Mentioned previously , items of interest are often loosely inserted in books. A recent
find in a
volume with no relation to
North Queensland contained
a near complete page torn from a circa 1970s book with photographs and information related to Townsville for yachties.
The caption for one view , above , taken from Tancred’s
Wharf , Ross River ,
says it shows the under construction tallest
building (76 metres) in North Queensland - nicknamed “ the towering
inferno ” – which houses monitoring equipment
to test high rise
structures in cyclone- prone areas. Nowadays the building is popularly known as the Sugar
Shaker because of its shape .
A Wikipedia
check provided the above great photo and stated the
building , now trading as the
Holiday Inn, was constructed in 1976 on the
Central Hotel site. Over the years it
had several names–Hotel Townsville, Townsville
Travelodge , Townsville
International Hotel and
Centra. It is understandable that no
hotel would want to
be known
as the Towering Inferno , after the
1974 American disaster film, starring Steve McQueen and Paul Newman
.
