The former Land Administration Building in Brisbane’s CBD is the first and finest Edwardian Baroque building to have been built in Queensland during the time of economic recovery in the early 20th century.

It was designed by Thomas Pye and built from 1899 to 1905 by Arthur Midson for the Queensland Government and accommodated both the Lands and Survey Departments and the offices of the Premier and the Executive Council.

The Queensland Art Gallery also occupied a portion of the building from 1905 to 1930.

The four-storey building is bound by George Street, Stevens Lane, William Street, and Queens Gardens and is located in close proximity to the Treasury Building.

It was symbolic of Queensland’s pride and achievement, and was seen as a showcase for Queensland materials.

It sits on a two-story granite-faced plinth, and its base is supported by a colonnade of giant order ionic columns terminated by pavilions at the corners of the facade.

The building has agricultural and mining themes visible in the detailed carvings of the facade, carved by New South Wales sculptor WP McIntosh.

Locally sourced Queensland materials were used including granite sourced from Mt Crosby and Enoggera, brown Helidon freestone on the outer walls, and Queensland cedar, silky oak, maple, and black bean timbers within.

The still operational gas lamps at the William and George St entrances are relics from 1910.

It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992.

The principal architectural spaces include rooms formerly used for the Executive Council Chamber, the Land Court, and offices of the Premier and the Minister of Lands, which have a private stairway to George Street.

These rooms have ornamental coffered plaster ceilings and timber paneling to dado height.

The former Executive Council Chamber has three stained glass windows positioned above the dado which can also be seen from the hallway.

The building is very intact, internally and externally.

Along with the Treasury Building, the Land Administration Building was later converted into a luxury five star hotel and casino, the Treasury Hotel and Casino, to a redesign by Allom Lovell Marquis-Kyle.

At the time, this was believed to be the State’s largest heritage conservation project to date.

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