Darwin (AU), Browns Mart Theatre -- 2019 -- 4401-3

Brown's Mart, which now house
Brown's Mart Arts
and the Brown's Mart Theatre, is an historic building located in Darwin in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

of Australia.

History

Brown's Mart is the oldest building in the city centre, being built in 1885 as a Mining Exchange by Mr Brown who was a trader and a Mayor of Darwin.

John George Knight John George Knight (1826 – 10 January 1892),Sally O'Neill,, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 37-37. Retrieved 24 August 2009 was an architect and Government Resident of the Northern Territory ...

, Government Secretary and Architect who was also responsible for the design of the Town hall, Residency, Courthouse, Police Station and the Gaol at Fannie Bay. Brown's Mart is of simple rectangular plan typical of early colonial buildings including semi circular arches over the front windows and doorway and simple decorations around the openings. Over the years it has been used in commerce, storage, as a shipping and insurance agency, mining exchange, auctions, meetings of local organisations, banking, defence, naval workshop, law, policing and the arts. In August 1972, Brown's Mart Theatre was founded by Ken Conway, Darwin's first full-time community arts officer with the help of an $8,000 grant from the Australian Council for the Arts. This evolved into Brown's Mart Community Arts Project encouraging and initiating community based arts project which can be self-sufficient and self-generating. Brown's Mart has withstood the cyclones of 1897, 1937 and 1974, Cyclone Marcus 2018, the wartime bombing in 1942 and 1943. It was listed on the

Northern Territory Heritage Register The Northern Territory Heritage Register is a heritage register, being a statutory list of places in the Northern Territory of Australia that are protected by the Northern Territory statute, the ''Heritage Act 2011''. The register is maintained b ...

on 20 March 1996 and on the defunct

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

on 21 October 1980. Today Brown's Mart Arts operates year round out of their offices at the Browns Mart Precinct, creating and supporting the creation of new performance work, as well as operating the venue's multiple performance spaces for hire to the community. They present performance work by Northern Territory Artists and support the development of these artist through many development programs, with core funding through the Northern Territory Government through Arts NT, as well as national project funding and philanthropy and donations. Brown's Mart Arts has Tax Deductable Gift Recipient Status. Brown's Mart supported the development and presentation of many plays written by the Victorian Premiers Prize winning playwright Mary Anne Butler. Brown's Mart is a venue during the

Darwin Festival The Darwin Festival, founded as the Bougainvillea Festival in 1979 and named Festival of Darwin from 1996 to 2002, is an annual arts festival in Darwin, Northern Territory. It celebrates the multicultural aspects of the Northern Territory lifest ...

and the home of the Darwin Fringe Festival.

Description

Brown's Mart is located on the corner of Smith Street and Harry Chan Avenue, Darwin, on Larrakia Country. Today it operates as an arts venue and organisation, creating professional and community arts events and productions, as well as hosting music, exhibitions, and other cultural events.

References

External links

* {{Coord, -12.465271, 130.844227, format=dms, region:AU_type:landmark, display= title Buildings and structures in Darwin, Northern Territory Theatres in the Northern Territory Northern Territory Heritage Register Northern Territory places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate