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User:Jaystocker/Adaptive Reuse of the Newstead Gasworks Site

The Newstead Gasworks district was the site of the extensive coal gas production plant of the Brisbane Gas Company. The 22 acre industrial zone harbored the facilities that supplied the majority of the town gas consumed by a developing Brisbane. The Gasworks began its decline as coal gas became obsolete and replaced with oil sourced gas, and became completely jobless when natural gas was adopted. The plant was finally shut down in 1996. The district is currently subject to an large scale urban renewal effort by developers Mirvac, FKP and Watpac. Scheduled for completion in 2017, the site will be developed into a upscale mixed-use residential, retail, entertainment and business precinct. [1]

Gasworks Site

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The district is located in central suburb of Newstead, directly adjacent to the Brisbane river and less than 2km away from the Brisbane CBD. The precinct being developed reflects the prime location of the gasworks, comprised of architecturally stylish, modern, medium-rise buildings, the precinct is high density and create a metropolitan center for Newstead and surrounding suburbs. The precinct will feature extensive green landscaping and public parklands. It is at the junction of major roads and serviced well by public transport.

History

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The Gasworks plant owned by the Brisbane Gas Company was moved to the large Newstead site from a previous smaller site due to need for additional space in 1887. There it grew in size and capacity and became the dominant provider of town gas for Brisbane's suburbs. It's success helped industrialize the region and provided many jobs during the post WW2 period. However, the industrial shift away from coal gas into butane based gas in 1967 and the naphtha based gas in 1973, meant much of the extensive Gasworks becoming obsolete and having to be demolished, and the loss of many jobs. In 1983, the conversion to natural gas delivered to the city by pipelines meant the complete obsolescence of the plant. The plant stayed operational on a small scale until 1996, when total consumer conversion to natural gas was complete, whereupon it was closed and the facilities cleared. The land remained mainly untouched until 2008, when the large scale Urban Renewal development began.[2]

Adaptive Reuse

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All of the existing structures of the Gasworks plant were demolished, except for the ornate framework of one of the gas holders, the original Gasometer Frame has been carefully restored and now serves as the centerpiece and local hub of the Gasworks' proposed plaza.[3]


References

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  1. ^ "Newstead Riverpark Precinct Development Overview".
  2. ^ Lambert, John Terence (1996). A commemoration of the closure of the Newstead Gas Plant, 6 September, 1996 : a history of the establishment, development and termination of the Gas Corporation of Queensland (BORAL) Brisbane works, 1863-1996. Brisbane, QLD: Boral Energy.
  3. ^ "The Gasworks Precinct".
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