NQ Troops Embark for War, 1914

On June 28, 1914, the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo sparked a chain of events that swiftly brought Europe to the brink of war.

Troops marching across Victoria Bridge to the Townsville wharf, before embarking for Thursday Island, August 1914.
Photo:  State Library of Queensland.

Within weeks, Austria declared war on Serbia; Germany declared war on Russia, then France, then Belgium; France and Great Britain declared war on Germany; Austria declared war on Russia; and Serbia declared war on Germany.  Japan soon entered the war as well, declaring war against Germany on August 23.

But it was Great Britain’s declaration of war against Germany, on August 4, 1914, that brought Australia into the war that became World War I.  A few days before war was declared, Labor leader Andrew Fisher, who was at that time leader of the opposition, famously pledged to support Great Britain, “to the last man and last shilling”.

In anticipation of a declaration of war against Germany, Prime Minister Joseph Cook offered to place Australia’s Navy at the complete disposal of the British Admiralty, and pledged to send 20,000 soldiers to any destination that was required, if war was declared.

Charles Bean’s official war history cites a cablegram sent from Australia to Great Britain that highlights the extent of Australia’s determination to support the war effort.

The communication read: “In the event of war the Government (of Australia) is prepared to place the vessels of the Australian Navy under the control of the British Admiralty when desired.  It is further prepared to despatch an expeditionary force of 20,000 men of any suggested composition to any destination desired by the Home Government, the force to be at the complete disposal of the Home Government.”

In Townsville, local and regional troops numbering around a thousand were assembled and sent to garrison Thursday Island as coastal defence.  They embarked on the SS Kanowna, a commercial steamship that had been requisitioned for the purpose and which became a hospital ship later in the war.

Troops embarking SS Kanowna at Townsville,  for Thursday Island, August 1914.
Photo:  State Library of Queensland.

Their departure from Townsville on August 8 attracted a crowd of over 6,000 well wishers.  The soldiers marched through the city, across Victoria Bridge and down to the wharf, where the Mayor, Alderman Swales addressed the assembled crowd.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I hardly know how to address those present, as there are so many regiments represented, so I will call them soldiers of the King and I am sure they will make a name for themselves in Australia,” he said.

“They have our sympathy and good wishes, and during their absence the citizens of the North will look after those who are left behind.”

When the Kanowna cast off at noon the combined bands played “Rule Britannia”, followed by “Onward Christian Soldiers”.  As spectators watched the ship sail away, “God Save the King” was played and a salute was fired from the fort.

The Townsville Daily Bulletin described the scene at the wharf as a “magnificent send-off” and reported that it was a day which would be “remembered in the history of Australia as that on which the first contingent of her new citizen force was sent forth on active service conditions”.

New life for old buildings

Two Flinders Street buildings have recently undergone a re-birth in the new City Lane precinct.  The building now occupied by the Paleo Café in Flinders Street, was once home to long-running Townsville business Inglis Smith & Co.  Known as “The People’s Drapers”, it was a one-stop shop for men’s and women’s clothing, hats, fashion accessories and all manner of fabrics.

Inglis Smith & Co building, 1913. Photo: CityLibraries.

The business was started by John Inglis Smith in 1903 with a startup capital of £350, and became so successful it continued to operate until 1971. During its life, Inglis Smith & Co. retained a family connection that spanned three generations, and at its height, provided employment for 35 people.

In the 1970s the building’s original façade was covered over with a curved metal awning, all but destroying its aesthetic street appeal.

The curved awning that covered the façades of the old Inglis Smith building & the old Shaws Arcade.
Photo:  Andrew Carter.

Utile Design’s Andrew Carter, designer on the City Lane project, said that at the time of purchase, the awning covering the buildings facing Flinders Street was pinned to the buildings using angle brackets.

“Where this met the cornice, frieze and architrave detailing, little care had been taken and consequently the entire ornate façade was quite badly damaged,” Mr Carter said.

Damage to the façade where angle brackets had been attached to hold an awning (see above).
Photo:  Andrew Carter.

“The vision with the laneway was always to keep as much of the old buildings as we could to give authenticity to the project so it was decided to carefully reinstate this detailing to what it was in a bygone era,” he said.

“At the same time we also had to be careful to maintain the structural integrity of the façades.”

Restored façade of the old Inglis Smith & Co. building, 2014.  Photo: Trisha Fielding.

The old Shaws Arcade, itself once home to Alfred Shaw & Co., hardware merchants and ironmongers, also has a new lease of life. A new bar and restaurant called Shaw & Co. gives a nod to the site’s early history.

Alfred Shaw & Co. Pty. Ltd. was established in Melbourne in 1853.  By 1875 the company had a branch in Brisbane and opened a Townsville branch in Flinders Street East in 1887.  In 1893 a new company, Alfred Shaw Ltd., was formed in Townsville to take over the north Queensland business.

In those early days, almost all the hardware handled by Alfred Shaws had to be imported, and goods from Europe had to be ordered twelve months in advance, as it took up to eight weeks for a letter to reach London from Townsville.

Alfred Shaws built a strong reputation throughout the north as a stockist of quality tools, crockery, glassware, builders’ hardware, windmills, pumping equipment and farm machinery and by 1925 the company had moved into premises in Flinders Street.

Where the new City Lane is now located was once one half of a building, which presented structural challenges for the designers.

“We knew that at the very least the roof needed to be replaced and half the façade would be demolished to open up to Flinders Street,” Mr Carter said.  

“A structural steel “spine” was designed and located to create a glazed facing to the laneway as well as a support structure for the partial façade that’s now left,” he said.

“In order to ensure the integrity of the aged brickwork, the roof to the laneway itself sits above the original brick walls and is wholly supported by itself.”