Francis Curnow (died 24 April 1901) was the third commissioner of the Queensland Railway Department in Australia.
By 1866 Curnow had settled in Ipswich, Queensland, as a railway storekeeper, a position made necessary by the opening of the Ipswich-Grandchester railway line. He was promoted in January 1877 to the position of Chief Clerk in the Railway Commissioner's Office, a position second only to that of the Commissioner. The offices for the staff of the Secretary for Railways in Queensland were established on the grounds of the original Brisbane Terminal Station at Roma Street, possibly in the early Brisbane Grammar School, resumed for railway purposes. [1]
In January 1884 Curnow was promoted to be the position of Acting Commissioner for Railways and on 12 March 1885 was again promoted to the position of Commissioner for Railways. Curnow was the third person to hold this position, superseding Arthur Orpen Herbert who became the Under Secretary for Railways. [2]
During the time of Curnow's employment as Commissioner of Railways, the Railways Act (1888) was introduced to create a Board of three Commissioners to oversee decision making in the railways, in a bid to reduce political influence. [3] The appointment of the Board of Commissioners on 29 July 1889 prompted Francis Curnow to retire from the railways with a pension of £ 500. [4] He was soon after appointed Chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Commission, a position he held until shortly before his death. [5]
Curnow arrived in Queensland in March 1860 from Cornwall in Britain.
In 1877 Curnow built a house Hellesvere for his home in Brisbane, close to his place of work. Hellesvere was a timber cottage with a steeply pitched corrugated iron roof containing an attic with dormer windows on the northern and southern sides. [1]
Curnow died on 24 April 1901 from heart failure caused by typhoid fever at his home Hellesvere. [5] He was buried at Toowong Cemetery. [6]
His home Hellesvere in Brisbane was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992, partly for its rarity as a home of that era and partly for its association with Curnow. [1]
Albert Bridge is a heritage-listed railway bridge of steel truss design crossing the Brisbane River between Indooroopilly and Chelmer in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Henry Charles Stanley and built from 1894 to 1895 by John McCormick & Son as a replacement for an earlier bridge lost to flooding in 1893. Both bridges were named in honour of the Prince of Wales, Prince Albert. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Annerley is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Annerley had a population of 11,336 people.
Sir Arthur Hunter Palmer was an Irish-Australian politician who served as the fifth Premier of Queensland, in office from 1870 to 1874. He later held ministerial office in Thomas McIlwraith's ministry from 1879 to 1881, before serving as President of the Queensland Legislative Council from 1881 until his death in 1898.
Joshua Thomas Bell was an Australian barrister and politician.
Leslie Gordon Corrie (1859–1918) was an architect and the mayor of Brisbane, Queensland from 1902 to 1903. A number of his architectural works are now heritage-listed.
Mitchell railway station is located on the Western line in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. It serves the town of Mitchell. The station has one platform, opening in 1885. The station has a number of heritage-listed buildings, including the passenger station in Oxford Street, the goods shed in Alice Street, and the station master's house in Sheffield Street. The buildings were added to Queensland Heritage Register on 8 September 2005.
St Agnes Anglican Church is a heritage-listed churchyard at Ipswich Street, Esk, Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by John Hingeston Buckeridge and built in 1889 by Lars Andersen. It is also known as St Agnes Rectory and Church Hall. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Francis Drummond Greville Stanley (1839—1897) was an architect in Queensland, Australia. He was the Queensland Colonial Architect. Many of his designs are now heritage-listed buildings.
Tighnabruaich is a heritage-listed villa at 203 Clarence Road, Indooroopilly, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built around 1889. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 7 February 2005.
Francis Lookout is a heritage-listed cemetery at 157 Dewar Terrace, Corinda, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1863 to 1966. It is also known as Francis Outlook. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 7 September 2004.
Norman Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 102 Ipswich Road, Woolloongabba, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by John Beauchamp Nicholson and built from 1889 to 1890. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 12 July 2005.
Michael Brennan Gannon (1847—1898) was an auctioneer and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.
Wallangarra railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at Woodlawn Street, Wallangarra, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1877 along the state border of Queensland and New South Wales It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 March 2003.
Hellesvere is a heritage-listed detached house at 436 Upper Roma Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built c. 1877. It is also known as Eton. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Ipswich & West Moreton Building Society is a heritage-listed building society office at 45 East Street, Ipswich, City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built from 1888 to 1950s by Peter Brown. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Arthur Orpen Herbert was a public servant in Queensland, Australia. He was the second commissioner of Queensland Rail.
Vincent Price was a railway architect in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Claude William Chambers (1861–1947) was a prominent architect in Brisbane, Queensland and Sydney, New South Wales in Australia. Many of his works are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Alfred Barton Brady (1856-1932)was an engineer and architect in Queensland, Australia. He was one of Queensland's most important early engineers and was particularly known for his bridge design. He was the Queensland Colonial Architect and many of his buildings and structures are now heritage-listed.
Roma Street is a major street in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. It is named after Diamantina Bowen, the wife of the first Governor of Queensland, George Bowen.
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(help)This Wikipedia article was originally based on "The Queensland heritage register" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 7 July 2014, archived on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were originally computed from the "Queensland heritage register boundaries" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 5 September 2014, archived on 15 October 2014).