Johnstone Shire Hall
| Johnstone Shire Hall | |
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Johnstone Shire Hall, 1994
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| Location | 70 Rankin Street, Innisfail, Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 17°31′23″S 146°01′49″E / 17.5231°S 146.0302°ECoordinates: 17°31′23″S 146°01′49″E / 17.5231°S 146.0302°E |
| Design period | 1919 - 1930s (interwar period) |
| Built | 1935 - 1938 |
| Built for | Johnstone Shire Council |
| Architect | Hill & Taylor |
| Official name: Johnstone Shire Hall | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 13 January 1995 |
| Reference no. | 601579 |
| Significant period | 1930s (historical) 1930s (fabric) 1935-ongoing (social) |
| Significant components | tower - fly, views to, office/s, furniture/fittings, shop/s, hall, foyer - entrance, council chamber/meeting room |
| Builders | Van Leeuwen Brothers |
 Location of Johnstone Shire Hall in Queensland
Location of Johnstone Shire Hall in Queensland
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Johnstone Shire Hall is a heritage-listed town hall at 70 Rankin Street, Innisfail, Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Hill & Taylor and built from 1935 to 1938 by Van Leeuwen Brothers. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 January 1995.
The Johnstone Shire Hall was constructed for the Johnstone Shire Council in Innisfail from 1935-8, by the Van Leeuwen brothers to the design of Messrs Hill and Taylor at a cost of about £53,000.
The Innisfail area was settled by cedar-cutters, with the first major planting of sugar cane occurring in 1880. The town was laid out at the junction of the South Johnstone and North Johnstone Rivers in 1881, and was known as Junction Point. The name of the town was changed to Geraldton in 1883, and to Innisfail in 1910.
Innisfail was devastated first by a record flood in 1913, then by a cyclone in 1918, which destroyed many of the town's timber buildings. Despite these setbacks, the town prospered and opened its third sugar mill in 1916. By the 1920s, the Innisfail sugar industry was producing vast quantities of sugar cane and record yields of sugar. The prosperity of the town was reflected in the many buildings erected in the 1920s and 1930s, including many concrete buildings such as the first wing of the hospital, the Roman Catholic Church, the Commonwealth Bank and many other commercial premises. Also important in the town's development was the opening of the Jubilee Bridge in 1923, linking the town with East Innisfail and Mourilyan, and the Daradgee Railway Bridge in 1924.
The Johnstone Shire Hall was constructed when the previous building was destroyed by fire in December 1932. This previous building had been used for theatrical productions and therefore the community were anxious to see a replacement constructed promptly. However council disagreements, Queensland Government interference and a change of shire council mean that it was many years before plans for the new Hall were presented and accepted. Messrs Hill and Taylor were commissioned for the design of the building in 1935. They were prominent local architects working in North Queensland between World War I and World War II. Other public buildings by this firm include the Cairns City Council (1929), Cairns Post Office (c. 1930) and Proserpine Hospital (1939–40) and the Barron Valley Hotel (1940).
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