Today I watched the clip from Jackie Chan’s film, First Strike, filmed largely in Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, Gold Coast and The Old Museum.
So many moving parts clearly came together to make this clip what it was. The Building was under some renovation/restoration at the time, and had the works been completed, the film crew and in particular, Jackie Chan, wouldn’t have been able to throw furniture and props about as they did. The scene in the end studio shows evidence of scaffolding on the large stained glass window, and this portable scaffolding put to great use by Jackie.
What it does show, is the empty building without the temporary tents and sound walls put in place 20 years ago to make the ground floor functional for ensemble rehearsals. These viewpoints of the internal curved stairs, the great window archway, and the vastness of the main Exhibition hall are temporarily lost until further works are completed.
The only other time we were privileged to see the great glass arched window was during filming of Dora The Explorer, when the temporary tent was removed for lighting and other tech.
Back to October 2006… when I was offered the Venue Manager’s role at The Old Museum, working for Queensland Youth Orchestras, and answering to Dept of Public Works. Not at all confusing, and to be fair, it usually wasn’t. The Orchestra had worked in and around periods of renovation for almost 10 years, and were always grateful to be able to rehearse and perform in one of Brisbane’s first and major performing Arts buildings. The space had done a full circle after existing as Exhibition space, Concert Hall, Art Gallery, Museum offices, and finally the People’s Building again.
I came to The Old Museum from a University position, and from managing an Arts Festival, so the day-to-day running of a shared arts space was a dream job, in particular, one with such an empty canvas. Apart from the Youth Orchestra, and other community orchestras, the venue wasn’t being used to its original and desired function or capacity. To balance the needs of the tenants with a common desire to fill the building was challenging.
Challenge accepted.
What I didn’t see coming was the osmosis of heritage and story that oozed from every corner of the old building and into my imagination.
In the beginning, my charter was to occupy the building and keep it clean. However, I made time to find and talk to the people who had cared for it since the time the Queensland Museum relocated in the late 1970s. The first of these was the two elderly gardeners who had been there for most of their working lives. I was lucky to get to know them and hear their stories before they retired.
Over the years, I gradually met the Heritage consultants, Artisan stonemasons, Heritage plumbers, and carpenters who had looked after each piece of floor/door/brick/gutter with care. We were included in conversations between consultants and conservators, learning at each step, but also sharing our knowledge that contributed greatly to the overall story.
We also found several objects of curiosity. A 19th century glazed fountain, carefully wrapped, in the back of the huge shed. Ceramic ink wells turned up more than once. Footings of old buildings also appeared once we started looking for them. The most recent discovery was a marble plinth that once held the bust of Lucius Caecilius Jucundus. Sadly not the original ‘Herm’ from 79AD, but a reproduction created in approx. 1902. This was returned to the Art Gallery.
So I bring this curiosity, love of story, community and culture to my role as Organisation Manager of Brisbane Living Heritage. I look forward to sharing more stories from my past, and Brisbane’s past. And I look forward to hearing yours.