunt commenced practice in Townsville in 1909 and taught architecture at the Townsville Technical College, maintaining his Townsville practice until retiring to Sydney in 1932. He designed the reinforced concrete St Joseph's Church, Fryer Street, erected in 1920–21 and was in the process of designing the Dalgety & Company building in Sturt Street while he supervised the construction of the Commonwealth Bank Building.
Although tenders for the Dalgety building were called in May 1920, they were difficult to obtain as local contractors feared labour stoppages combined with an increase in the price of building materials. Nothing further was done toward erecting new premises until December 1922 when the board approved that tenders be called for a concrete building. This was delayed until July 1923, anticipating that by then several leading building contractors would be less busy and the competition might be keener. The suggestion of a reinforced concrete rather than brick building was endorsed by the General Manager who remarked that concrete was preferable to brick with an additional advantage that it would be less costly. A long established Townsville builder, William Hornby Turner, submitted the lowest tender with a price of . Building commenced on 1 August 1923. The whole was to be constructed within 12 months, with the offices erected first.
The Dalgety & Co. building was one of the largest reinforced-concrete projects undertaken during Townsville's building boom of the early 1920s. Townsville's two leading architects, Walter Hunt and CV Rees, designed a substantial number of reinforced-concrete buildings for Townsville and other areas of northern Queensland in the early 1920s. Some of the larger projects included an engineering works, showrooms, factories and offices. A number of single storeyed shops and offices in reinforced concrete were commissioned including a large residence in Flinders Street for Dr Anton Breinl, Walter Hunt being the architect. As well, many businesses were incorporating reinforced-concrete in remodeled premises. Hunt and Rees encouraged the use of reinforced-concrete as a cheaper and more readily available alternative to brick. At the time building materials in Townsville were significantly higher in price than in the south owing to high transport costs. While it was expected that this would be relieved by the completion of the North Coast railway line to Townsville, face bricks from Brisbane still cost per 1000, thus giving prominence to alternative building materials.
Poor weather and labour materials hindered construction. However, by July 1924 rapid progress was being made with the office block and by October 1924 it was nearing completion. Dalgety's Townsville staff finally moved into their new offices on 1 December 1924, and into the warehouse just prior to 30 June 1925. This was despite the fact that the warehouse was not quite finished.
The new office and warehouse offered a frontage of to Sturt Street and to Denham Street. Although the office section was only two-storeys, it gave the appearance of a three-storeyed building, with the ground floor above the Sturt Street pavement at the main entrance. This entrance to the offices had a carved handrail leading up to the first floor. The new building made an imposing contribution to Denham and Sturt Streets and was described in the Architectural and Building Journal of Queensland in October 1924 as being one of the most modern and imposing concrete structures in North Queensland.
The design and choice of material was noted for its cyclone resistance with ample provision made for light, ventilation and modern sanitary arrangements. In particular the ventilators were regarded as a suitable addition to a tropical climate and were a notable feature.
Dalgety & Co Ltd. occupied the ground floor offices and the first floor was leased to two legal firms. The fittings and fixtures in the offices were of paneled silky oak and arctic glass, with the ceilings fitted with fibrolite, a popular new product made of asbestos sheeting. The window fittings were constructed of oak.
The ventilation of the building consisted of special ventilators positioned in both the interior and exterior of the building. The interior walls had vents made out of fibrous plaster and situated between the picture rail and the ceiling whereas the exterior ones were made of louvred galvanized iron. Cornice and base mouldings were kept to a minimal in an endeavour to avoid dust being carried through the ventilation system.
A Montgomerie Neilsen oxidising non-septic toilet system was installed with a large brick tank under the building. This basement was accessed from the rear of the building. Inside the building the toilets were located at the rear of the office on both levels. There were two strong rooms on the first floor for the use of the tenants, and a third strong room on the ground floor for Dalgety & Co. The downstairs strong room was fitted with a protex door. The warehouse when complete had a truck loading dock and vehicle access ramp.
Dalgety & Co.'s Townsville branch offered a range of financial and merchandising services which helped sustain the North Queensland pastoral sector. In 1925–26 the firm advertised as financial, insurance, stock and station and shipping agents; wool, grain and produce brokers; and general merchants, with Queensland branches at Brisbane, Rockhampton, Townsville and Toowoomba and sub-branches at Charleville, Longreach, Hughenden and Blackall. The firm bought and sold stock and stations throughout Australia and were agents for a raft of insurances to suit rural property owners, including marine, livestock, fire and accident insurance, as well as being the agents for firms handling worker compensation claims. In addition the company was the agent for many specialist companies supplying oil engines, irrigation plants, gas plants, pumps and boilers, portable steam engines, traction engines, road rollers, centrifugal pumps, farm machinery and separators. The firm also merchandised a range of practical products for farmers and graziers, such as fencing wire, gates and steel droppers and was an agent for motor cars such as Daimler, Austin and Rover and Halley and Lacre commercial lorries. In the mid 1920s Dalgety & Co. were agents for two shipping lines - the Aberdeen and White Star - and at Townsville was the booking agent with these lines for domestic passages south to Brisbane and Sydney and overseas to England.
After World War Two Dalgety & Co.'s commercial focus shifted to more general lines such as groceries, hardware, wine and spirits. Through their role as shipping and insurance agents they continued to provide important services to the regional community and were the principal domestic and overseas airline booking agent in the region.
Dalgety & Co. sold the site in 1978. In 1979 the two-storeyed section was converted into three storeys of shops and offices including two restaurants and a bar in the old basement area. The single-storeyed warehouse was converted into a shopping arcade. In the early 1980s, canvas awnings were erected over the several doorways.
In 2010, the single-storeyed warehouse was redeveloped as an apartment tower called "The Dalgety".
Description
The Dalgety Offices and its former warehouse frontage are located at the corner of Denham and Sturt streets within the central business district of Townsville. It is situated within the same city block as the former Magistrate Court and Osler House. The building comprises two sections; a two-storeyed building along Sturt Street and a single-storeyed building facing Denham Street. Both are of reinforced concrete construction.
The Office building is a substantial structure situated on a corner block facing both Denham and Sturt streets. The exterior of the building retains original features such as pilasters and arched windows. A decorative plinth, finished with painted stucco runs across the width and breadth of the building interrupted by doorways. At its highest point on the Sturt Street side, the plinth stands at a height of and originally set an impressive entrance to the main office building. This entrance area is flanked by four partly fluted decorative pilasters, which incorporate neo-classical details and small Ionic capitals and is capped by a modest concrete cornice. The pattern of decorative pilasters extends upwards to the cornice and capped by ionic capitals. It does not extend to the top of the parapet.
On either side of the main Sturt Street entrance more modest pilasters extend from the plinth level through to the parapet giving a uniform visual effect. These are spaced at regular intervals. A second less ornate entrance is situated on Denham Street. On both Denham and Sturt streets above the base plinth are white painted top hung aluminum windows situated at regular intervals. Original timber four-segmented lights cap them. The aluminum windows are sympathetic to the original double hung timber windows.