I know what you’re thinking.
“That’s a lovely shade of … err … brown!”
Its actually a colour called ‘Indian Red’ and comes with a story.
In recognition of the significant role of St Stephen’s in the development of the community of Coorparoo, the old church building (aka the Stephen’s Centre) and the church hall are listed on the Brisbane City Council Local Heritage Register.
Whilst this listing does mean we can’t undertake certain types of changes to the hall, it also means that we have access to financial support from Council toward certain restoration works the buildings through the Heritage Incentives Scheme. We have decided to use the available funds, up to $15,000 for non-profits, toward a repainting the hall building “in its original colours or in a colour scheme that reflects its heritage significance.”
To help us satisfy this condition of the grant, we enlisted the help of specialist heritage architect, Ruth Woods who reviewed available historical photos compiled by Beth Woolard as well as examining paint scrapings under a microscope. This work revealed that the external walls of the hall were originally painted in a dark red-brown colour (that’s the ‘Indian Red’) with lighter off-white accents.
Recognising that dark walls would not last as long in the sun, Ruth proposed that we use the original colours in reverse in her report to Council supporting our grant application – off-white walls with Indian Red accents.
Thanks to Ruth for your advice and assistance and to Brisbane City Council for their generous contribution toward the repainting of the hall through the Heritage Incentives Scheme.
The Hall was constructed in 1937