QBuild restoration wins National Trust award
The restored, heritage-listed Wolston Cricket Club Pavilion. © State of Queensland Photographer Prue Robertson.
Tom Lancaster (carpenter), Keiran Ellis (site manager) and Michael Holmes (site foreperson) in front of the restored Wolston Cricket Club Pavilion. © State of Queensland. Photographer Kieren Chant.
The pavilion is raised for repair of the sub-structure. © State of Queensland. Photographer Karen Riely.
Restoration of the historic Wolston Cricket Club Pavilion was a unique project that saw a team of QBuild field staff using carpentry and joinery techniques that had not been used for more than 100 years.
So impressive was the restoration of the heritage-listed building, delivered for Project Services and the Queensland Police Service, that it was named a silver award winner at the 2011 National Trust Heritage Awards.
The pavilion was part of the former Wolston Park Hospital complex site, which was acquired several years ago by the Queensland Police Service (QPS) for the establishment of a new Police Academy.
More than 130 years old, the cricket club pavilion offers fascinating insights into the history of the Wolston Park complex and presented QBuild tradespeople and apprentices with a unique opportunity to undertake detailed restoration work.
The cricket oval was established around 1895 and the pavilion was built in 1910 after a previous warders mess room (circa 1896) was adapted and moved to the site.
Completed over 24 weeks, the restoration project incorporated not only heritage restoration but also some high-risk construction activities including the removal of asbestos, lead-based paint and trees. The work was completed entirely by QBuild day labour staff under the watchful eye of David Smith, Keiran Ellis, Jon Thompson and Michael Holmes, as well as Project Services Heritage Architect Karen Riedy.
One of the most impressive aspects of the project was the team’s ability to match traditional carpentry and joinery techniques used more than 100 years ago. This work was labour-intensive due to no air-powered tools being permitted on site, leaving the team to complete the work using hand tools.
Some of the features of the work that have helped maintain the historic integrity of the pavilion include profile matching of existing timberwork, the use of recycled timber and date stamping of all replacement work, recreation of turned verandah posts, sourcing of period window and door fixtures and the use of traditional techniques such as hand nailing, fixing and joining.
The site was officially handed over to Wolston Centenary late 2010 prior to the commencement of a Twenty20 match for the Eddie Gilbert Perpetual Trophy.
Article originally appeared in the September 2011 edition of QBuild’s Grapevine staff magazine.
You may also like...
If you enjoyed this story you may also like these stories from this month's Sectorwide.
