Category: Queensland State Archives’ Photostream About Fortitude Valley

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Fort Lytton was built in 1880-1882 in response to a fear that a foreign colonial power might launch a naval attack on Brisbane or its port, both of which were located along the banks of the Brisbane River. The fort was designed by Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Scratchley. It was located at the mouth of the Brisbane River, and was designed to deny enemy vessels access to the river.

This was initially achieved by a remote-controlled minefield across the mouth of the river and four muzzle-loading heavy guns. The minefield was closed in 1908, but the guns continued in operation until 1938.

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Item ID 2692229

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The fort is a typical nineteenth-century garrison – a pentagonal fortress concealed behind grassy embankments – surrounded for greater protection by a water-filled moat. Approval for construction of the fort at Lytton was given by the Parliament of Queensland in 1878. A field force of field artillery, engineers and infantry were also established to defend against a land attack by enemy forces. The government did not favour cavalry, as mounted soldiers could be recruited from the police force in an emergency. A small marine defence force was also developed, consisting of the two gunboats Gayundah and Paluma, the torpedo boat Mosquito and a number of armed barges.

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Lytton is an outer riverside suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. A pilot station and a village were established at Lytton in 1859. It would be two years before a road was surveyed from Norman Creek. A telegraph line was run from Brisbane to Lytton in 1862. During the years 1876-1908 a local post office was open.

Due to Lytton’s location on the south-east bank of the Brisbane River at its seaward end Fort Lytton was built in 1881 to guard the mouth of the Brisbane River. The fort had a moat and was a pentagonal structure concealed behind an embankment. It was fortified with two six inch disappearing guns.

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Fort Lytton is a heritage-listed 10th-century coastal fort in the suburb of Lytton in Brisbane, Queensland. The name “Fort Lytton” is also used to describe the one square mile military base that surrounded the fort. Fort Lytton was built in 1880-1882 and operated until 1965.

The fort consists of almost a hectare of buildings, gun pits, tunnels and other structures embedded in a pentagonal earth mound wall, surrounded by a water-filled moat.

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The Australian colonies were part of the British Empire, which had made many enemies by the nineteenth century when other colonial powers were rapidly expanding their empires. At the time the fort was built, Brisbane had fewer than 100,000 people, with an annual trade worth more than four million pounds.

Brisbane was more vulnerable to naval attack than Sydney or Melbourne as it was just three days’ sail from the French naval garrison at Noumea. Local defences were essential as Moreton Bay had numerous islands on which the enemy could establish a base.

Based on the recommendations of the illustrious British soldiers and military tacticians Colonel Sir William Jervois and Scratchely, Queensland opted to rely heavily on Fort Lytton as a fixed defence position for its capital and wealthiest port, Brisbane.

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The Law Courts Complex was constructed on the site of the original Supreme Court building, which had been largely destroyed by arson on 1 September, 1968. The remains of this building were demolished in October, 1976, and construction of the first stage of the complex commenced on the western end of the site. Once completed, this first stage held only the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was relocated to the second, and larger stage of the complex upon its completion in the early 1980s, while the District Court began to occupy the now vacant first stage soon after.

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Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 14146

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Opened in 1941, the Brisbane Dental Hospital and College is an imposing two-storey, rendered masonry, neo-Georgian building looming above the corner to Turbot and Albert Streets and surrounded by terraced gardens. The Brisbane Dental Hospital and College was designed to be an integral component of an urban design proposal, The Turbot Street Development Scheme, for the city block bounded by Albert and Turbot Streets, Jacob’s Ladder and Wickham Terrace. The Scheme, designed by Raymond Clare Nowland, senior architect in the Queensland Department of Public Works, included a Public Art Gallery, Public Library, the Dental Hospital and College and a beautifying of Wickham Park. The Brisbane Dental Hospital and College was the only part of the scheme to be realised. The site was part of an earlier Brisbane City Council reserve within Wickham Park which was exchanged in the 1930s for State owned land in Adelaide

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

The Law Courts Complex was constructed on the site of the original Supreme Court building, which had been largely destroyed by arson on 1 September, 1968. The remains of this building were demolished in October, 1976, and construction of the first stage of the complex commenced on the western end of the site. Once completed, this first stage held only the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was relocated to the second, and larger stage of the complex upon its completion in the early 1980s, while the District Court began to occupy the now vacant first stage soon after.

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Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 14156

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The Supreme Court of Queensland was founded on 7 August 1861, with the assent of the Supreme Court Constitution Amendment Act 1861 (Qld). Two subsequent pieces of legislation, including the Additional Judge Act 1862 (Qld) and the Supreme Court Act 1863 (Qld), were also necessary to establish the court’s operating system.

Prior to separation of Queensland from New South Wales, the former naval officer, Captain John Clements Wickham, tried minor crimes in the Moreton Bay District. More serious cases were tried at the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney. Two years before separation from New South Wales, the Moreton Bay Supreme Court Act 1857 (NSW) established the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in the Moreton Bay District and Samuel Milford served as Judge. Milford resigned in February 1859, and was replaced by Alfred Lutwyche.

Although the Brisbane Supreme Court initially served

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Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

The Supreme Court of Queensland was founded on 7 August 1861, with the assent of the Supreme Court Constitution Amendment Act 1861 (Qld). Two subsequent pieces of legislation, including the Additional Judge Act 1862 (Qld) and the Supreme Court Act 1863 (Qld), were also necessary to establish the court’s operating system.

Prior to separation of Queensland from New South Wales, the former naval officer, Captain John Clements Wickham, tried minor crimes in the Moreton Bay District. More serious cases were tried at the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney. Two years before separation from New South Wales, the Moreton Bay Supreme Court Act 1857 (NSW) established the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in the Moreton Bay District and Samuel Milford served as Judge. Milford resigned in February 1859, and was replaced by Alfred Lutwyche.

Although the Brisbane Supreme Court initially served

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