The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and functions. It is located at 483 George Street, in the Sydney central business district opposite the Queen Victoria Building and alongside St Andrew's Cathedral. Sited above the Town Hall station and between the city shopping and entertainment precincts, the steps of the Town Hall are a popular meeting place.
It was designed by John H. Wilson, Edward Bell, Albert Bond, Thomas Sapsford, John Hennessy and George McRae and built from 1869 to 1889 by Kelly and McLeod, Smith and Bennett, McLeod and Noble, J. Stewart and Co. It is also known as Town Hall, Centennial Hall, Main Hall, Peace Hall, Great Hall and Old Burial Ground. The Town Hall is listed on the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate and the New South Wales State Heritage Register and is part of the heritage-listed Town Hall precinct which includes the Queen Victoria Building, St Andrew's Cathedral, the Gresham Hotel and the former Bank of New South Wales. In latter years, it has been discovered that Town Hall lies on top of part of a cemetery complex. Renovations were undertaken in 2008–2009 primarily to upgrade the mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and communication services within the building. The renovations, completed by Kell & Rigby, included removing of sandstone from underneath the building.
A project named Town Hall Square is planned to transform the area by 2031.
History
The Sydney Town Hall is built within the former Old Sydney Burial Ground. The cemetery was Sydney's first permanent cemetery and it is estimated that at least 2,000 burials were made in the Old Sydney Burial Ground between 1792 and 1820. The cemetery boundary originally extended into George Street and up to the southern side of Druitt Street. The cemetery was Sydney's first permanent cemetery, burials previously being reported in land adjacent to the Military Barracks and in the Rocks. The cemetery was set out in September 1792 by Governor Phillip and the Reverend Richard Johnson on land that had belonged to Marine Captain Shea (buried there in 1789) and the first interments presumably took place from this time. More land was added on the northern and western sides of the cemetery in 1812. The cemetery was closed in 1820 when the Sandhills or Brickfield cemetery (now Central railway station) was opened.
The majority of the people who died in Sydney would have been buried there, convict and prominent citizen alike, unless they were buried on their own land. Certain parts of the cemetery were set aside for particular people or groups (i.e. New South Wales Corps' area was near the Druitt and George Street Corner).
After it closed in 1820 the state of the cemetery deteriorated so that in 1845 evidence was given to a committee inquiring into its future that most of the graves were no longer marked and that it would be impossible to find them without clearing the land down to coffins. Notice was given in The Sydney Morning Herald that remains of the interred "so far as they can by reasonable search be discovered" would be reburied at Rookwood Cemetery. Since that time, works in the vicinity of the Town Hall regularly expose remains of graves.
The City Corporation was formed in 1842 meeting in various temporary offices. They lobbied the NSW Government for a suitable site for many years and were eventually granted the Old Burial Ground, in the heart of the commercial district. The site was used as Sydney's official burial ground from 1792 to 1820. Graves ranged from paupers unmarked burials to elaborate tombs and vaults. Vandalism of the site is described in the 1840s to 1860s and some tombstones were used in footpaths. When the site was developed for the Town Hall remains that were disturbed were reinterred in a memorial in Rookwood Cemetery. Where graves were not disturbed they were left untouched. The foundation stone was laid in January 1868 by Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh. Construction commenced in 1869, and it was designed to be a symbol of the wealth and status of the city. The building was constructed in two stages, Stage I: 1868 - 1878 and Stage II: the Main Hall, 1885–1890. The Town Hall design was the result of a competition, won by J. H. Willson. The Second Empire style design (including four eastern pavilions, clock tower, vestibule, reception room and Council Chamber) was modified by the City Engineer to reduce the cost. Following Willson's death Stage I was completed by successive City Architects. The design and construction were associated with intense political and personal battles. In 1875 council occupied the incomplete building in temporary offices on the lower floor. Discussion continued about Stage II, including a report by McBeath in 1878 with costs for the foundations. These proceeded in 1880 but were faulty and work halted.
The building was extended from 1884-86 with construction of Centennial Hall to the west. In 1881 Stage II was redesigned by Thomas Sapsford, City Architect, assisted by John Hennessy, and after Sapsford's death was completed under the supervision of George McRae, City Architect. The new design featured a wider hall and curved corridors.
The new foundation stone was laid by Lady Mayoress Lizzie Harris in 1883 and the contract for the superstructure was let in 1885. John Harris was mayor five times from 1875 to 1900. The completion was delayed waiting for roof girders from England and was finally opened in 1889. Electric lighting was used from the start produced by an engine on site. The practice of inscribing names in the building continued in the form of plaques, tablets and bronze medallions often unveiled by important public figures.
From the late 1880s through the 1890s, Town Hall was significantly the site where a number of important meetings on the issue of Federation took place. Specifically, it was the venue for the formation and official launch of the Australasian Federation League, the principal pro-federation organisation in NSW, in June and July 1893 respectively. The League also held its annual general and other meetings in the building and, on the eve of the second- and successful- federation referendum in June 1899, organised a massive public demonstration at the Hall in support of federation. The opponents of federation also used the Hall for important gatherings, such as the major public meeting organised by the Anti-Convention Bill League in April 1898 as the first major public exposition of its views.
Redecoration and various additions and alterations took place in the late 19th and early 20th century. In 1889 upgrading works included facing the stone treads of the north and south stairs with marble and redecoration of the front entrance and first floor chambers. Painting of the Main Hall was extensively debated and in 1903 proposals for colours were rejected and a scheme of "cream tones, flatted" was chosen.
In 1890 the Mayor's private rooms, on the first floor in the north of the second stage, were grandly furnished by the Mayor. It was redecorated in 1906 for the Lady Mayoress with new openings between rooms in the Art Nouveau style. The rooms house some of Town Hall's most precious items, including the "Vase de Remini".
During World War I, the Town Hall displayed banners saying "Welcome" and "God Speed" and there was a controversy over hiring the hall to various groups and many tried to obtain bookings at charity rate. The Artists Ball in 1924 "got out of hand" and there was heightened debate over use.
The Labor Party assumed control of Council in the mid 1920s but were sacked by the NSW Government who installed Commissioners in 1927. They answered criticism of the difficulties of using the halls with a proposal to revamp the place to enhance its letting value. The Labour Daily criticised the sacrifice of staff rooms. In 1929 blasting for the underground railway destabilised the port cochere to the east entrance and the Labour Daily called for its removal saying it was an afterthought for the aristocracy. In 1934 the current, more democratic, George Street stair and portico entrance commenced construction and the project incorporated works modernising Lower Town Hall. The additional columns in the Lower Town Hall may have been installed at this time.
During World War II Town Hall took an active role in maintaining civilian morale and safety. Areas were set aside for administration of National Emergency Services. The Lower Hall was altered to accommodate stretcher parties and there was an emergency battery. By 1948 letting of Town Hall to the Communist Party and similar organisation was banned.
Up till the opening of the Sydney Opera House, Town Hall was the major venue for reception of guests to Sydney, including Royalty. Such visits were sometimes preceded by renovations to the building and accompanied by decorations with drapes and illuminations. In the 1950s and 1960s the hall was also the venue for naturalisation ceremonies and for mass vaccinations and events promoting public health. In the 1970s the front steps became the saluting base for Vietnam marches and for demonstrations and subsequently witnessed demonstrations about the law and the Green Bans campaign.
Sundry additions and alterations have taken place throughout the building in the late 20th century, including addition of a goods lift servicing Centennial Hall and Lower Town Hall in 1978.TKD Architects, 7/2015, 2
In 1989 and 1990 the centenary of the main hall, and Council's sesquicentenary were celebrated and resulted in the restoration of the main public spaces and the east facade. Substantial restoration and redecoration works took place in the early 1990s.TKD, 2015, 2 In 2000, Olympic and Paralympic ceremonial events took place at Sydney Town Hall. A major upgrade of essential services was undertaken in 2009-10.
On 5 November 2014, a national memorial service was held in honour of former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam, who died at the age of 98. 6,000 people attended the memorial, hailing him as a visionary and political giant.
Description
The Town Hall was built from local Sydney sandstone in the grand Victorian Second Empire style, inspired by the French Second Empire Hôtel de Ville in Paris. The Town Hall has been described as having "lavishly ornamented composition with focal tower and fanciful roofs". The building consists of the original Town Hall, mayoral suites and town clerk's offices. These were designed by J. H. Wilson in 1866, having won a civic competition to design a town hall for the rapidly-growing city. Construction of his initial designs were completed under the architectural direction of Albert Bond in 1869. Wilson also designed the interior of the original Town Hall meeting room. The clock tower was completed in 1873 to the design of E. and T. Bradbridge and whose clock was installed in 1884. The Centennial Hall and associated offices and entrances were designed by Thomas H. Sapsford in 1883, but after his death were completed by architects David McBeath, John Hennessy and George McRae in 1889.