Harris Terrace is a heritage-listed terrace house at 68 George Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by J & G Cowlishaw and built from to by Mr Clarke. It is also known as Harris Court. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
History
Harris Terrace is a two storey masonry building in George Street. Formerly a residential terrace of six houses, it was constructed in the mid-1860s for George Harris and was designed by architect James Cowlishaw.
Since the 1820s, the north bank and adjacent ridgeline of the Brisbane River, now containing William and George streets, has featured a concentration of government and associated activities and uses. Over the period of the Moreton Bay penal settlement, buildings were constructed along this ridgeline, utilised by government officials for "accommodation, administration and control". When the area was opened for free settlement in 1842, the remnant penal infrastructure was used by surveyors as a basis for the layout for the new town of Brisbane. Set at right angles to the river, the prisoner's barracks determined Queen Street, while the line of buildings along the ridge determined William Street. Streets surveyed parallel to these streets, including George Street, formed Brisbane's rectangular grid.
While a range of buildings and activities occurred along George and William Streets and the north bank from the 1840s, the government maintained a dominant presence in the area. At some sites (such as the Commissariat Store and the City Botanic Gardens), earlier uses were continued. The establishment phase following the separation of Queensland in 1859 saw the new colonial government reserve land parcels and construct a range of buildings to facilitate its functions. The building of the first Government House and Parliament House at the eastern end of George Street in the 1860s firmly entrenched the physical reality of a government precinct in the area.
The location of Parliament House had a pronounced effect on the built environment around lower George Street. Many of Queensland's early politicians were pastoralists, a reflection of their economic dominance in the colony. Together with a growing workforce of public servants, these politicians required accommodation when in Brisbane. From the 1860s to the 1880s, a range of buildings, many built by, or for politicians, were constructed to address these needs.
Harris Terrace was erected as a speculative investment for George Harris. Harris (1831-1891) was born in London, migrated with his family to Sydney in 1833 and came to Brisbane in 1848 to work with his elder brother John. The partnership of John and George Harris, general merchants and shipping agents, was established in 1853, with the firm involved in importing goods and exporting wool and tallow. George Harris became a well-known business and society figure in Brisbane. Following Queensland's separation from New South Wales in 1859 he was appointed a member of the first Queensland Legislative Council, serving until August 1878.
The first half of the 1860s was a period of strong growth for Brisbane. Immigration boosted the population dramatically (more than doubling between 1861 and 1864 to over 12,000) and many substantial public and private buildings were constructed during this time. The permanent nature of the buildings was also partly influenced by provisions in the Municipalities Act 1864, which required brick or stone construction and non-flammable roofing material in designated first class building areas.
In 1865 Harris commissioned architect James Cowlishaw to design a terrace building of six self-contained residences on the south-west corner of George and Margaret streets. The property, originally surveyed as allotment 1 of section 9, had been previously owned by John Betts, a property speculator who bought the land at one of Brisbane's earliest land sales in Sydney in 1842. It is unclear if any improvements were made to the land prior to Harris purchasing the property in 1856. Cowlishaw, considered Brisbane's "first successful private architect" arrived in 1860 from Sydney and soon became highly regarded and in demand. Prior to designing the terrace, Cowlishaw undertook other design work for Harris and his firm, including improvements to J&G Harris' wharf and stores at nearby Short Street, a new Ipswich warehouse, and repairs and additions to his then residence, Newstead House. In 1861 Cowlishaw also designed a terrace building on the opposite corner of George and Margaret Streets for another politician, Arthur Hodgson.