From a trade magazine , this is a view of stage one of Flinders Mall which won the 1980 Australian Civic Design Award section . The mall, with its fountain , no longer exists and the area contains many empty shops .
In l981, a grand old Townsville waterfront building,the Queen's Hotel , featured in another trade journal Yesterday's Buildings dealing with the restoration of fine old buildings in various parts of Australia . The first Queen's Hotel, a timber building , had been built on the site in l873 , damaged by Cyclone Leonta at the turn of the century . The next stage of construction , in l903, was a curious blend of Australian country pub and Indian colonial . Out of the hotel came Mrs Hannah MacLurcan's famous early Australian cookbook .
By the First World War, it extended along the entire block on The Strand with marble floors and cedar staircases . During the Pacific War it housed American officers . It ceased to be a pub in l966 , operated as a function centre ,faced possible demolition . It was "saved " when taken over by North Queensland Television which operated from atop a 2000ft mountain , 16 road miles from the city. The building was turned into North Queensland's most modern television and radio complex .
The job of converting the run down building into a television studio was given to architects Macks, Robinson and Associates.The main lounge became a technical operations centre housing all the electronics .The dining room was turned into a small studio and a larger one was extended at a cost of half a million, external brickwork restored by sandblasting .
Now empty , the impressive building receives much attention from visitors .
