The Talbragar Shire Council Chambers is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

former council chambers and former bank building located in Macquarie Street,

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...

, in the

Dubbo Regional Council The Dubbo Regional Council is a local government area located in the Central West and Orana regions of New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 through a merger of the City of Dubbo and Wellington Council as part of a ...

local government area of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. The building was designed by Architect Hilley. It is also known as CBC Bank and Commercial Banking Company. The property is owned by Dubbo Regional Council and was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

The building was originally the premises of the first bank in Dubbo, erected by the

Commercial Banking Company of Sydney The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, also known as the CBC, or CBC Bank, was a bank based in Sydney, Australia. It was established in 1834, and in 1982 merged with the National Bank of Australasia to form National Australia Bank. Hi ...

. The building was constructed in 1867 to the design of the Architect Hilley. For many years it was the town's finest building and the only bank until 1876. When the bank moved further north the building became the offices of Talbragar Shire Council, established in 1907. In December 1979 the Dubbo Council and Dubbo Museum and Historical Society advised the Heritage Council that the Talbragar Shire building was under threat of demolition and requested protection under the Heritage Act, 1977. Following amalgamation of Dubbo and Talbragar the future of the building was uncertain. To provide security to the building an Interim Conservation Order was placed over the building on 2 May 1980. In recognition as an important item of the State environmental heritage and to ensure the protection of the building a Permanent Conservation Order was placed over the building on 23 July 1982. It was transferred to the State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

Description

Styled in a restrained

Victorian 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 ...

manner, the dressed

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

facades of the building are almost severe, lightened only by round-headed window openings arranged in pairs on the Macquarie Street facade and in triad on the Bultje Street facade, string courses at first floor level and rusticated

quoins Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...

. The iron roof is obscured by the substantial projecting

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

. The building is two storeys and has an extensive cellar. Much of the original interior is intact; lath and plaster walls and ceilings.

Modifications and dates

It appears that the building may have been sandblasted for cleaning with subsequent erosion damage. Repointing with cement mortar also. *1984 - Heritage Council approval granted minor alterations to convert ground floor into a restaurant and upper floor into two offices. *1989 - Heritage Council approval for demolition of rear and erection of new addition. *1989 - Heritage Council approval for signage, and exterior colour scheme. *1990 - Heritage Council approval for internal fitout for offices.

Heritage listing

As at 3 October 2000, constructed of sandstone to the designs of the architect Hilley in 1867, the building represented a substantial vote of confidence in the future of Dubbo by the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, the first Bank to open for business in Dubbo and the first to construct major premises in the town. The building makes an important contribution to the streetscape of Macquarie Street and is complemented by the Old Imperial Hotel building. Talbragar Shire Council Chambers was listed on the

on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. Constructed of sandstone to the designs of the architect Hilley in 1867, the building represented a substantial vote of confidence in the future of Dubbo by the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, the first Bank to open for business in Dubbo and the first to construct major premises in the town. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The building makes an important contribution to the streetscape of Macquarie Street and is complemented by the Old Imperial Hotel building.

References

Attribution

External links

{{commons category-inline, Talbragar Shire Council Chambers New South Wales State Heritage Register Dubbo City and town halls in New South Wales Former bank buildings in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Buildings and structures completed in 1867 1867 establishments in Australia