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Maryborough City Hall is a heritage-listed town hall at 388 Kent Street, Maryborough, Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Hall & Dods and built from 1906 to 1978 by Crystall & Armstrong. It is also known as Maryborough Town Hall. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. == History == Replacing a smaller timber building constructed on a different site, the Maryborough City Hall was built in 1908 as the second Maryborough Town Hall. The building was designed by renowned Queensland architectural partnership, Hall and Dods.〔 The original township of Maryborough was situated, not in its current place, but on the north of the Mary River, after wharves were established in 1847-8, to provide transport for wool from sheep stations on the Burnett River. In 1852 the growing town was gradually transferred further north where ships were able to better navigate the river. Development followed and by March 1861, Maryborough was declared a municipality, the Borough of Maryborough, and Henry Palmer was appointed as the first Mayor. Meetings of the newly formed Council were held in various buildings until 1874 when a timber Town Hall was constructed, adjacent to the School of Arts in Kent Street. A Deed of Grant had been issued for the land in 1868 but construction of the building did not occur for several years. During the late 1860s and 1870s Maryborough developed rapidly as the port for the nearby gold rushes in the Gympie area. The new town hall, which was erected for about £400 was opened in 1876.〔 Dissatisfaction with the first town hall was voiced in the local press for many years, and attempts were made at various stages throughout the nineteenth century to replace the timer Town Hall with a masonry building reflecting the importance of Maryborough in regional Queensland. In 1884, The Maryborough Council sought permission from the State Government to exchange the land on which the Town Hall was built with land on the opposite side of Kent street facing the Town Hall, then used as a police and justice reserve. Though this permission was given in 1901 the construction of a new town hall did not commence until the several years after.〔 Lack of funds at the Council delayed the construction of a new Town Hall and meetings and business continued in the early timber building until 1908 when the current Town Hall was opened. Funding for the Town Hall was not forthcoming from the Council, but from a local benefactor, Mr George Ambrose White who donated £10,000 for the sole purpose of constructing a new Town Hall. Although generous this gift was to be offset by a annual payment by the Council to Mr White of 5% of the amount. White previously donated money for the construction of a public swimming pool in Maryborough and therefore he was already well known in the local community.〔 In 1906, work began on the new site in Kent Street, removing the early police and justice buildings many of which survived from the initial development of Maryborough in the 1850s and 1860s. An inspector's residence, stockade and stables were removed to the new police site in Lennox Street where a police station designed by the Public Works Department was being constructed. As well many buildings were removed from the site and sold including a court house, disused since the construction of a new court house in Richmond Street in 1877, lock-up, cells and police quarters.〔 What remained was for the Council to procure the services of an architect to design their new Town Hall, to be a fitting symbol of Maryborough's prominence. Initially it was thought that a competition to be assessed by Leslie Corrie, President of the Queensland Institute of Architects, along with Mr Alfred Barton Brady, the Queensland Government Architect and a member of the council, would discover the most suitable design for the Town Hall. However this plan was abandoned when the assessors' fees and prize money was deemed to be too costly. Enquiries were made into which architects might be most suitable for the work and these pointed to the prominent Brisbane partnership of Francis Hall and Robin (Robert Smith) Dods. The Mayor travelled to Brisbane to interview Hall and Dods and they were commissioned to produce designs for the new Town Hall.〔 Hall and Dods formed in 1896 when Dods won a competition for the design of the nurses' home at the Brisbane General Hospita After preparing plans and specifications for the Maryborough Town Hall, Robin Dods was invited to a special meeting of the Maryborough Council to discuss the plans which were adopted in October 1906. The design for the town hall was a substantial brick building with steeply pitched gabled roof and four Tuscan Order columns defining the portico. The building reflected the Victorian ideal of municipal buildings strongly influenced by classicism, in this case stripped and manipulated with the sophistication characteristic of the work of Hall and Dods. The building was designed to house a 900 seat auditorium, council offices and a council chamber.〔 Tenders were called in December 1906 for the construction of the Town Hall, and that of local contractors, Crystall and Armstrong for £8976.13.5 was accepted and completion was to be within twelve months. A Clerk of Works, Mr Sayers from Sydney, was appointed to oversee the work. Among the other contractors were Fairlie and Sons who completed the timberwork including the internal joinery; G Horbourgh and Co who undertook the plumbing; Mr Fulsig the painting and Messrs Walker the ironwork, including the rib and pan roof. Messrs Rolley and Pagett of Brisbane supplied the patented casement openers for the side casement windows. Local bricks from Meredith Brickworks were used on a foundation of cement blocks cast on site. The auditorium was supplied with 500 bentwood chairs from Finney Isles and Co, with older chairs and forms supplementing this seating.〔 After some delays the new Town Hall was opened by the leader of the Federal Labour Party, the Hon Andrew Fisher, MHR. The building was received with mixed reviews, the Maryborough community, as expressed in the local papers described the building as plain and with a quality of "red-brickiness" whereas the national architectural journal, ''Building'', praised its "simplicity with dignity in a splendid fashion". The interior of the building was more universally appealing with well crafted internal moulding and joinery and well proportioned rooms. The final cost of the building was £9000.〔 Soon after the opening, plans were made to alter the entrance stairs to a design of George Halibut and this saw outward sweeps added to the stair and plinths for lighting incorporated. The council also undertook landscaping work to improve the surrounds of the building. The next additions were made in 1918 when four honour rolls, made by Fairlie and Sons, were erected in the auditorium.〔 Substantial additions were made to the Town Hall in 1934 to the design of Brisbane City Council architect, Walter Kerrison who was on loan to the Maryborough City Council. These additions included the erection of a clock tower, the construction of a fly tower and the widening and lengthening of verandahs flanking the auditorium. In 1948 a single storeyed extension to the western side of the building was added to supplement office accommodation in the building. This was designed by Colin Tesch. A second storey was added to this section in 1978. The lettering above the entrance door, which on completion of the building in 1908 was "TOWN HALL" was changed to "CITY HALL" in 1964, although Maryborough was proclaimed a city much earlier in 1905. In 1971 other alterations were made to the entrance doors to the design of architect, Werner Hug.〔 The most recent alterations to the building occurred in 1990 when a serious fire substantially damaged the building interior. Restoration and reconstruction work was undertaken by Brisbane architect, Robert Riddel.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Maryborough City Hall」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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