The fight to protect an 85-year-old fire station and its 'haunted' history

Historic Gympie Fire Station now empty as town calls for heritage listing Sitting atop a high ridge, a heavy red-brick Art Deco building has loomed over the gold-rush town of Gympie for the best part of a century. The bells and sirens of the Gympie Fire Station have rung out since 1940, a mainstay in the town even as trucks, equipment and training evolved. The building is unlike any other in the town, with its distinctive rounded spotter's tower and even the occasional ghost story to hold the town's imagination. Gympie firefighters moved to newer premises earlier this year, far better suited to their modern trucks and equipment. The Queensland Fire Department (QFD) has confirmed it is "exploring options" to offload the old site. But residents and historians say while the building's future is unclear, it is too important to be lost to progress or development. A big cost for a country at war The Gympie Fire Station was a controversial project, built in the first years of World War II for 6,800 pounds ($710,000 in 2025 terms), a seemingly great deal, paid for by the council, government and insurance companies. A newspaper report after its opening hinted at the frustration over the cost. The then minister for health and home affairs, Ned Hanlon, who would become Queensland's premier in the years following, said the government's policy was to "build well and build truly". By the time it was vacated earlier this year, it had become the state's oldest, still-operational station. Despite its impressive presence, a tragedy in its first years of operation would become an inescapable part of its history. In March 1943, 20-year-old Kevin James Bennetts fell from the spotter's tower and died the following day in hospital. The young man was a relieving fire spotter, called up for a 4pm-to-midnight shift, and was watching two fires to the station's south when he fell. The tragedy involving its distinctive tower has become an important part of the building's history and lore. The push for a heritage listing Gympie historian Jack Carr said he had always been struck by the fire house's "inter-war functionalist style", fully faced brickwork and Art Deco flourishes. His love of the station inspired him to fight for its heritage listing. "Like with lots of heritage, once it's going and once [a future] development is approved, it's too late,"he said. "[Heritage listing] doesn't prevent reuse of the site, and really reuse is encouraged because if the site is not being used, it's going to deteriorate." The QFD did not grant access into the building, but in his application, Mr Carr said the first floor of the building retained "all of the original 1940 rooms", along with lead-light French doors, fittings and cornices. The spotter's tower now has a roof and is glassed-in, and there is an extension on one side, but the original building remains intact. "I personally would like to see either a business or a community-inspired centre go into this so the public can appreciate it,"Mr Carr said. A view from the inside Gympie station officer Cameron Nicol spent close to 20 years in the building, having arrived from Mount Isa in 2008. He said there was no doubt it was a "grand old building", but it was no longer the right place for modern firefighters. "Certainly, time has passed it by in terms of its suitability for current-day firefighters, mainly the size of the trucks,"Mr Nicol said. "The trucks have gotten bigger, and unfortunately it got to the point where we could barely fit our fire trucks in there. "It's a pretty unique building … Try furnishing a round room." He said the building's position, at Gympie's highest point, gave it the best views of the town. "What will become of it I don't know, but I would surely hope that it's put to good use." The building's age and style have occasionally given rise to tales of unusual sounds or sightings in local newspapers over its lifetime. Mr Nicol said, over the years, there had been experiences he could not explain "Look, I'm one of the biggest sceptics when it comes to that sort of paranormal stuff,"he said. "But there's certainly been things that have happened that I can't explain. "We kind of had to be there to understand or feel it, whether it's haunted or not. "I'm not discounting it." 'A lot quieter now' Julie Bindley lives across the street from the fire station, which is now quiet after years of sirens and alarms. But she said the crews were always thoughtful, even when heading to an emergency. "Half the time they wouldn't put [the sirens] on until they went past and down a bit," she said. And while she had heard the building may have a haunted history, she said that was part of its charm. "It just adds a bit of character," she said.