[1] From the 1840s, South Brisbane emerged as one of the most important locations for port activity in Queensland, initially aided by direct access to the Darling Downs and Ipswich.

As part of the development boom, a dry dock was opened in 1881, coal wharves and associated rail links were built, and South Brisbane railway station was established as the terminus for suburban and rural trains.

From 1895, the Queensland Art Gallery was housed in the Brisbane Town Hall, moving in 1905 to a purpose designed room on the third floor in the new Executive Building overlooking George Street.

[1] In Queensland in the 1930s, there was an earlier phase of civic buildings (primarily town halls and council chambers) that often included spaces for arts and cultural activities.

[1] The following year, the Treasury Department initiated a formal investigation into a suitable site for an art gallery, led by Treasurer, Deputy Premier and Liberal Party Leader, Gordon Chalk.

In early November, Deputy Premier Sir Gordon Chalk (who had a genuine interest and commitment to the development of the arts in Queensland) announced a proposal for a $45 million cultural complex as an election campaign measure.

While the development of the Art Gallery had been progressing, Chalk, with the assistance of Under Treasurer Leo Hielscher, had covertly commissioned Robin Gibson to produce a master plan for an integrated complex of buildings which would form the Queensland Cultural Centre (QCC).

The devastating floods of January 1974, which had further hastened the decline of South Brisbane, provided a timely opportunity to use more space adjacent to the river, through resumptions of flood-prone land.

However, the support of Brisbane's Lord Mayor, Clem Jones, (who gifted council-owned allotments on what became the QPAC site); influential public servants Hielscher, Pavlyshyn; Mercer, and Sir David Muir, Director of the Department of Commercial and Industrial Development, helped the project gain momentum.

[1] While maintaining the approved general arrangement of the individual buildings, the following changes were made to the plan of the complex: the orthogonal realignment of the individual buildings, the doubling of the multi-purpose hall to provide separate spaces for musical and theatrical performances, the extension of an existing Stanley Street detour upstream to Peel Street and under the Victoria Bridge, which was bridged by a wide plaza as the forecourt of the Gallery.

After graduating in 1954, Gibson travelled through Europe and worked in London in the offices of architects, Sir Hugh Casson, Neville Conder, and James Cubitt and Partners.

Notable Queensland architects employed by his practice included Geoffrey Pie, Don Winsen, Peter Roy, Allan Kirkwood, Bruce Carlyle and Gabriel Poole.

For example, the consistent quality of the concrete finish was achieved by securing a guaranteed supply of the principal materials, South Australian white cement, Stradbroke Island sand and Pine River aggregates, for the duration of the project and the strict control of colour and mix for each contract.

Contractor Graham Evans & Co. began construction in March 1977 and the Art Gallery was officially opened by Prime Minister Joh Bjelke-Petersen on June 21, 1982.

Theater consultants Tom Brown and Peter Knowland, the Performing Arts Trust, and user committees were involved in the development and design of the centre.

Completed in November 1984 by contractors Barclay Bros Pty Ltd, a concert for workers and the first public performance were held in December ahead of the official opening by the Duke and Duchess of Kent on 20 April 1985.

[1] Other public artworks commissioned at the time of construction are located at QPAC: Lawrence Daws' large interior mural, Pacific Nexus and Robert Woodward's Cascade Court Fountain.

The largest change to the exterior façade was cosmetic and included the enclosure of the open porch with prefabricated steel windows to create work and meeting spaces adjacent to the river.

In 2014, the Australian Institute of Architects applied to give the Queensland Cultural Centre heritage status to protect it from proposals by the Newman government to add high-rise buildings to the site.

Throughout the site, the centre's components are connected by subway tunnels, outdoor plazas, elevated covered walkways, and a spine bridge over Melbourne Street.

The plazas/gardens include sculptures and fountains by major Australian artists such as Approaching Equilibrium (Anthony Pryoro), Pelicans (Leonard and Kathleen Shillam), Sisters (Ante Dabro), Leviathan Play (Rob Robertson-Swann), and Offshoot (Clement Meadmore).

[10] In addition to the main museum area, the building also houses the Queensland Sciencentre, a permanent interactive science exhibition suitable for people of all ages.

[1] Since its opening, the QCC facilities have played a dominant role in promoting and enabling cultural and artistic activities in Queensland through performances, exhibitions, collections and events.

The complex's purpose-built facilities have enabled Queensland to host national and international performances, events and exhibitions, and to expand and display collections in ways not previously possible.

[citation needed] More widely, the Cultural Centre's direct relationship with the Brisbane River influenced the way the city has come to engage with its dominant natural feature along its edges.

Chief among these are: the integration of the building and its surroundings, coherent, simple, low and horizontal forms, clean lines, and a limited palette of materials (high quality concrete, tinted glass, and bronze metalwork).

The Queensland Cultural Centre is of outstanding esthetic significance to the state because of its distinctive architectural qualities, monumental size, prominent location, and numerous public art installations.

The Queensland Cultural Centre is an outstanding, distinctive and multi-award winning example of architectural excellence in the international style and is a testament to a high level of creative achievement in the late 20th century.

Ambitious in scale and sophisticated in design, the site is a successfully realised architectural vision to create a unified landmark complex for Queensland's major cultural institutions.

The strong connection between the Queensland community and the institutions of the Cultural Centre, both individually and collectively, comes through the experience of the site, its environment, the interconnected buildings, the internal and external spaces and venues, and the events, exhibitions, performances and activities offered in the complex.