History

The Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Australia (Qld) Inc is located in the historical Yungaba Immigration Depot at Kangaroo Point.

A forgotten building that played and important role in Queensland's History.

John James Clark, colonial architect for Queensland, designed the immigrant depot, "Yungaba", in 1885 as a two-storey brick institutional building. The plan was further developed by Edward Henry Alder and Robert Henry Mills and constructed by William Peter Clark. 

The origins go back to the subdivision of Kangaroo Point in 1843-44. Lots 21 and 22 were purchased by Judah and Isaac Solomon, Thomas Adams and later by John "Tinker" Campbell, who purchased a share in both lots and transferred his boiling-down works to that location. The land was eventually purchased in 1853 for £400 by Robert Douglas who constructed a house on lot 21 and named it "The Willows". Douglas was a prominent person and some scandal arose when he sold his Kangaroo Point property to the government for £14,000 in 1884.

The deprivations of the immigrants to the colony can be gained thorough an early pioneer Thomas Dowse who migrated to Moreton Bay Settlement in 1848. 

The immigration facilities at William Street were becoming inadequate and the decision to acquire the land was justified by the need to provide 'pleasant surroundings' for the newly arrived in the colony. William Peter Clark, the builder, ran into difficulties with the construction and resulted in almost a year's delay. Designed by William Hodgen, the interior layout was arranged in a manner typical of the time. Married quarters were separate cubicles on the ground level, and single quarters on the upper level. Equal pairs of laundry and privy facilities were to the rear of the building. Read more here.