Our heritage building

The site at 149 Brunswick Street is now a recognized Heritage Building in the Fortitude Valley Brisbane City Council Heritage Precinct.

Although the building is now owned by the EGQ, any renovations or works have been sympathetic to the previous masonic custodians of the building. Many of the distinctive features found within a masonic hall have been maintained and utilised.

The foundation stone

As one immediately enters the building, there is a distinctive stone plaque to the left that commemorates the laying of the foundation stone. The foundation stone of what was to become Lodge Tullibardine of the United Grand Lodge of Freemasons was laid on 27th May 1922.

A contemporaneous news article reports that “the (foundation) ceremony was performed by the most worshipful T.S. Barstow, Past Grand Master. The stone was tested by the wardens and corn, wine and oil each having special significance were poured on it. Beneath the stone were placed copies of the daily papers, coins of the realm, masonic journals and a history of the lodge”. These items were contained in a leaden sealed casket and to this day remain buried.

Lodge Tullibardine

The building was completed by September 1922 with a dedication and consecration ceremony occurring on the 28th of September 1922. At the time of its construction, Lodge Tullibardine was described as a two-story building, comprising of a “handsome lodge room with necessary auxiliaries” on the upper floor; and a “banquet and harmony hall” on the ground floor. The building was fronted by a shop with an awning spanning across the pavement for the protection of both the Lodge entrance and the shop.

An ideal space for embroideries

The awning and shop were demolished well before EGQ purchased the property. All that remains of the shop now are the wooden doors which are to the right of the building’s exterior.

Visitors to the building can continue to marvel at the original joinery and carpentry work. The building with its very high ceilings, high windows, and extensive wall space is ideal for the display of embroideries.

The kitchen and dressing room on the lower level were renovated with the kitchen’s original tessellated flooring restored. Whilst the platform and side seating in the “banquet and harmony hall were removed, visitors only need to climb the stairs to see Masonic timber benches lining what had been, the previous lodge room. The original long cupboards that once housed Masons’ robes, also remain. Both spaces provide EGQ with much needed storage.

In memory of Iris Dibley

There have been other additions that have been added to the building by EGQ members. In the room that now serves as the EGQ library is a pair of beautiful handcrafted leadlight windows that depict irises and are a memorial to a former Guild member – Iris Dibley.

Iris was a committed and active EGQ member. She served on the Guild Management Committee and attained the position of vice president in 1975.

She was an EGQ tutor in applique, pulled thread work, counted work, needle weaving, Dorset Feather, blackwork, and surface stitching. She was considered a skilled needle person who demonstrated and generously shared her skills and knowledge with great enthusiasm and joy. Sadly, Iris had significant health issues and suffered a fatal heart attack in her fifties and died in July 1984.

At EGQ’s formal opening (in May 1985), the library was named the Iris Dibley room. Iris’s husband, Charles, also an EGQ member, replastered and painted the room for this special occasion, with the help of his sons. Charles also designed, made and installed the library’s beautiful leadlight stained-glass windows, featuring, blue irises. This fitting tribute is now an enduring reminder of Iris Dibley’s continued presence at EGQ and is now a key feature of our historic building.

The architecture of the Guild building

There is no denying that the masons knew how to build a solid building that has lasted over 100 years. The architect of 149 Brunswick Street is identified as Brother Wightman (on the foundation stone) with the building contractors identified as Messrs McArthur and Walker.

Brother Wightman was in fact Thomas Blair Moncrieff Wightman who was a renowned Brisbane Architect. Thomas Wightman was a councillor of the Queensland Institute of Architects and became President of this association from 1923 – 1924. In 1927, Mr. Wightman was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Thomas Wightman is acknowledged in the Queensland Heritage Register as creating designs that were well regarded within the Brisbane community. His residential work is considered important because it assisted in the development and changing face of interwar domestic architecture within Queensland.

The former Masonic Lodge has adapted well to its changing history and its two custodians. The EGQ has now achieved a permanent home and has re-imagined what once was a very masculine space into an area that celebrates textile art.