The Peterborough Town Hall is a heritage-listed

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 ...

at 108 Main Street,

Peterborough, South Australia Peterborough is a town in the mid north of South Australia, in wheat country, just off the Barrier Highway. At the , Peterborough had a population of 1,419. It was originally named Petersburg after the landowner, Peter Doecke, who sold land to c ...

. It was designed by

Chris A. Smith Christopher Arthur Smith (19 November 1892 – 2 March 1952), also known as Chris Smith and Chris A. Smith, was a South Australian architect. He was a prolific designer of picture theatres and public buildings in Adelaide and regional South Austr ...

and built in 1927, and was added to the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

on 21 October 1993. The first town hall in Peterborough was the former Petersburg Institute building, which was transferred to the Corporate Town of Petersburg for use as a town hall in 1889. Though it had been expected that the building would need alterations for this purpose, these took some years to occur. They were eventually approved by a ratepayer ballot on 29 December 1893. The additions provided for a new stage and dressing rooms, new library and reading room in front, a council chamber and clerk's office, and a new classical facade replacing the previous "blank wall", at a cost of £1,200. It reopened to the public in September 1894. By 1925, however, the former institute building was seen as inadequate, with no alterations having been made in thirty years, and by the following year the council was investigating options for constructing a new building.

Christopher Arthur Smith Christopher Arthur Smith (19 November 1892 – 2 March 1952), also known as Chris Smith and Chris A. Smith, was a South Australian architect. He was a prolific designer of picture theatres and public buildings in Adelaide and regional South Austr ...

, an architect who designed a number of South Australian public buildings, had completed a design for the new hall by June 1926: located adjacent to the old hall, it was to have five office fronts, a subscribers' room, a public reading room, a town clerk's office, a council chamber, and a hall seating 1,100 to 1,200 people, at an expected cost of £11,705. The foundation stone for the new hall was laid on 23 March 1927. A loan was authorised in October to allow the council to complete payments on the new hall. It was officially opened on 15 November 1927. MP George Jenkins described it as "the finest hall he had seen in any town of the same size." The council had planned to sell the former hall to cover the costs of the new hall, but failed to reach the desired price and initially leased it out instead. The final cost came to £13,961.0.6. The building continues to be used by its successor council, the

District Council of Peterborough The District Council of Peterborough is a local government area in the Yorke and Mid North region of South Australia. The principal town and council seat is Peterborough; it also includes the localities of Cavenagh, Dawson, Hardy, Minvalara ...

. The former hall also survives; however, it is now a private residence.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Peterborough Town Hall, South Australia Town halls in South Australia Government buildings completed in 1927 South Australian Heritage Register