TOUCH OF MELBOURNE TO AVERT TROPICAL WALL STREET CRASH

Old  bank  building  in the Flinders  Street East nightclub  precinct closely resembles the New York Stock  Exchange  and  casino  in  Wall Street .

During the  19^th century, Flinders Street ,Townsville , was described as the Wall Street of  North Queensland  because of its  impressive bank and insurance buildings. Thankfully,  many  of  those  superb  buildings  still exist and the  extended  Flinders Street  is  a most interesting  heritage  area reflecting  the   substantial boom- time early  architecture , making   its CBD   more   interesting   than  Darwin ,  Cairns and  many other  Australian cities   .  In  recent years ,  Flinders  Street has had its ups and downs , shops closing , grandiose  new developments  failing to  eventuate . As a result , clusters of buildings  remain  empty  and  forlorn  looking . 

 

 

Some , unfortunately , are badly in need of care and attention, just shutting the windows to  prevent  rain  and  birds  getting in  is desirable as in the case with the building on the left of  the  above bank.  Another of the  early banks always seems to have its upstairs windows open, displaying torn and weathered  blinds .  On  the other hand, the former Samuel Allens and Sons Ltd, merchants, 1872-1910, building  was recently  restored at a  cost of  $600,000 .  

At one  stage  Flinders Street  was  turned  into a mall , but  later  converted  back  to   two  way-traffic , closed  off  again  for  a regular  Sunday  market . Some shopkeepers have  hung  on ,   hoping  for  better days  to  come  . One , however, will  close  its   doors  on  June 30  after  first opening  in   l959.

With  much fanfare ,  it was  announced  that  a  touch of  Melbourne lifestyle  is   going  to help rejuvenate   Flinders Street  in the  form of  City  Lane,offering  coffee, tucker and  bars .A  James Cook University office is  also  bringing  new life to  the  area . When  you  take  the  big  picture  tour  of  Townsville you  cannot help but notice  the   large number of   shops  and  other  businesses up  for sale and lease, the  art deco style  Newmarket  Hotel  one  of  the  latest places on  the   market. Dating from 1872 , the  present building was  erected  in 1932  and  upgraded   in  1994.