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                    Melbourne Town Hall history

                    image of the town hall
                    Find out about the building’s history and features including the auditorium, council chambers and grand organ, and the recent renovation of the ground floor space.

                    Located on the traditional lands of the Eastern Kulin nation, the Melbourne Town Hall is a magnificent heritage building in the heart of the city.

                    The building is the place where many of the decisions that have helped to shape Melbourne have been made. Today it is also a hub of Melbourne's cultural and civic activity, playing host to live music performances, weddings, receptions and exhibitions.

                    ​Building the town hall

                    Prior to the construction of a town hall building, the Mechanics' Institute in Collins Street (now the Athenaeum) was rented as temporary quarters where the council carried out its business and affairs.

                    The first town hall building was completed in 1854 and demolished in the mid 1860s. A new building was completed in 1870.

                    Location

                    In the 1840s the question of a site for a town hall was referred to the council’s Works Committee. The committee recommended that 4.047 hectares (10 acres) of land situated on Eastern Hill should be granted to the corporation as a reserve on which to erect a town hall and that a foundation stone be laid on the site (where Parliament House now stands).

                    Superintendent La Trobe agreed to the committee’s proposal. However, influential council member Dr A F A Greeves opposed it, instead suggesting the site at the corner of Collins and Swanston streets because of its central position and convenience. Although the committee’s recommendations had already been adopted, the resolution was later amended in favour of the site suggested by Dr Greeves, which is where Melbourne Town Hall stands today.

                    Construction

                    Construction of the first town hall, a modest brick building, began in 1850, but a labour shortage brought about by gold discoveries in 1851 delayed completion until 1854. This building was demolished in the mid-1860s.

                    On 29 November 1867 the Duke of Edinburgh laid the foundation stone for a new town hall which was completed in 1870. The new building was officially opened by the Governor of Victoria on 9 August 1870.

                    The tower was named Prince Alfred’s Tower after the Duke of Edinburgh who, on his second visit to Melbourne in 1869, laid a capital on one of the columns of the town hall clock tower. The Duke was the first official guest in the soon-to-be-completed town hall.

                    The portico on the Swanston Street frontage of the building was added in 1887.

                    ​Auditorium

                    On 1 February 1925 a fire in the town hall building's main hall caused extensive damage and led to the auditorium being remodelled and enlarged, using an area of land owned by the council and adjoining the town hall. The new auditorium was completed in December 1927.

                    Dimensions

                    The main hall’s dimensions are 28.96 metres (95 feet) long, 32.9 metres (106 feet) wide and 21.34 metres (70 feet) high. The foyer covers an area of 13.9 metres (43 feet) by 9.14 metres (30 feet).

                    The hall is mechanically heated and ventilated and an elaborate system of lighting is installed.

                    The seating capacity on the main floor is 1196, and 794 in the balcony.

                    Interior decoration

                    When redecorating the auditorium after the fire, one of the major concerns was to ensure satisfactory acoustics. The solution was to treat the walls with Celotex panels.

                    The absorptive nature of this material meant the panels could not be sized or painted because such treatment would have interfered with their acoustic qualities. As such, the conventional line decoration was adopted, resulting in nearly all the panels remaining uncoloured.

                    The decorative figures used in the design are approximately four times life size, in keeping with the scale of the town hall. The subjects of the panels are not allegorical, mythological or descriptive. This is because decoration was the first consideration and the lines were designed according to the proportion of the panels.

                    Proposals to depict subjects such as the founding of Melbourne and its early development were not favoured because the designs were not suitable to the limitations of the Celotex.

                    The work was carried out by Napier Waller, in conjunction with J Oliver and Sons, under a contract granted to Massey and Sons Pty. Ltd. for the town hall’s interior decoration.

                    ​Grand Organ

                    There have been two permanent organs installed in the town hall since 1872. The original organ was extensively rebuilt in 1905, and the second organ was installed in 1929 following the town hall fire of 1925.

                    Today, the City of Melbourne’s Grand Organ music program presents a wide range of performances, attracting new audiences and international performers. For information on upcoming Grand Organ concerts, see What's On.

                    The Grand Organ museum features a three dimensional scale model of the organ, original programs from the opening concerts of the 1872 and 1929 organs, and gives visitors a chance to breathe air into the organ pipes. The museum can be accessed via the free Melbourne Town Hall tours

                    The 1872 organ

                    The makers of the original grand organ were unable to install it in time for the official opening of the town hall on 9 August 1870. A 17-stop organ from a lecture room in Richmond was borrowed and used until the installation and opening of the grand organ on 10 August 1872.

                    This organ was built and installed by William Hill and Son of London. The various organ parts, packed in a great number of cases (later sold by the builder to recoup part of the losses on the tender), arrived in Melbourne on 27 November 1871 after a 56-day journey from London on the Lammermuir.

                    Under the guidance of Robert Mackenzie of William Hill and Son, and D Renton, the organ was installed into the recess intended in the northern part of the hall. This work took nine months to complete.

                    The organ contained four manuals, 66 speaking stops and 4,373 pipes.

                    It was opened formally on 10 August 1872 by the Mayor, Orlando Fenwick, in the presence of the Governor of Victoria, Lord Viscount Canterbury, and Lady Canterbury. The organist for the opening was David Lee, later appointed City Organist.

                    George Fincham, the builder of the temporary organ used before 1872, carried out the repairs and maintenance of the organ until the early 1900s when the council decided to undertake a major reconstruction of the organ to improve its action and tonal qualities.

                    The 1906 organ

                    After consulting leading overseas and local organ-building experts, a contract was entered into with Ingram and Co. (who prepared the specification) for the complete reconstruction of the organ on the electro-pneumatic principle, including the provision of a new console. A number of new stops were also installed, along with alterations and repairs to the wind trunks and sound board.

                    Edwin H Lemare of London gave the opening recital on the revamped organ on 4 July 1906.

                    Apart from some variations in ornamentation and the position of the console, the organ retained its appearance of 1872. The alterations to the choir seating were perhaps the most noticeable feature of the stage and organ arrangement.

                    On 1 February 1925 the organ and a large part of the main hall were destroyed by fire.

                    Refurbishing the organ

                    By the mid-1990s the Town Hall Grand Organ had fallen into disrepair and was greatly in need of refurbishing. Financial constraints in the past had prevented any major work being carried out on it for some time, and by 1997 the organ was unplayable.

                    A Town Hall Organ Working Committee was established in 1996 to make recommendations for the restoration and enhancement of the organ, agreeing to a refurbishment program the following year.

                    The contract to restore the organ went to the Schantz Organ Company of Orville, Ohio. The Schantz Organ Company employs some 70 craftspeople and artisans. It was founded in 1873 and is the oldest and largest American pipe organ builder still under management of the founding family.

                    In January 1999 a team of nine Schantz staff visited Melbourne to complete the removal of the organ from the chamber and to pack it in containers for its journey to America. Some parts of the organ, including the largest pipes, stayed in Australia and were restored by Australian organ builders. When work was complete, the organ was returned to Australia.

                    In 2001, after five years and $4.5 million dollars, work to restore and enhance the organ was completed. The City of Melbourne celebrated the completed refurbishment with a public concert on 25 May 2001, as part of the Centenary of Federation celebrations. The concert was the world premiere of a specially commissioned work by internationally renowned composer Philip Glass. In collaboration with didgeridoo virtuoso Mark Atkins, Glass wrote a 25-minute musical work featuring a combination of indigenous and non-indigenous performers: Calvin Bowman (pipe organ), Mark Atkins (didgeridoo), Ron Murray, (didgeridoo and clapsticks) and Wurundjeri elder Joy Murphy Wandin (narrator).

                    Grand Organ facts and figures

                    • The organ stands at 9.75 m (32 feet) high.
                    • The casework is made of Queensland maple with coin-bronze grilles.
                    • More than 483 km (300 miles) of wire and more than 3000 magnets with 32,000 electric contacts were used in the electrical equipment.
                    • There are 6024 pipes, the largest being the ‘Tibia Profunda’.
                    • The organ was constructed of California red pine and contains more than 1000 m (300 super feet) of 50.8 mm (2 inches) thick timber.
                    • The smallest pipe is the top note of the Tierce and is 9.3 mm (3/8 inch) in length with a diameter of 11.11 mm (7/16 inch).
                    • The console has four manuals (four rows of keys) from top to bottom being: Solo, Swell, Great and Choir.
                    • The Orchestral is a floating organ and is playable on all manuals by way of a rocking tablet on the key cheek of each set of keys.
                    • The organ is blown by two electric motors, one 14.91 kilowatts (20 horsepower) and one 11.18 kilowatts (15 horsepower) and gives pressures from 215.9 mm (8.5 inches) to 7010.4 mm (23.5 inches) water pressure, as measured by a water pressure gauge.
                    • The wind is delivered at a rate of 2548.53 cubic metres (90,000 cubic feet) per minute.

                    For more detailed information, download the Grand Organ specifications (PDF 66 KB).

                    ​Administration buildings and council chambers

                    The administrative block adjoining the town hall occupies the site of the old City Court. The building contains the council chamber on the second floor, and committee rooms. It once accommodated many council departments. 

                    Building design and construction

                    The site of the administrative block was purchased by the council from the Victorian Government in 1890.

                    Competitive designs for the administration buildings were submitted and the successful architects were Grainger, Kennedy and Yulle.

                    The Lord Mayor, Councillor Sir Henry Weedon, laid the foundation stone on 27 August 1908. The work was carried out under the direction of the then City Architect (H E Morton) by an outside contractor, R Stockdale.

                    The council chamber was officially opened on 9 August 1910 and was attended by the premier and governor of Victoria, along with mayors of municipalities throughout Melbourne.

                    Interior design and decorative features

                    The decorative design is in the Italian and English Renaissance style of the period 1500 to 1800, overladen with Federation-era carvings and mouldings of Australian flora.

                    All dadoes, doors, architraves and the gallery are constructed of solid Tasmanian blackwood, embellished with fiddleback panels and elaborate carving. The semi-circular tiered seating and chairs also are made of Australian blackwood.

                    Solid blocks of Borenore marble from New South Wales have been used for the pillars, with the windows made from King Edward marble, also from New South Wales. All caps and bases are made of bronze.

                    The council’s former coat of arms, with the motto ‘Vires Acquirit Eundo’ (we gather strength as we go), is carved on each balcony and also forms the decorative feature of the leaded glass, dome and windows. This coat of arms is slightly different from the latest version.

                    The lord mayor’s chair, kidney-shaped tables, long tables and stools are of crafted from moulded and carved cedar. The walls are made of plaster and the coffered ceiling is made of elaborate perforated fibrous plaster.

                    The mallet displayed in a glass case at the rear of the lord mayor’s chair was used by the Duke of Edinburgh to lay the town hall’s foundation stone at a ceremony on 29 November 1867.

                    Restoration and renovations

                    The Melbourne Town Hall and its administrative offices were renovated extensively during the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in the front desk reception area contrasting with the rather austere and formal outward appearance of the building.

                    Further redevelopment has seen the town hall updated to meet public needs into the 21st century, without compromising the building’s historic integrity and character.

                    Stonework on the exterior of the building has been restored, facilities have been upgraded and several new rooms have been opened up for community and commercial use.

                    Reimagining Town Hall’s ground floor

                    Immerse yourself in the history of the Eastern Kulin and have your say on the future of our city at Melbourne Town Hall’s new democratic meeting place. Our ground-floor space now features:

                    • an updated customer service centre
                    • interactive digital displays
                    • a refreshed City Gallery
                    • contemporary Aboriginal artwork
                    • historic photographs.

                    The new design also creates a more accessible meeting space for our Future Melbourne Committee, advisory groups and other public decision-making forums.

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