Gerard joins Gloria

Some blogs ago I spoke about the David Hinchcliffe's idea to produce a work of art by artist Mark Andrews which showed, in a playful and yet meaningful way, the importance of wool to Queensland. 

The project was started in 2010 and it has finally been completed. The naming of the two woolly people as Gloria and Gerard is largely to honour two wonderful personalities in Brisbane. Gloria Grant and Gerard Benjamin, who co- authored a book "Reflections on New Farm" a local history book which has found tremendous success and been reprinted several times. Gloria sadly passed away but Gerard is alive and well and appeared on the cover of "My village" magazine. He appears well rounded and woolly, looking out to the river, with a pair of binoculars, gleaning even more of the local history which he so generously shares with us all.  He led a tour of Teneriffe this morning which was just delightful. 

In 1870 Australia became the worlds largest wool producer. Wool made up a huge amount of Queensland exports and the many wool warehouses which were built in Teneriffe were there to receive the wool straight off the train which ran past the warehouses. Machines compressed it into bales and then loaded them onto ships bound for Europe. Wool was the basis for blankets, uniforms, underwear, coats and all types of clothing. The need for wool grew considerably in the two world wars. Wool warehouses dominated the landscape on the Brisbane River. At the time it was an industrial scruffy, neighbourhood with machinery and railway carriages dotted about. The warehouses were magnificent buildings of brick, four storeys high.The bricks were brought in from Belgium and used as ballast and then the wool would be exported back. 

They survive today carefully converted into beautiful and airy living quarters in what is now the trendy suburb of Teneriffe. We had the pleasure of going into one and seeing how it had been transformed and then took a walk up Teneriffe Hill and heard some of the local stories of houses in the area. 

The interior floors here have been removed to make for an airy and light atrium. 

 The view of the city from Teneriffe Hill. 

Thanks Gerard and looking forward to the next neighbourhood walk.