Grammar Gazette_Issue1_2025

Main Building gets an 1880s-style makeover

Everything old is old again, or rather, has been returned to its former glory

Architectural detectives peeled back through as many as 16 layers of paint in some parts to reveal the original limewash cement colouring that had been applied over the brickwork when it was built. Along the way, investigations revealed the building had been pale pink, multiple shades of brown, white, green and stone during its history. The most recent paintwork, done in 2001, had been a distinctive yellow. The new palette features custom colours matched scientifically and visually to photographs and paint scrapings to the original scheme of cool greens and neutral tones and a dark brown-green on doors and framework. One of the biggest changes was returning the red roof to a dark hue. The painting project started in Term 4, 2024 and was completed in the Term 1 holidays despite a cyclone and plenty of unseasonal rain. Work will continue to

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A 150 Year Anniversary project to give iconic Main Building a fresh coat of paint in the School’s original tones was finished during the April holidays, with the white picket fence the final task. Over the years, Main Building, completed in 1886, has been repainted many times to suit the fashion of the day. So, determining the original colour scheme was no easy task, and involved taking more than 40 paint samples from the exterior and 120 from the interior.

refresh paint on W Block and E Block, which along with Main Building are the School’s three oldest buildings. Returning the School’s iconic Main Building to its foundational colours not only marks the School’s 150 Years, but honors the original vision of architect Richard Gailey, who designed many other Brisbane landmarks including the Regatta Hotel at Toowong, Baroona Labor Hall in Caxton Street and Moorlands, originally the family home of the Mayne family, on Coronation Drive at Auchenflower. Main Building was constructed in two stages, with the front portion opened in 1884, and the rear, which includes the Annie Mackay Room, in 1886. Richard Gailey’s two daughters, Eva (1890) and Corinth (1900) both went on to attend the School their father designed.

Captions 1 Main Building prior to painting 2 Work starts 3 Returned to its original colour scheme

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24 | GAZETTE • ISSUE 1, 2025

Brisbane Girls Grammar School