The Neill Building on Chapman Street

Neills Building. Photo supplied

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The Neill Building perpetuates the memory of one of Proserpine’s astute businessmen, Arthur Francis Neill, who arrived in Proserpine in 1937 to work as an engineer at the Proserpine Sugar Mill. In pre-war days, he conducted his Morris Car and Nuffield Tractor Agency from a small shop at the side of what was then the Grand Theatre (located next door to what is now the Palace Hotel).  

Arthur saw active war service with the Royal Australian Engineers having enlisted February 23rd 1942. Upon his return to civilian life, he decided to start his own business in his own building. This was constructed on a block of land he had purchased inChapman Street. Because of wartime shortages of building materials, Arthur manufactured his own concrete bricks on an electric-powered machine that he designed and made himself. Besides providing bricks for the Neill building which he built in 1946, these bricks were used in several other buildings. In 1948, his machine was used to produce bricks for a building and homes in the Ayr district.  

Post war, Arthur expanded his interests and became the agent for a wide range of machinery and equipment - Morris, Studebaker, Wolseley and Riley cars, Nuffield and Allis-Chalmers tractors, cutter planters, grubbers, fertiliser, radios and Cold Flame refrigerators. One old-timer remembered his father buying his first truck, a Morris Commercial, from AF Neill and how Arthur fitted wooden planks on the back to make a tray.  

Refrigeration and irrigation equipment were Arthur’s speciality. Almost all large refrigeration installations in Bowen, Proserpine and Collinsville were carried out by Arthur Neill.  

Arthur’s wife, Olive Gertrude (nee Mc Kenzie), was born in Bundaberg in 1907. She and Arthur were married in 1928. During World War Two, Olive was an equipment assistant (WAAAF corporal) having enlisted on January 2, 1942. She was discharged at her own request on January 22nd 1943, returning to Proserpine where she and Arthur immersed themselves into life in the town.    

Although born in Bundaberg (1904), Arthur was of Scottish heritage and loved to play the bagpipes. He even instructed others in the art. At the opening of the new Proserpine Golf Club House and Course in 1952, Arthur provided music on his bagpipes during the ceremony. He famously piped the “crocodile dance”.  

The “Proserpine Guardian”, February 1954, reported that the Neills had successfully renewed their commission agent’s licence. Both were very active in promoting tourism in the Proserpine/Whitsunday area. Olive wrote a book called ProserpinePanorama.  

Arthur died in his hometown of Bundaberg in 1970 having predeceased Olive by more than twenty years. She passed away in 1991. Both are interred in Brisbane.  

After the Neills sold, the building “housed” a number of tenants.  

In 1957, former employee, Joe Pirrone, bought the business, renaming it Pironnes Sales and Service. He managed the Nuffield Agency and serviced vehicles in the rear garage until closing in 1960.  

The building subsequently housed Goodyear Tyre Service then an army disposal business selling camping gear. The building was later divided into two shops occupied by tenants including Macrossan and Amiet Solicitors (1990–2016) and a Pioneer Permanent agency (later the Bank of Queensland) in 1992. Family Day Care has occupied the southern shop since 1989, temporarily relocating for Cyclone Debbie repairs in 2018. The upstairs remains a residence.  

The Neill Building stands as a lasting reminder of a well-known couple who made significant contributions to the Proserpine/Whitsunday area.  

Story and photos courtesy Proserpine Historical Museum Society  

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