Nestled at 72A Cairns Street you will find Brisbane City Council Substation No. 211. This building stands as a testament to Brisbane’s early electrical infrastructure. It is a tangible link to the city’s ambition to provide power to all residents.
Brisbane City Council Substation No. 211 was erected in 1928. It was part of the Brisbane City Council’s commitment to supply electricity. This supply was for the Greater Brisbane region. Substations like this were essential. They distributed an effective electrical service throughout the City. This was especially important for most of the twentieth century.
Alfred Herbert Foster designed Substation No. 211. He was the Greater Brisbane City Council’s first City Architect. Foster also designed other substations throughout Brisbane. These included ones on Gregory Terrace and in Hamilton.
Tenders were called for the erection of a substation. By the closing date of 1 June 1928 nine tenders had been received. Amounts tendered for the construction varied. It started from £953/10/0. By the end of the year the Electrical Department reported progress. Four new brick sub-station buildings had been erected. A wooden building was also erected. Cairns Street No.11 was among those listed. However not all of these substations were operating by the end of 1928. Installation of switchgear had only been completed in two of the buildings. The remaining two were well in hand.
Substation No. 211 played an important initial role. It supplied electric energy to the southern suburbs of Brisbane. These suburbs included Balmoral, Coorparoo and Sherwood. The substation would also supply Taringa. It would tie-feed to the northern suburbs via Toowong.
By 1932 the need for duplicate cables across the river became apparent. A cable between Merthyr Road and Cairns Street was problematic. Ships’ anchors had picked it up on two occasions. Failure due to the stresses caused by interference would cut off supply. The areas mentioned would be affected. To remedy this cables were proposed. They would run between New Farm Power House and Goff Street in Norman Park.
Further cable laying occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. There was also upgrading and replacement of electrical wiring. In 1988 the roof was replaced. Around 1995 the substation was decommissioned. It had been made obsolete.
Look at the building’s design. This small masonry building is symmetrical. It features a hipped iron roof. A parapeted pediment sits over a wide access door. The building’s face brick walls rise from a rendered plinth. Piers thicken the corners. They are also on each side of the main entry. Rendered lintel crowns the walls. The building has nine paned casement windows. It also features a large roller door within the main entry. Originally the roof was clad in tiles. It is now clad in ribbed metal sheeting. The building is otherwise unaltered from its original form. It was designed to be in sympathy with surrounding residential development. Today it is somewhat stranded. It sits at the bottom of a dead-end street next to high-rise development.
Substation No. 211 is significant. Its picturesque design limited the visual impact. It was designed to blend into residential areas. The small industrial building reflects prestige. The Brisbane City Council associated it with its electrification drive. This drive occurred in the late 1920s and 1930s. Brisbane City Council Substation No. 211 stands as a reminder of a time. It was a time when electricity transformed Brisbane.