North Melbourne Town Hall is the former town hall of the Town of North Melbourne (originally the Town of Hotham) in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

. It was listed on the former Register of the National Estate on 21 March 1978 and on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. ...

on 11 March 2010. It was built in 1876 as the town hall for the Town of North Melbourne, and operated in that capacity until the municipality amalgamated into the City of Melbourne in 1905. It thereafter continued to serve as a venue for public meetings and was used for various community purposes. It now houses Arts House, a contemporary arts space, and the North Melbourne Library. It is located on the corner of Errol and Queensberry Streets.

History

The Town Hall, built in 1876, was designed by Architect George Raymond Johnson, in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

with

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

elements style of

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

. He also designed the Collingwood, Daylesford,

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

, Kilmore, Maryborough and Northcote Town Halls. A cast-iron drinking fountain, donated by Hotham mayor, Thomas Henderson, on the footpath nearby the hall features an ornamental

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

and is registered by the

National Trust of Victoria The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's In ...

. The Town of North Melbourne amalgamated into the City of Melbourne in 1905, and the town hall thereafter became the "North Melbourne municipal buildings", with only a skeleton municipal staff remaining. It continued to be used for public meetings, although the Melbourne council imposed significant restrictions on Sunday gatherings and imposed an expensive deposit in 1906, resulting in local complaints. It was leased to the

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

as offices from 1918 to 1922, with the Railways Department also occupying a section of the building from around 1920 to 1922. It reopened to the public in December 1922. The former town hall has housed Arts House, an arts organisation run by the City of Melbourne, since 1996. The building serves as both administrative offices for the organisation and a contemporary arts space. It also continues to house the North Melbourne Library in the northern section of the building.

References

{{Town halls of Melbourne Town halls in Melbourne Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne Second Empire architecture in Australia Victorian architecture in Victoria (Australia) 1876 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Government buildings completed in 1876 Clock towers in Australia

History

See also

References