Kingsford Smith Drive Archives - Page 2 of 2

Bretts Wharf Plaza Officially Opens in Kingsford Smith Drive

The much-awaited completion of Bretts Wharf Plaza is finally done. The new multi-function park area and public event space officially opened at the end of November 2019 with a special celebration attended by locals and VIPs.

As part of the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade, Bretts Wharf Plaza will connect to the Racecourse Road entertainment precinct, Hamilton Park, and the Lores Bonney Riverwalk. The latter is a modern heritage trail that tells the history of the precinct.

Bretts Wharf Plaza, located just a few metres off the new Brett Wharf terminal built last 2015, will also link with the Portside and Northshore Hamilton.

“The opening of Bretts Wharf Plaza and a new park area is an exciting milestone for the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade, adding to the already opened Lores Bonney Riverwalk and paying tribute to our past with a new heritage trail exploring the history of the local area,” Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said during the opening ceremonies.

The park may now be enjoyed by locals who would like to take advantage of the spacious green area.

*Photo Credit: Cr David McLachlan/Facebook*

*Photo Credit: Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner/Facebook*

Brief History of Brett’s Wharf

Bretts Wharf was established in 1928 to ferry locals from Hamilton to Bulimba. During the Pacific War, the facility was exclusively used by the U.S. Army to load and ship equipment. After the war, the wharf was also used by commercial shippers until 1993.

In late 1998, Bretts Wharf ceased ferry operations until it was restored and re-opened in 2007. In 2011, the wharf had minor damages due to the catastrophic Brisbane floods and required extensive repairs.

In 2015, the original wharf was completely demolished and was replaced by a new structure 200 metres east of its original location near Kingsford Smith Drive.

Kenji Uranishi: Get to Know the Artist Behind Kingsford Smith Drive’s Public Artwork

If you’ve been to the revitalised Kingsford Smith Drive riverside in Hamilton, you might have seen a number of brightly coloured public artwork around the area. These are the art beacons created by Nundah artist Kenji Uranishi, who was commissioned by the Council to beautify one of Brisbane’s most significant routes.

Who Is Kenji Uranishi?

Mr Uranishi was born in Japan and trained as an artist using stoneware clay as a medium at the Nara College of Fine Arts. He moved to Australia in 2004 and expanded his practice to porcelain.

The artist eventually established himself in the Australian art world by holding a series of workshops and exhibits in universities and galleries, not just in Brisbane but also in Sydney, Cairns, Canberra, Adelaide, Victoria, England, Sweden, New York and Japan.

“In some ways, moving to Australia represented a fresh phase in my life that provided me with the energy to explore new materials, without cultural expectations,” Mr Uranishi said.

He has other public artworks on display at the Ipswich Courthouse and at 400 George Street.

Magnificent Flying Machines

In mid-2017, the Council tapped Uranishi to prepare his concept designs for the beacons, alongside another artist, for public consultation.

Mr Uranishi dubbed his creation as the “Magnificent Flying Machines,” which consists of 10 sculptured beacons that also double as a lightning path for Kingsford Smith Drive at night. Two of these beacons have been installed at Cameron Rocks Reserve in April 2019, whilst the rest will be located at Bretts Wharf and the Riverwalk.

These beacons were inspired by Hamilton aviators Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, the first pilot to fly trans-Pacific from Australia to the United States, and Maude “Lores” Bonney, the first female Australian aviator to fly solo from Australia to England.

Featured with an aerodynamic design, the intertwining curves of the beacons represent the pioneering spirit of these aviators, which also resembles the wings of an orchard swallowtail butterfly, the most common butterfly species in Brisbane.

“The art beacons are designed to maximise public access to the river and create way-finding markers to encourage exploration and make it easier for visitors to move around the local area,” the Council press release stated.

Lendlease manufactured the beacons made of 3mm aluminium. Mr Uranishi hand-decorated every piece with 300 white polyethylene discs and added white LED lights at the base.

Kingsford Smith Drive Upgrade Developer Faces Shareholder Class Action

A shareholder class action against the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade developer, Lendlease Group (LLC), has been filed in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The class action alleges that LLC failed to adequately disclose a long-running problem that has been troubling its Engineering and Services Business; resulting in a single-day trading loss of 18 percent.

It was also reported that in the year ending June 30, the Engineering and Services division lost $218 million, driven mainly by its three engineering projects — NorthConnex in Sydney, Kingsford Smith Drive, and Gateway Upgrade North, both in Brisbane.

Construction issues such as weather delays, inability to access ready-planned work, and defective design that required rework were among the reasons cited for costs blow out.

Kingsford Smith Drive Upgrade | Video Credit: Brisbane City Council / YouTube

On 9 November 2018, LLC revealed to the market that it had “identified ‘further underperformance’ in its Engineering and Services Business, which it considered was likely to necessitate a provision of approximately $350 million after tax,” prompting the company to review its Engineering and Services Business.

LLC’s share price considerably declined that day, resulting in a single-day trading loss of more than 18 percent. On 25 February 2019, share prices tumbled further after half-year results showed pre-tax loss amounting to $500 million due to its Engineering and Services Business’ underperformance.

LLC also announced that its Engineering and Services Business is ‘no longer a required part of the Group’s strategy” and is looking at an estimated restructuring cost of $450-$550 million before tax. The following days saw LLC’s share price suffering from further declines.

The shareholder class action filed by legal firm Maurice Blackburn, on behalf of Lendlease investors, alleges that LLC “failed to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the ASX Listing Rules and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in respect of the performance of its Engineering and Services Business.”

Maurice Blackburn encourages Lendlease investors who acquired an interest in Lendlease shares and/or American Depositary Receipts between 17 November 2017 and 8 November 2018 (inclusive) to register by COB 17 May, 2019.

“We will allege that investors who acquired securities in this period paid an inflated price and should be entitled to recover some of their losses through our shareholder class action,” Maurice Blackburn said.