Criterion Hotel, Rockhampton

Criterion Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 150 Quay Street, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by James Flint and built from 1889 to 1890. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.HistoryThe Criterion Hotel is a three-storeyed masonry building situated on the corner of Quay and Fitzroy Streets in Rockhampton. It has formed an integral and vital part of the social and cultural life of the town and City of Rockhampton since 1891.In 1855 (prior to the separation of Queensland in 1959) the New South Wales Government had requested that William Henry Wiseman the Commissioner for Leichardt, locate a suitable place on the Fitzroy River for a settlement. Rockhampton's name and place had been decided on in 1856 although the settlement was not officially proclaimed a town until 25 October 1858.In 1857 Mr Palmer erected a store, the first building in Rockhampton. Richard Parker a resident of Gayndah erected the first hotel (or inn) for Rockhampton some six months later. Both Parker and Palmer had erected their buildings on what was crown land. Parker had built the inn opposite to Palmers store, and was in partnership with a man called George Gannon.Parker and Gannon's establishment was known as the Bush Inn and was constructed of iron-bark slabs and shingle roof. In 1858 the discovery of the Canoona goldfield rapidly changed the fortune of the Bush Inn. The Bush Inn enjoyed overwhelming patronage and clientele over the four months that the rush lasted.