Demex awarded contract for Rockhampton Leichhardt Hotel demolition

A Gold Coast company has been given the contract to bulldoze Rockhamption’s iconic 1970s Leichhardt Hotel with months of work expected. SEE THE PLANS

A Gold Coast company has been awarded the contract for the demolition of Rockhampton’s Leichhardt Hotel.

The Bolsover Street venue has been boarded up and closed since April 2022.

Demex, who have a head office in the Gold Coast and offices in Cairns and Darwin, started the work just after Christmas.

Windows have been spotted open in the last couple of weeks as it appears tradespeople are gutting out the inside of the property.

The demolition is expected to be a big job and will take six months, planned to be completed by June 2023.

The seven storey building that fronts Bolsover St has 60 hotel rooms and two floors of function rooms and was built by JM Kelly in the 1970s.

The buildings at the back on Bolsover Lane have been abandoned for years and will also be removed in the demolition.

Due to the age of the building, it is also expected to have a lot of asbestos.

The Bulletin understands Rockhampton companies tendered for the demolition contract however were priced out.

The venue closed at Easter time in 2022, the day after Rockynats finished.

Some of the functions and accommodation levels, the gaming room and the kitchen closed in the weeks prior.

At the time of the closure, 21 staff were employed and they were offered redundancies and relocations to the Club Hotel in Gladstone.

Travel Associates, formerly located on the ground floor of the venue, moved to 89 Denham Street in August.

Major national hotel chain Australian Venue Co manages the venue and told this publication last year they were working towards the opening of a new venue in the summer of 2023/24.

No development application has been submitted to council at this stage.