History of the Gasworks site

The information set out below is a ‘history at a glance’, concentrating on the Gas Works site itself. For a more comprehensive history of the broader Newstead area, please visit http://www.ourbrisbane.com/suburbs/newstead/history

The ever changing face of the Brisbane River is once again undergoing a contemporary makeover, with the site of the Teneriffe Gas Works marked for residential and commercial development. Heralding the continued social and economic value of the site to greater Brisbane, this urban development will ensure the maintenance of a strong tradition of success, which has been kept alive since the early 1800’s.

The Gas Works site has been a stalwart of the river’s edge since its development in 1863. By 1890, the Works were supplying gas to Brisbane streets from Toowong to Hamilton (Hackner, D. Ed. (1996) p. 7) and over the next 100 years, it would grow to supply our great city with the latest in gas technology until it was decommissioned in 1996.

In March 1866, the Queensland Defense Force placed an official request for town gas connection, evidence of the vital role the Gas Works played in the economic development of colonial Brisbane (Lambert, J.T 1996. p9). In fact, the Gas Works were considered to be of such importance, that during World War II, genuine fears of attack from Japanese air raids motivated the installation of anti aircraft guns which vigilantly watched over the plant and its employees throughout the war (Lambert, J.T 1996. p10).

The site itself has been synonymous with economic growth and benefit to Brisbane and Queensland with the success of the Gas Works facilitating further development of the Newstead/Teneriffe area to include the James Hardie fibro-cement manufacturing plant, Shell Oil plant, Brisbane Water and Sewerage Depot and even the “Brisbane Gas Company Cookery School” which operated in the 1940’s. In 1954, a carbonizing plant was built, giving Brisbane the “most modern gas producing plant in Australia” (Lambert, J.T 1996. p10), consuming 100 tonnes of coal every eight hours.

During its golden years in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the site also played a vital role in providing employment to Aboriginal Australians and many migrant workers arriving here from Europe after the second World War.

The fine tradition of the Brisbane Gas Works economic and employment-based successes will not be lost nor forgotten with the Teneriffe Gas Works Village Development paying homage to the sites history and integrity in its pending urban development.

Hackner, D., Ed. (1996). A Look Back In Time: A History of Bowen Hills - Newstead & the Creek. Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Queensland Women's Historical Association.

Lambert, J. T. (1996). A Commemoration of the Closure of the Newstead Gas Plant: 6 September, 1996. Brisbane, Boral Energy