Historic Commissariat Store digitally mapped for future conservation

Published Monday, 13 April, 2015 at 10:24 AM

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef
The Honourable Steven Miles

The Commissariat Store in Brisbane has been digitally scanned using a mobile laser 3D mapping system, as part of an international project to record 500 sites across the world. 

The building is one of three Queensland heritage sites to have been selected for inclusion in the CyArk 500 Challenge and will become part of a free, 3D online library. 

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection Dr Steven Miles said it was great to see some of Queensland’s oldest historical sites recognised alongside international sites such as Pompeii and Mount Rushmore. 

Dr Miles said Australian Heritage Week, which runs from 11-19 April, presented an opportunity for people to learn more about Queensland’s past and historical places. 

“Sites such as the Commissariat Store, the Windmill Tower on Wickham Terrace and the Raine Island Beacon in Far North Queensland serve to remind us of where we have come from,” Dr Miles said. 

“The Commissariat Store was constructed of local stone in 1828-9, and is one of only two remaining buildings constructed by Moreton Bay penal settlement convicts. 

“It demonstrates the evolution of European settlement in Queensland, and retains the principal characteristics of a penal-era Commissariat Store that adapted to free settlement and transformed into a Government Store. 

“The CyArk project is providing a valuable service ensuring that, no matter what may come in the future, we will always have photo-real 3D models of these important sites as they appear today. 

“Queensland’s diverse heritage is important because it contributes to our sense of place, reinforces our identity and helps define what it means to be a Queenslander.” 

Honorary Secretary of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland Dr Ruth Kerr said that the digital recording of the Commissariat Store would be a valuable education and interpretation tool. 

“As the current custodians of the Commissariat Store, the Royal Historical Society has an important role in educating the public about the history and significance of this building,” Dr Kerr said. 

“The digital record created through this project will be an integral component of our archaeology exhibit, as well as enhancing our education program.” 

University of Queensland lecturer Dr Kelly Greenop is leading the team conducting the scan of the building using a Zeb1, or Zebedee, scanner. 

“This technology is ideal for cultural heritage mapping, which is usually very time consuming and labour intensive,” Dr Greenop said. 

“It can often take a whole research team a number of weeks or even months to map a site with accuracy and detail of what the Zebedee can produce in a few hours. 

“These maps can be used in the future to create an archive of rich data about cultural heritage places, which will allow us to analyse them without costly and time consuming hand measuring.” 

More information on the CyArk project can be found at http://www.cyark.org/  

ENDS 

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