Melbourne Trades Hall

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Melbourne Trades Hall entrance on Lygon Street

Melbourne Trades Hall is a Trades Hall building located in the suburb of Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and home to the Victorian Trades Hall Council. It is located on the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Street, just north of the Melbourne central business district.

The original Trades Hall was opened in May 1859 after being built by workers as an organising place for the labour movement in Melbourne. The workers financed the construction of the building themselves. The hall underwent an upgrade from 1874 to 1925 at the hands of architectural firm Reed & Barnes and it remains one of the most historically important sites in Melbourne today, being classified by the National Trust and included in the Register of Historic Buildings (Victoria)^[1].

The hall is located across the road from the eight hour day monument which was erected to honour the Victorian workers who won the first 8 hour working day in the world in 1856. It is the birthplace of organisations like the Victorian Labour Party and Australian Council of Trade Unions and home to the Victorian Trades Hall Council.

Trades Hall around the turn of the 20th century.

Four flags fly from the roof of the building: the Australian Flag, the Eureka Flag, the Australian aboriginal flag, and the Red flag. (See Photo)

Trades Hall is home to many of the Victorian trade unions, left-wing political parties and radical organisations. The various rooms of the hall can be hired out for functions, meetings or conferences and it is often used for theatrical productions and to display artwork. The hall has a bar which is patronised by trade union members and political activists and a bookshop which sells radical texts.

In recent times, as well as being the centre for union activity, the Trades Hall Council has opened the Trades Hall building to many cultural events, plays, and concerts including the Melbourne Comedy Festival - concentrating on political and 'on the edge' performances^[2].