A Place to Remember
Welcome to the Newstead House verandas, offering glorious views of the Brisbane River and Newstead Park which houses Substation No. 5.
In 1927, the BCC Tramways Department announced plans to build a substation at Newstead Park. Substation No. 5 in Newstead Park was designed by BCC architect and construction engineer Roy Rusden Ogg, and opened in June 1928. Ogg designed at least 10 of the city’s substations up until 1936, as well as the first two stages of the New Farm Powerhouse, which provided electricity to the city’s tram network.
Within an integrated suburban network of substations, the former Brisbane Tramways Substation No. 5 is important in demonstrating the pattern of Queensland’s industrial development. In particular, the development of electricity generation and supply, the development of a public transport system and the subsequent suburban expansion of Brisbane in the 1920s and 1930s.
Take a look behind you, where you first entered the house at the vestibule. The plate above the front door is a relic of the days when each insurance company had its own fire brigade, and the different brigades refused to extinguish a fire unless the plate attached to the house was for their particular company. We believe that this is the only one in existence (in Queensland) which is still attached to a residence.
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3 Adjacent Rooms
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