The History of BRISBANE CITY HALL 

I hope someone from City Hall sees this video and improves their photography permit training

that square still shits me to tears every time i look at it

I hope you can make an official complaint or feedback, this isn’t how the council should treat the public who have a genuine curiosity about our city and history!

Not surprised about the security. Sorry to hear about that, it seems it's so hard for people to move around in inquisitive peace these days. There is also a Red Cross Cafe underneath that does (or at least used to) amazing work with young people.

What year did you move to Brisbane, Rob? King George Square was a beautiful little inner-city oasis with grass and fountains that was sadly all ripped up and replaced with the concrete wasteland it is now; no grass, no fountains and no character. It's brutal at the height of summer now! 😔

Thank you Rob. you cant expect any better from the council. Sorry they treated you this way. I remember going thre as a child for immunisations. The front of City hall looks so drab without the fountains thre. Pretty the place up, Brisbanites pay enough for a beautiful town

Ah, the joy of interacting with petty bureaucrats. I am one of those who had the fortune, as a child, to go up the City Hall clock tower before there were any high-rise buildings to block the view. Thank you Rob yet again for a great video of the insights of Brisbane. Just a pity you weren't able to shoot more of the grand interior.

70 years ago when I was 5 years old, my dad and mom took me there to show me Brisbane city from THE HIGH PLACE.. You could see most of Brisbane back then. Now I guess you would just look into office windows.. But the best part as a kid, my dad let me stay there until the clock struck noon.. I can remember feeling very sick when all the noise ended and I came down to the entry.. Thanks for the video and a big shame about the security.. I really love watching your videos because I left Australia many years ago and they bring back many memories of my first 60 years..

As a Brisbanite, your videos have made me aware of how ignorant I am of its history. I love history, but have always researched other countries. I'm so familiar with every place you've walked, so found the back stories fascinating. My son went to the day care in the hall for 3 days in the early 90's, yet I never looked around the hall itself. It will be my next planned trip to the city. I'm so pleased I found your video's and love your very Australian sense of humour. Thanks Rob.

Great video Rob! Hope you put a complaint into the City Council for the behaviour of their staff and security. As a rate payer your video was an excellent chance to see ‘our City Hall’ only to see you constantly and needlessly harassed by over officious staff.

Thanks for the video Rob, and yes I agree with Lesley apologies for our council/secuirty behavior, you obviously had permission to record there, I might add that it's a Public building so it shouldnt have been a problem anyway, and your promoting the City of Brisbane. On a better note, what a magnificent building, glad they did the Renovations and saved it for the people of Brisbane That auditorium is magnificent , I also remember getting our Polio vacinations there in the early 1960's

The obsession some people seem to have with NOT FILMING is irrational. If you are in any public place filming structures, it should never be an issue, even more so in a city hall which should be welcoming and accomodating to citizens.

Great stuff Rob! Fantastic work, I think this might be your best video yet! (sucks about the security but you dealt with it extremely well).

Why are they taking exception to filming at all? What is there to hide? It's a publicly funded building after all.

Detestable the staff tried to tell you off for inoffensively filming. Glad you put them in their place.

‘Pray, hope and keep your pants on,’ 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

👍🏻 big ups Rob

@walkaboutwithrob Not to mention that it's a PUBLIC building, and from what I could see in your shots, weren't restricted access area/s.

Thanks for the Tour. I think I'll do the Public Tour in the near future. I think the BCC or Management of the Town Hall have a disconnect between the left and right arms in their organization after you had approval to film. They need to get a grip and realize that your tours actually promote the city and places of Brisbane encouraging tourism? Much appreciated and keep up the good work.

Pray, hope, and keep your pants on .......🤣🤣🤣 Gold!

Great Vid Rob, I love this building, Especially the irony of the Swastikas in the foyer floor tiles. I know it pre-dates the Nazis, but it gives me a chuckle considering the attitude of the security staff to you. I have some geology on the foundation stones, and the quarry they came from, I'll try to get something together tonight. Sorry they Gruppenführers got to you, still it's a great vid, I learnt a lot. Thanks T-Rocks

My great grandfather built the spire on top of the Brisbane City clock tower

In king George bus station there's a monument for wheat creek

Awesome video

When I was a young fella my father worked for the QSO, they used to rehearse and preform at City Hall I even went to kindergarten on top of City Hall this was back in the 70s no security BS back then

The security and management-that’s just the extension of Anna Bjielke Palachuks Junta state enforcements 😂

I went to the day care center on the roof during the 70's with the open air playground at the base of the tower,great place.

Absolutely fascinating Rob, and such a beautiful building. I would think the original motto of hope, pray, keep your pants on would be more appropriate 😂 Such a shame it was spoiled by overzealous security and management staff but typical of government departments, nobody knows what they're doing.

Just a bit of a FYI from those signatures in the basement, they're actually of Australian WW2 servicemen, not US servicemen. US military didn't dwell at any time in WW2 as they had other building assigned to them. And those 100 signatures that can be seen, all returned from WW2 conflict.

I remember when this was the tallest building in town and I was taken up top n was very scared. I think I was about 3 years old

Had school formal there, people did coke in the toilets 💀

The head plasterer built a house in Chelmer. Very nice house with the same plastering in the house as city hall.

Good video. Amazing building. I used to go there in the 70's as a child to watch performances. Sounds like everyone see's themselves as the boss there. Those types love authority and shouldn't be anywhere near it.

Councils are little kingdoms. Beware they are petty and vindictive

Well, I really enjoyed this video and I learnt some history of City Hall to. It's a special place for me as I remember seeing pictures of the building when I lived in the UK, little did I know then that I would end up working there for a few, but very rewarding years and I also did my citizenship ceremony there to. Thanks Rob, greatly appreciated.

I feel kind of ashamed of myself that I've never taken the time to look at this place in detail a have always just walked right past it and taken it for granted. The only thing i knew about this building is its where i found out i was scared of heights. When i was kid we went in the elevator to the top of the tower and i was scared out of my mind and had nightmare's about falling from for year's. I really must go have a proper look now. Great video 👍

Excellent video. Thanks Rob. Well researched and presented. Interesting that a Pride flag was being flown outside. How very different from previous years. Also there used to be statues of men on horses outside. One was of a previous king. When her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 visited she commented that the statue of her great grandfather (?) was facing the wrong way. Apparently it was corrected after that. For years it was the tallest building in Brisbane. But very glad I never had the job of changing the red light bulb on the top of the tower. (Sorry you had such a difficult time with security. Also sorry you were not given permission to do a video on the City Tabernacle Baptist Church on Wickham Tce.)

awesome video love it very interesting

Great video thanks for your time

Thanks for showing this. I had never seen that aspect with the two fountains before that I can recall. 👍

thanks rob for amazing knowledge of these places ,,,,that i never knew ,,,visited most of the places u go to coz i was brought up here .....but never knew anything about them ...

Amazing building. What a shame about the management. That place could be so much more.. And with its history to back it up. I almost want to go have a look. But if you got treated badly, then ive got no hope.. Exceptional videography. Love your videos :D

Absolutely brilliant tour and information Rob. Love the research- so much more in depth than I did when I was running my photography tours and gave a bit of history of the building. Shame about security though. You’d think by the age you get to be a security officer they should be able to read and understand a permit. Luckily you filmed a lot before being forced out. Michelle K

Despite the authoritarian restrictions it was really good and informative 😀👍 Thanks Rob 😀

I have very fond memories of this beautiful building. In the early 1950s my father took me there and we listened to the QSO practising. The first time I had heard an orchestra. They were playing "Greensleeves". I was about 10 I think. My nana used to take me there as I loved climbing up the clock tower.

had my school formal there, me and my best mate wandered off and went exploring. Great doc Rob

Shots were certainly fired in this video! 😂 Good for you, telling them off via this medium & shaming them publicly for lousiness. BCC sure has some ignorant thugs on staff, in all sorts of areas. Good video too! Covered some good ground.

My grandfather worked on the copper roof as an apprentice plumber for the council. All hand soldered together with lead.

Excellent presentation as usual. As for the Brisbane City security and admin. typical of the current ruling party of the council, disorganised and authoritarian. It's a shame they didn't see this as an opportunity to better their image and assist you in your presentation. Appreciate your great work.

I could have saved a fortune travelling to Italy and just have gone to Town Hall 😂

You should have pointed out to them that they are videoing you and that in a public place/space you have every right to video especially when you are doing this for education. It just shows you how out of control the bureaucracy is at that moment.

Great video Rob. Very informative and entertaining. 👍👍

Another brilliant video - thank you. The right hand staircase going up in the front is discoloured, compared to the opposite one. The marble has been stained as the area was a smoking area back in the day

Love the history attached this building

Gonna have to stop by City hall when I come back in couple of weeks for leave, need to give the security a piece of my mind. How dare they treat Rob dog like that! That aside love the videos Rob, really love hearing the little pieces of history you find and share, makes it better that its about Brisbane of course.

Yes indeed, your visit needed to be on a central diary for all front of house staff to be aware of and to facilitate. A bit disgraceful really these days. So correct about the nature of the institution. I was innoculated there as a young child and then sang under the old dome with an annual Brisbane primary schools eistedford. How great to be reminded. Tlks Rob, can I book a town hall tour with you for 2059 please? I'll be 100 :]\

the council are such knobs now ,,,i have good memories of sitting at the lookout above the clock playing a acoustic guitar for hours back in the late 80,s early 90,s

I left the Brisbane area in late 1974 but have been back many times since as I still have family there. Love these videos. In 1963 I sang in the school choir on the City Hall stage and another time danced on the stage for my ballet schools yearly event.

LOL! Now you know why that kid let loose with the Daisy. Probably was cheaper than a couple of Cream Pies! 🙄😉 Probably why they needed all that Michelangelo Marble - with all the small appendages that hang out in City Hall. 😁

I remember the fountain at Wynnum West. It functioned as a fountain into the early 90s, I think. Kids would often put washing detergent into it, and it would pump out mountains of bubbles.

Great little Video Rob back in the day (Prior to 1977) this used to be the administration centre with all the rooms occupied by staff from Rates, Water Supply & Sewerage, Works, Planning, Health,& Electricity Departments.With your permit to photograph they should have provided a guide/security member to assist you. Since 9/11 security has been tightened up in a lot of places, try doing that in any of the other buildings around any city.

Great work with this channel. I have lived in Brisbane all my life but really don't know much about the history. Very interesting.

I remember going to day care here as a child. Lots of memories.

In some institutions I believe they have the sophisticated expedient of a wearable permit tag. Like backstage at pop concerts.

Yes I remember the library and the tea rooms and toilets underneath

“To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wandering about in a great library without touching the books” Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages

I remember the Cinema across the road from the city hall. Where the Reserve Bank Building, and the Wesley Mission are today.

Amazing as always rob 💚

Awesome vid. Keep it up! ❤👌👏👍

suggest a video on laidley

Shame on Brisbane Council. The place seems to be run by the Keystone cops! Why did they not just give you a Visitor‘s pass when you first arrived so that you were not constantly hassled and held up like you’re some criminal?

My grandfather who designed the city hall would be horrified what the Clem Jones led council did to the building. The stone steps up to the city hall were demolished, they were a major part of the design. All this vandalism for a carport, bustards.

My Dad was one of the guys who dug out the King George Square car park with a jack hammer, pick and shovel. I remember him bringing home clay inkwells and clay pipes that he found whilst digging!

Brisbane City Council (BCC) was created in 1925 under the State Government’s Greater Brisbane Act (mirroring the Greater London model). Hence the need for a new large centralised ‘City Hall’. Twenty smaller town and shire councils were amalgamated to form BCC, now the most populous metropolitan city council in the Southern Hemisphere. The copper dome of city hall had to be replaced as copper oxidises (turns green) over time becoming thinner and more fragile. The copper roof of Brisbane’s parliament house was replaced in the 1980s for the same reason.

Nice building nice to see more of it. Yes council staff are F. Would have been nice to see more. It's been 40 years since I have seen inside that old building. More awesome work from you would have finished off the tour.

Thank you for what you do. Was it Brisbane city council chambers on a cemetery ? Or is it Sydney chambers ? Rockhampton council chambers sits on ground where, corrobberees were once held. Still has old doorways. Very narrow.

I remember the library, Rob. We moved from Sydney when I was small as well and we joined the library in city hall. It was on the 2nd or 3rd floor and I thought the building was really creepy.

Thanks for the video I'm 100% going to have to do a tour

One lanyard upon entry could solve so much. I remember well going at Xmas to see the giant tree in the Square, next to the old T&G building, and visits in the late 60s to get polio vaccine. Recently saw Dara O'Briain onstage there as well, so I think that fills my quota of weird connections. Cheers, Rob. Did not know about the marble.

The old Brisbane theatre on queen st (now an information centre) also has been shot at. Inside there are a few bullet holes from a shootout between an escaped prisoner and police many years ago

It's a shame that such a beautiful old building that used to be the "beating heart" of the city is now full of empty rooms and bored, power-tripping bureaucrats instead of all of the services it used to offer. I got a COVID shot there a couple of years ago and apart from that the place might as well be an empty façade for me.

I'm confused. Someone demanded that you go to security but couldn't be bothered to accompany you. Too many chiefs in that building.

There's volunteers who conduct walking history that you can join for free and its backed by BCC so this vid is great but if you want more then I'd join one of those tours, the people are fantastic.

You forgot to mention the reason for building City Hall was not that the old town hall in Queen Street was too small, it was the fact that the State Government of the day amalgamated twenty town and shire councils under the greater Brisbane act to create the behemoth metropolitan Brisbane City Council. Many of the old town halls still exist as council and private buildings and the old council names are commemorated by the room names in City Hall, e.g., Sherwood, Ithaca, Balmoral, Hamilton, etc.

Loving it all Rob...so is me Mum! Got yourself an agent yet? ☺😘😎🤠

Great video. I was so late watching this one. Not sure why I didn't get notified for it even though I set it to notify me on RU-vid :( not blaming you of course, I know it's probably a RU-vid fault or glitch. I do go to the city once a week usually and I do look out for someone filming to see if it's you 🤣🤣 maybe one day I'll spot you

I remember moving to Sydney, seeing their city hall and laughing at how small it was because all i ever knew was Brisbane City Hall. Never realised it's actually the largest one! Yet another thing we did better than Sydney 😂😂😂

Hey Rob, you should have mentioned about the ghost in City Hall to.

It could certainly have been handled better by management/security. Ideally you should have been given a guide, or at the least a special badge so that people would know not to bother you. It's easy to see why, it's an official government building. I'm sure terrorist threats are a serious concern in a place like that, and you could have been "casing the joint". Still could have been handled better, this can't be the first time someone has needed/wanted to shoot there. Great video, as usual.

A couple of things that I might have missed: the Red Cross "rest rooms", the "Golden Room" and the LEGO replica.

Great, as always. Thanks for your videos.

I really can't adequately say in one word my thoughts on government public servants. You would have to be a certain personality type to be employed in government. I think your F rating is generous Rob 👍

great video again Rob thanks!!

like your tour

Brisbane City council is such a joke these days 🙄🙄

It is beautiful! But I think my favourite building is Old Government House. It was within my work place when I lived in Brisbane (QUT campus) so I would go there almost every day for coffee. I miss it! I never saw the ghost.

Intruder alert! Threat detected! Panic!! Then tells the “intruder” to go off and find the security office and report to them. All involved previously worked at Stalag 13 before hugging clipboards at City Hall 😂😂😂

I live in Inala for a few years. I don't know much about Brisbane until I watch Rob .

Big thumbs up from Toombal, brisbane

Put a nobody in a uniform and give them a badge ... and they turn into little gods. I was physically and verbally aggressed by a security thug during the CoViD era when I tried to go to the toilet without a mask.