Brisbane Antique Centre

A recent trip to Brisbane allowed us to view some of the antique shops and centres in that region. One place well worth a look is the Brisbane antique centre, located in Albion, a short drive from the centre of Brisbane. The centre is run by a husband and wife team who both have extensive experience with antiques - he (Graham) controls most of the floor stock including furniture, silver and porcelain, and she (Pamela) does the jewellery. Pamela trades under the name "Banbury Cross Fine Antique Jewellery" and until recently had her own shop in downtown Brisbane.

Both Graham and Pamela stock high-quality antiques. Unfortunately for us, high-quality generally means not affordable! They are both experts in their fields and very knowledgeable about their stock - which makes a pleasant change. Pamela has a lot of Victorian and Edwardian jewellery, including mourning and heirloom jewellery, as well as cameos, watches and watch keys. Pamela is also a restorer and conservator and does do museum-quality restoration on some of her pieces (museum-quality meaning it should be able to be reversed). I am generally wary of restorers since I think the (potential) owner should be the one to decide if they want to restore something, not the dealer before selling it, but it did not seem that Pamela restored all her pieces automatically.

Graham's furniture ranged from high-quality English Victorian and Art Deco furniture to Australian timber. He has a wide range of types of furniture and there were plenty of tables and chairs to choose from. There is also a good collection of silver and porcelain in cabinets along the walls. Brisbane Antique Centre does seem more of a "look - don't buy" place but the stock is well worth a look and you might just find that perfect antique there.

23 Crosby Road, Albion, QLD.
10am-5pm Tuesday to Sunday.