Albert Hall in Brisbane may be no more but you can help its memory live on

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Brisbane's Albert Hall may have paled in comparison to its famous London namesake, but one man is making it his mission to track down its secrets and stories.

Once part of the city's CBD, the medium-sized hall hosted musicals, magic shows, cooking demonstrations and science experiments.

"There are so many Albert halls around Australia, including in Canberra, Launceston and even western Queensland — there's several to be exact," said Professor Peter Roennfeldt, a former director of the Queensland Conservatorium.

"Along with the most famous, the Royal Albert Hall in London, Brisbane's Albert Hall deserves a consolidated history to show it's contributions to the community."

The hall opened in 1901 next to the Albert Street Uniting Church, which still stands today.

"It was designed to be a community hall available to anyone who wanted to use it," Professor Roennfeldt said.

"It was remodelled in 1940 and already had two levels, but they expanded the hall by removing the floor and make it into a large space to seat 700 people.

"During the 1940s and '50s, there were up to 100 events held there a year, so it was a very busy hall."

More than just a venue

Professor Roennfeldt hopes people have memories to share from the many events held in the hall.

"It was used by many Brisbane folk and that's what is so interesting about the hall; it just kept popping up when I was looking at the history of Queensland's musical heritage," he said.

"There were so many officials who visited there and election campaign launches as well, since it was central.

"When Lord Mountbatten came, he was off to India in 1946 to oversee the partition of India, and the City Hall wasn't available but Albert Hall was."

The professor said music and dance teachers would host end-of-year concerts there, along with farewell performances by artists before they headed overseas.

Cooking demonstrations and other events were held in the hall during World War II to support the war effort and the community.

The venue's grand piano is one item eagerly sought by Professor Roennfeldt, who believes he may know where it's residing in south-east Queensland.

"The piano is still in one piece, and the history that that piano holds being part of the venue is great."

The final days

Albert Hall's days were numbered, when in 1960 the remodelling of the CBD saw the state government acquire the adjacent building to become the Main Roads headquarters.

The development needed more space to include a fountain, and the government approached the church to buy the hall and have it demolished.

Today, the site is where the Suncorp Building stands.

"I've met a lady that performed [at the hall] and attended events there and confirmed to me that it was a major hub of activity for Brisbane," the professor said.

"Whenever I mention Albert Hall, a glow comes over people's faces.

"They remember it affectionately and they go into specific events that they remember happening there, even though the building doesn't remain.

Professor Roennfeldt has already collected many printed programs and a few photographs that show inside the hall and of events held there.

"I've been given some photos of people who were actors on the stage from the early 1950s and small mementos as well," he said.

"We're really looking for those personal memories and wanting to meet people who know more of the behind the scenes."

Learning from past to understand future

The aim of the professor's search is to preserve the history of the hall to help those in years to come.

"Like with family history, people want to know where they come from, and people involved in the arts need to and want to know who was there before," he said.

"The more we learn about our precursors, the better we understand where we are today.

"You can see through one venue the development of the tradition that lives today."

He said that tradition showed why venues were still important and holding onto their history even more so.

"Venues give us a home that no-one owns and are all welcomed to it."

Professor Roennfeldt said he planned on bringing the research together later this year in a book that showed the cross-section of life in Brisbane.

If you have stories or memories to share, contact fellowships@slq.qld.gov.au.

Topics: history, community-and-society, performance-art, music, architecture, arts-and-entertainment, human-interest, brisbane-4000