The Coburg Town Hall, formerly the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

of the City of

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

, is located on Bell Street,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The original building, built by Cockram & Cooper Builders and designed by C.R. Heath A.R.V.I.A., consisted of a white dome and two wings (each with a hall). The building was officially opened on 1 April 1922, by the

Earl of Stradbroke Earl of Stradbroke, in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1821 for John Rous, 1st Baron Rous, who had earlier represented Suffolk in the House of Commons. He had already succeeded his ...

, and Mayor W.E. Cash. The foundation stone reads: "Built in honour of those who served in the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

1914-18". The stone on the Eastern Wing (now near the new office extension) reads: "C.E. Williams for efforts to establishing a free Public Library in Coburg. 30 June 1923". The Coburg Town Hall had the first installed, Australian-designed and constructed film projection unit ( Raycophone) in 1930. At the opening night Mayor Cr. Campbell read letters from the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

and PM Scullin who wrote: "If similar steps were taken extensively the present depression would be vastly relieved". It is also reported that the dome at the front of the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

used to show a

neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...

saying "Talkies" until the late 1940s. On the corner of Elm and Urquhart Street is the "Coburg City Band and Truby King Rooms". The

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

was laid on 10 October 1925 by Sir

Truby King Sir Frederic Truby King (1 April 1858 – 10 February 1938), generally known as Truby King, was a New Zealand health reformer and Director of Child Welfare. He is best known as the founder of the Plunket Society. Early life King was born in N ...

, and completed on 24 July 1926, with a keystone laid by Mayor Cr. J. Robinson. It was designed by D.McC.Dawnson C.E. and now houses the Elm Grove Infant Welfare Centre. After the amalgamation of the City of Coburg with the City of Brunswick and the southern portion of the City of Broadmeadows in 1994 to form the City of Moreland, the City Hall became the corporate headquarters of the new Moreland City Council (

City of Moreland The City of Merri-bek is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre, Melbourne CBD. The ...

). Following the amalgamation, the City Hall was extended from Bell Street through to Urquhart Street, and included additional function rooms built in 2000.

External links

theaterorgans.com
{{Town halls of Melbourne Town halls in Melbourne 1922 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in the City of Merri-bek Government buildings completed in 1922