Members of the public are invited to join The University of Queensland community in celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the restoration of the Brisbane Customs House this Sunday.
To officially recognise the 115-year-old building’s first decade as UQ’s riverside base in Brisbane’s CBD, an Open Day will be held on Sunday, October 24.
This will include a combined morning tea and School of Music concert at 10.30am and various tours throughout the day.
When the Australian Customs Service vacated Customs House in 1988 the future of the historic city landmark seemed uncertain.
However, in 1991 UQ took over the lease and in 1994, after a three-year restoration project costing $7.5 million, the building was transformed into a multi-purpose venue for educational and cultural activities.
Customs House Director Lyn Black said 10 years ago the building had been given a new soul by the University, playing an important role in the community.
“Visitors can still feel the presence of the past. Whether they are using the building for business, education, music, art, entertainment or whether they are just curious sightseers, people are still able to enjoy the splendour of its origins,” she said.
UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay, AC, said: “UQ is a leader in cultural and intellectual activities in Brisbane and over the past 10 years Customs House has provided a city base for many of those activities.”
“Customs House is a major Brisbane asset.”
The anniversary morning tea concert ($15 per person) will include performances by UQ’s Symphonic Wind Band and the University Chorale.
The program includes the West Side Story collection by Leonard Bernstein, An American in Paris by Gershwin, works by Scarlatti and Ralph Vaughn Williams and a selection of uplifting world choral music.
Ms Black said more than 155,000 visitors had passed through its grand Corinthian-columned entrance during the past 10 years and she hoped to see many more over the next decade.
“I would like to extend a very warm welcome to those people who have visited Customs House to come along and be part of the festivities,” she said.
“For those people who have not yet had chance to see inside this beautiful heritage-listed building, the Open Day will be a great opportunity to see what they have been missing.”
Its vast hall, the Long Room, which was originally the main public area for customs transactions, is now a grand ballroom while a stylish eatery is situated in what was once the Queen’s Warehouse.
The Customs House Art Gallery hosts national and international collections and for the past 10 years has been the permanent home of the Stuartholme-Behan collection of Australian art.
The collection spans the transition of Australian painting from 1788 to the present and is considered one of the most comprehensive single collections of Australian art.
Ms Black said the University, which now owns Customs House, was extremely grateful to the more than 2000 donors who had generously contributed over the past decade to help restore, maintain and preserve the building.
“Financial contributions have helped make possible the transformation of the Brisbane Customs House into a focal point for cultural, intellectual and heritage appreciation,” she said.
For information about the anniversary celebrations and other Customs House events please visit: www.customshouse.com.au
Media: For more information or photos, contact Lyn Black (telephone 07 3365 8909, email: lyn@customshouse.com.au) or Chris Saxby at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2479, email: c.saxby@uq.edu.au).
