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Air Raid Shelters

Air Raid Shelters
By the time Frank Costello was made City Architect, Australia had already been involved in WWII and had seen the Japanese invasion heading towards Australian soil. Lord Mayor John Chandler spoke of the need to address the possibility of Japanese attacks within Brisbane in his 1942 budget speech. His war time policy was divided into three key principles: Preparation (planning for city growth after the war), Preservation (of the city and its buildings buy building and maintaining the utilities and infrastructure), and Conservation (by saving money and resources for post war reconstruction and development). However, the shortages of both materials and labour during this period meant that majority of council projects were not completed.

Frank Costello therefore had a focus of work occur during this period of scarcity and global conflict, and as such his visions were limited to infrastructure and protection structures, which came about in the form of Electricity and water substations, and Air Raid Shelters around Brisbane city and surrounding suburbs. These Air Raid shelters incorporated some clever features which elevated Costello apart from the average City Architect.

The Air Raid Shelters (ARS) around Brisbane were constructed by the Brisbane City Council to protect people from the threat of air raids from Japanese bombers, which was becoming an increasing reality, especially after attacks on Darwin and far North Queensland. Costello’s proposals for these ARS incorporated two great design features, the first of which was the use of concrete single and double cantilevers, allowing for a larger area of protection. Costello had the opinion that these shelters should not become redundant once the war had ended, but instead should have the ability to convert to new uses as required by a reconstructing city. This would also help the Council by not needing to provide extra funds, resources and labour in their removal from streets and parks. This is the second design feature, a reusable space without the need for dramatic reconstruction. To achieve this, Costello designed his shelters using the concrete cantilever a spine. Along with his Design Engineer, the concrete used was not uncommon to Brisbane, but the design used innovative methods of steel reinforcing that allowed for a tapered roofline. This tapering, which allowed for the unsupported edge to only have a thickness of 110mm, gave Costello the chance to add his Architectural flairs and make these ARS stand out from a concrete box. Around these concrete cantilever structures were brick walls, which would protect the occupants from flying debris, bomb fragments and explosions. It could also be dismantled once the war time had ended, allowing for a multi-purpose structure that could either be used for shelter (i.e., bus stop, park shelter, bicycle storage), or it could be added to with extensions.

Some examples of re-imagined ARS include the Sandgate Railway Station (Brisbane Courier Mail, 1947), Raymond Park in Kangaroo Point, and the Story Bridge Shelter. The Sandgate Air Raid Shelter started out as a double cantilever construct with enclosing brick walls. Originally sited at the Sandgate (now Shorncliffe) Railway Station to protect commuters from an imminent air raid, the shelter began its transformation in mid-1946 and completed in April 1947. On one side the building was open to the railway platform, while the other opened onto the street. Inside a canteen was built and furnished by the Queensland Railways Department, allowing for light refreshments to be sold to travellers. This reuse of the ARS is what Frank Costello envisioned, a structure which served its purpose as protection from war time threats, then could be used to enhance the lives of the Brisbane population in times of peace.

The air raid shelters beneath Story Bridge are another testament to Costello’s vision, combining the essential protection requirements with a long term usability. The shelters were built between a matrix of 4 wide 5 deep concrete pylons on the Southern bank of the Brisbane river, running directly under the spine of the bridge for maximum protection. These shelters were not a reinforced concrete cantilever structure, but instead used reinforced concrete for a simple wall and ceiling construct. Two entries to each shelter were given and with internal dimensions of 15’ x 30’ (approx. 5m x 10m), there was enough room for a few dozen people to shelter in case of emergency. These shelters survive today, and currently are being used by the Story Bridge Hotel as storage space.