page_title: ABC Radio Studios, Rockhampton
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: ABC Radio Studios, Rockhampton / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The control room of 4RK Rockhampton an ABC radio station at its opening
context_page_description: ABC Radio Studios are heritage-listed radio studios at 236 Quay Street, Rockhampton City, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 14 September 2009.
context_section_description: The development of Rockhampton commenced in the 1850s with the Archer brothers Charles and William who established a pastoral run "Gracemere" station with a few thousand sheep, 10 km north of the present city centre. Provisions for the property were brought in via the Fitzroy River to the furthest point that ships could navigate and that point gave rise to a small settlement on the banks of the river, Rockhampton. Gold was discovered 70 km north of Rockhampton at Canoona Station in 1858, rapidly followed by the arrival of thousands of people. The rush was short lived but people stayed on and the town of Rockhampton developed. The town was laid out in 1858 with the main street one street back from the river to allow for port activity to concentrate at the river and the town declared a port with a customs reserve.
  Gold mining had commenced at Mount Morgan in 1882 (32 km south west of Rockhampton) when Fred Morgan and his five brothers pegged a claim at Ironstone Mountain. Mining at Mount Morgan in 1882 was originally to recover gold, but considerable quantities of silver and copper were also discovered. The Morgans had sold all shares in the Mount Morgan Mine by 1886 to the remaining partners of the original syndicate, Thomas Skarrat Hall, William Knox D'arcy and William Pattison. The Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company Ltd was floated in 1886 with eight trustees owning one million one pound shares.
  The Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company Ltd controlled the mining leases between 1886 and 1927. The company went into liquidation in 1927 following a disastrous underground fire and deliberate flooding of the workings in 1925. The company was reformed as Mount Morgan Limited (MML) in 1928. MML began open cut mining in 1932 and by the time mining ceased in 1981 more than 145 megatonnes of ore and overburden had been handled. During the 108-year life of the mine approximately 262 tonnes of gold, 37 tonnes of silver and 387,000 tonnes of copper were mined from Mount Morgan from underground and open cut operations. The mine closed in 1990.
  The former Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company office in Quay Street was erected in 1897 for the trustees of the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company. The rendered masonry building is an outstanding component of the 19th century character of Quay Street and was a direct manifestation of the wealth which Mount Morgan gold brought to Rockhampton. Quay Street was the centre of trade for Central Queensland and operated as a port city with its magnificent Customs House until the 1950s when the port was closed. By 1882 it was connected to Baracaldine and as a result the wealth from the central west grazing was funnelled through the port. Rockhampton was also a centre for brewery, meatworks and other industries. The gold boom of the Mount Morgan mine added additional wealth to the city and stimulated the building and rebuilding of the Quay Street architecture.
  The site for the company office was acquired by the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company in August 1896, ten years after the floating of the company in 1886.
  The Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company building was constructed in 1897 as the headquarters of the company and was used for board meetings as well as for the storage of gold awaiting shipment from the river wharves across from Quay Street. The building was positioned near the other principal business premises of Rockhampton, which had developed along Quay Street to serve the passing trade at the wharves.
  Along with the Mining Company building, a range of buildings were constructed in Quay Street consisting of Mount Morgan Gold Mining company building, the Rockhampton Club, the Commercial and Criterion Hotel and the Rockhampton Harbour Board Building.
  In 1913, the Mining Company building was leased to the New Zealand Loan & Mercantile Company from who later purchased the building in 1920.
  In June 1963 the Australian Government purchased the building for use as television station for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). Tenders were called for the conversion of the building by the Commonwealth Department
caption: 4RK control room equipment, 1931
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