Maitland Town Hall

Maitland Town Hall (historically known as the West Maitland Town Hall) is a heritage-listed town hall at High Street, Maitland, City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1888-90. The property is owned by Maitland City Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.[1]

Maitland Town Hall
LocationHigh Street, Maitland, City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates32.7376°S 151.5606°E / -32.7376; 151.5606
OwnerMaitland City Council
Official nameMaitland Town Hall & adj Office Building & Supper Room
Typestate heritage (built)
Designated2 April 1999
Reference no.183
TypeHall Town Hall
CategoryCommunity Facilities
Location of Maitland Town Hall in New South Wales

History

The town hall project was initiated by the then-West Maitland Borough Council.[2] The foundation stone for the town hall was laid on 26 January 1888, and it formally opened on 28 February 1890. It was designed by local architects Lee and Scobie, who beat out prominent local architect John W. Pender in a design competition, and built by Henry Noad. The total cost of the building, including lighting and furnishings, came to "nearly £7000".[3][4]

Australia's first prime minister, Edmund Barton, opened his government's campaign for the inaugural 1901 federal election at the West Maitland Town Hall on 17 January 1901. He was elected unopposed to the Division of Hunter, which included Maitland.[5]

The building underwent major extensions in 1934 at a cost of £10,000.[6] It included new offices, a new supper room/small dance hall, new larger stage in the auditorium and new dressing-rooms.[7] Part of the extension was funded by loans from the Unemployment Relief Council as a Great Depression relief measure.[8]

It underwent a $2 million refurbishment in 2015-16, including lighting, audiovisual and air conditioning upgrades, stage rigging replacement, acoustic wall treatments, preservation works to the original sprung floor and painting the auditorium interior.[9][10]

Description

The building is designed in the Victorian Classical style. It features a symmetrical facade with a central tower and Corinthian columns supporting pediments over the ground floor windows, with elaborate classical detail in Corinthian pilasters, string courses and pediments.[11]

The City of Maitland describes it as a "good example of Victorian civic architecture in Classical style", an "important landmark in High Street and contributor to the unique townscape of Central Maitland".[11]

Heritage listing

Maitland Town Hall is significant within New South Wales as a representative of nineteenth-century civic centres with grand architectural forms. This town hall's Victorian Architecture is impressive in its High Street streetscape and intact state. The tower makes the town hall a local landmark and reinforces the role of High Street as the dominant thoroughfare of the town. The town hall is the best example of its type within the Upper Hunter region, and comparable to other regional town halls of the 1880s Boom period. It is of regional significance for demonstrating the growth, prosperity and regional importance of West Maitland from the 1880s. The continuation of the original council chamber functions provides evidence for the civic stability of Maitland and has associations with key events and people in Maitland's municipal history. The town hall has important associations with the cultural life of West Maitland and wider region as a venue for performers and focal point for community events.[1]

Maitland Town Hall was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Maitland Town Hall & adj Office Building & Supper Room". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. H00183. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  2. "WEST MAITLAND TOWN-HALL". The Daily Telegraph (2592). New South Wales, Australia. 7 November 1887. p. 4. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "West Maitland Town Hall". The Evening News (7105). New South Wales, Australia. 1 March 1890. p. 5. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "The West Maitland Town Hall". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. XLIX (1555). New South Wales, Australia. 26 April 1890. p. 920. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Elections". Australia's Prime Minister. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  6. "WEST MAITLAND TOWN HALL". The Newcastle Sun (5270). New South Wales, Australia. 1 November 1934. p. 12. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "TOWN HALL". The Maitland Daily Mercury (19, 621). New South Wales, Australia. 27 February 1934. p. 6. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "TOWN HALL IMPROVEMENTS". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (18, 078). New South Wales, Australia. 21 September 1934. p. 15. Retrieved 8 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Refurbished Maitland Town Hall reopens". Maitland Mercury. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  10. "Maitland Town Hall upgrade gets underway". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  11. "Maitland Town Hall and adjacent office building and supper room". State Heritage Inventory. Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 8 August 2018.

Bibliography
  • Heritas Architecture (2006). adapted from Maitland Town Hall Heritage Impact Statement.
  • Jyoti Somerville Pty Ltd (February 2003) (2003). Maitland Town Hall - Conservation Management Plan.
  • Maitland - Hunter Valley (2013). "High Street Architecture Heritage Walk".
  • Prof R Ian Jack in association with Jyoti Somerville (1999). Maitland Town Hall Historical Study.
  • Tourism NSW (2007). "Maitland Heritage Walk (central precinct)".

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on Maitland Town Hall & adj Office Building & Supper Room, entry number 00183 in the New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales and Office of Environment and Heritage 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 1 June 2018.

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