Archerfield Airport helps tell Brisbane’s aviation story
Heritage Management Plan for Archerfield Airport
Archerfield Airport has played an important part in Brisbane’s rich history of aviation, with a variety of heritage buildings still utilised on the site.
The airport demonstrates developments in Brisbane’s aviation industry and is associated with notable personalities including Lores Bonney and Charles Kingsford Smith.
It also has a special association with personnel who worked at Archerfield Airport from 1929 until the end of World War II, as well as those who have worked at the airport since.
The site includes God’s Acre Cemetery, a rare example of a surviving private burial ground first established in Brisbane’s pastoral phase. This is possibly one of the oldest of its type in Brisbane.
AHS was commissioned to create an updated Heritage Management Plan (HMP) for Archerfield Airport by the Archerfield Airport Corporation and Planned F.X.
The HMP will be the guiding document for managing the airport’s heritage values, ensuring that conservation objectives and change at the airport meets the future needs of the aviation industry.
Civil Aviation Branch buys land in 1928
The current Archerfield Airport site was originally purchased by Thomas Grenier in 1855 who was an early settler of the area and used the land for grazing. The God’s Acre Cemetery was established by Grenier and his family and was subsequently utilised by a number of local families in the area.
Aviation activity did not start in the area until 1928 when the Civil Aviation Branch made its first land purchase. By the 1930s Archerfield was the home for Qantas and a terminus for the England to Australia airmail and passenger route.
During World War II the airport grew to accommodate military uses by the Royal Australian Air Force and the US Army Air Forces.
Post-war, Archerfield Airport began to decline and Eagle Farm was chosen to become Brisbane’s preferred airport. Archerfield remained as a metropolitan airport, facilitating general aviation and light aircraft operations, and currently hosts a broad range of aviation activities from helicopter and fixed wing operations to flight training, aeromedical, and emergency services.
The former terminal demonstrates the association of modernist design with new technologies
Aviation building in the Interwar Functionalist style
As an operational airport, Archerfield has inevitably seen extensive alteration and change since aviation activity began in 1929. However, the airport is one of the few airports which retains and uses buildings and infrastructure from the Interwar and WWII period.
The Administration and Terminal Building is a great example of an aviation building in the Interwar Functionalist style which demonstrates the association of modernist design with new technologies.
Hangar 001 also remains in use and is likely one of the oldest surviving hangars in Australia.
Curtis P-40E 'Warhawk' assembled at Archerfield between Hangars 110 and 105
Conservation through regular maintenance
To maintain its operational capability, Archerfield Airport must adapt to meet aviation industry needs, while continuing to protect the heritage buildings which represent the site’s significant history.
Through regular maintenance of existing fabric rather than major restoration, and prioritising repair works where needed, the airport will continue to care for its numerous heritage buildings for future generations.
To discover how we may be able to assist on your next project, contact us today here or phone (07) 3221 0000. You can also connect with us on LinkedIn.
You might also like to read:
The Challenge
The current Archerfield Airport site was originally purchased by Thomas Grenier in 1855 who was an early settler of the area and used the land for grazing. The God’s Acre Cemetery was established by Grenier and his family and was subsequently utilised by a number of local families in the area.
Aviation activity did not start in the area until 1928 when the Civil Aviation Branch made its first land purchase. By the 1930s Archerfield was the home for Qantas and a terminus for the England to Australia airmail and passenger route.
During World War II the airport grew to accommodate military uses by the Royal Australian Air Force and the US Army Air Forces.
Post-war, Archerfield Airport began to decline and Eagle Farm was chosen to become Brisbane’s preferred airport. Archerfield remained as a metropolitan airport, facilitating general aviation and light aircraft operations, and currently hosts a broad range of aviation activities from helicopter and fixed wing operations to flight training, aeromedical, and emergency services.
How we helped
As an operational airport, Archerfield has inevitably seen extensive alteration and change since aviation activity began in 1929. However, the airport is one of the few airports which retains and uses buildings and infrastructure from the Interwar and WWII period.
The Administration and Terminal Building is a great example of an aviation building in the Interwar Functionalist style which demonstrates the association of modernist design with new technologies.
Hangar 001 also remains in use and is likely one of the oldest surviving hangars in Australia.
Results
To maintain its operational capability, Archerfield Airport must adapt to meet aviation industry needs, while continuing to protect the heritage buildings which represent the site’s significant history.
Through regular maintenance of existing fabric rather than major restoration, and prioritising repair works where needed, the airport will continue to care for its numerous heritage buildings for future generations.
To discover how we may be able to assist on your next project, contact us today here or phone (07) 3221 0000. You can also connect with us on LinkedIn.
You might also like to read:
