Australian Mercantile Land & Finance Woolstores, Heritage-listed industrial building in Teneriffe, Australia.
The Australian Mercantile Land & Finance Woolstores is a four-story brick building with horizontal rows of multipaned windows and distinctive patterns typical of the building period. It was constructed in two phases and displays features of industrial architecture, with solid structures designed to bear heavy loads.
The Australian Mercantile Land & Finance company, incorporated in 1863, bought the Vernon Terrace land in 1910 and commissioned architect Robin Dods of Hall and Dods; builders Walls & Juster erected the first woolstore in 1912. The second store, already on the original Hall & Dods plans, followed around 1922 during the 1920s wool boom. The complex was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The name of the company, Australian Mercantile Land & Finance, is spelled out in bold lettering on the rendered-brick parapet above Vernon Terrace, a detail visible from the street. The top floor kept its panelled refreshment and dressing rooms, and the showroom's sawtooth roof was aligned east to west for even light over the wool. The complex was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The building is located in Teneriffe and now serves as a residential complex with 89 apartments while preserving the original industrial architecture. Visitors can view the exterior structure, though it is a private residential area.
The top floor features a sawtooth roof design specifically engineered to direct natural light into the space for wool inspection and sorting. This design detail shows how the building was thoughtfully planned around the specific needs of wool processing work.
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