Regional contact centres—A brief history

About the Cairns office

A recent arrival (in comparision to the other regions), the Cairns office was officially opened on 19 August 1982.

Located on 1st Floor, Centre 25, cnr Lake and Spence Streets, the office opened for business on 23 August with 13 staff. Ten of the staff transferred from the Brisbane Office, with the remaining 3 coming from Townsville, Rockhampton and Cairns.

On 4 August 1986, they relocated to 2nd floor, State Government building, 36 Shields Street.

In 1987, the Cairns office had 12 staff. By 1990, there were only 8 people employed in the office. 1992 saw the staff number increase to 10. Six of the staff who had initially transferred from the head office returned to Brisbane.

Several of the staff had unusual nicknames—if you had visited the office in the 80s, you may have been served by Gator, Finny, Lunchbox, Stumpy or Crazy Legs.

One of the Cairns office clerks, Vivienne Golding, was also an elite athlete who competed in white-water kayaking at a number of world championships. She came tenth at the world titles, which at that point in time was the highest placing by any Australian.

As at 2009, two of the original staff members who were present at the Cairns office opening are still working for the Office of State Revenue, 1 in Brisbane (Sybille Knight) and 1 in Townsville (John Cavanough, who met his future wife at the then annual Cairns vs Townsville OSR cricket match). 

About the Townsville office

The current Senior Regional Manager, Glen Smith, began his career in stamp duties as a clerk in the Townsville office in 1969. When he started, the Townsville office had 30 staff. Glen is the only Townsville staff member from this era still working for OSR.

In December 1971, Category 4 Cyclone Althea hit Townsville and caused $50 million damage (at 1971 value). Its wind speed was recorded at up to 196km/h. Glen recalls driving to work, watching pieces of tin flying around, and wondering why no one was on the road. To his surprise, when he arrived, the office was locked up—he found out later that a cyclone was on the way. The office remained closed for several days, while important clean-up operations were carried out.

Cairns was not unique in giving staff members nicknames—Townsville staff members included Dugong, Gunny, JK, The Hound, Potty-poo, Trousers and Tweezers. 

Townsville CBD (from 1897 to early 1980s)

Important events

The following table shows important events in the history of the Townsville office.

Year	Number of staff	Typical salary (per year)	Location	Interesting facts
1895	2	Clerk—between 80 and 160 pounds	Top floor, Customs House, The Strand
1910	8	Clerk—between 80 and 270 pounds
1924			former Post Office building, Wickham Street
1930	10	Senior Assessor—between 475 and 500 pounds
1949	13	Senior Assessor—between 700 and 825 pounds
1953				Electronically controlled stamping machines replace manually operated machines
1954	16	Senior Assessor—between 874 and 919 pounds
1967				Electro-mechanical stamping machines installed (5 years after they were introduced in Brisbane)
1978			7th floor, S.G.I.O. building, 334 Flinders Street (previous location—State Government building, Flinders Street)
1982	27
1985			1st floor, State Government building, 187–209 Stanley Street
1987	19
1990	14
1992	12
2004	8
2009	5

About the Rockhampton office

The current Senior Revenue Officer, Paul Cook, started working in the Stamp Duties Office in 1971 after transferring from the Department of Lands. When Paul started, the Rockhampton office had 19 staff. Paul is the only Rockhampton staff member from this era still working for the Office of State Revenue.

Working in the Rockhampton office, you could have been stabled next to the Horse or the Ox, crossed paths with Banger, Dangles, Duddles, Slippery, Puddin or Wizzy or had a chat with the Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie. You may even have bounced a few things off Rubberman—all nicknames of just some of the characters that have passed through the Rockhampton office. 

Rockhampton office

 

 

Important events

The following table shows important events in the history of the Rockhampton office.

Year	Number of staff	Typical salary (per year)	Location	Interesting facts
1895	2	Clerk—between 80 and 160 pounds
1910	4	Clerk—between 80 and 270 pounds
1930	4	Senior Assessor—between 475 and 500 pounds
1949	7	Senior Assessor—between 700 and 825 pounds
1953				Electronically controlled stamping machines replace manually operated machines
1954	8	Senior Assessor—between 874 and 919 pounds
1967				Electro-mechanical stamping machines installed (5 years after they were introduced in Brisbane)
1982	18
1987	18
1989			Q.I.D.C. House, 32– 34 East Street (previous location—State Government building, Bolsover Street)
1990	13
1992	13
1993			Level 3, State Government building, Bolsover Street
2006			Ground Floor, State Government building, Bolsover Street