By Jeremy Sollars
The fate of the Warwick Town Hall toilet block hangs in the balance, with public submissions on an application to have the toilets State Heritage listed closing this coming Monday, 31 July.
The council requires state approval to demolish the brick toilets, which mayor Tracy Dobie has deemed to be unsafe and “an eyesore”.
The toilets fall inside the State Heritage listing of the Warwick Town Hall and as such the council applied in June to the State Department of Environment and Heritage Protection for demolition approval.
But in a counter-move, the Southern Downs ‘RANGE’ Residents’ Action Group have also applied to the department to have the toilets listed as a ‘stand-alone’ heritage place or ‘significant feature’ on the State Heritage Register.
The council subsequently withdrew its demolition application until the RANGE heritage listing application is decided.
After the public submissions close this Monday, the department will make a recommendation on the State Heritage listing of the toilets to the independent Queensland Heritage Council which will have the final say, expected at its meeting on Thursday 24 August.
Officers from Environment and Heritage Protection inspected the toilets in mid-July.
Many in the community have voiced their disapproval of the proposed demolition, pointing out the toilets are well-used, including by visitors to the Rose City.
And even though at face value it’s a brick dunny block, the toilets’ wider heritage significance has also been highlighted.
The Town Hall toilets are adjacent to Dornbusch Lane, which provides access from the Town Hall car park through to Palmerin Street.
The lane is named in honour of Conrad Dornbusch, one half of the architectural firm Dornbusch and Connolly, who as well as the toilets designed some of Warwick’s other fine buildings and landmarks, including St Mary’s Catholic Church, the Warwick General Cemetery, the Criterion Hotel and some notable homes in town, including ‘Avalon’ on Glengallan Road, the Dornbusch family home in the late 1800s.
Dornbusch and Connolly also designed and built the Johnsons Buildings on Palmerin Street, with Dornbusch Lane alongside them.
Details on how to lodge a submission and the application by the council can be viewed on the Queensland Government website at www.qld.gov.au/environment/land/heritage/register/applications.
The Queensland Heritage Council is expected to make a decision on heritage listing of the Leslie Centenary Memorial Gate either at the 24 August meeting or in September.
