Manly Town Hall

Manly Town Hall

Manly Town Hall in 2013
Former names Llangollen
General information
Type Government town hall
Architectural style Inter-war Neo-Georgian style with Egyptian Revival features.
Address Gilbert & Belgrave Streets
Town or city Manly, New South Wales
Country Australia
Construction started 12 June 1937
Completed 1937
Client Manly Municipal Council
Owner Manly Council (current)
Design and construction
Architect Samuel Reginald Maisey
Architecture firm Trenchard Smith & Maisey
Main contractor Stuart Bros. Ltd.

The Manly Town Hall is a landmark civic building in Manly, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It stands at the junction of the The Corso, Gilbert St. and Belgrave St., opposite Manly ferry wharf. Designed in the Neo-Georgian revival style with Egyptian Revival style columns by Samuel Reginald Maisey, it replaced the previous town hall on the site, a Victorian Mansion built in 1879. The Town Hall has been the seat of Manly Council since 1937.

History and description

The original building on this site was a Victorian mansion known as "Llangollen", which was built in 1879 as the residence of William Howard Rolfe (1818–1879), a prominent landowner and member of the Manly community. While Rolfe did not live long enough to reside there, the Rolfe Family lived there until it became a branch of the Australian Joint Stock Bank[1] and was finally purchased in 1909 by Manly Municipal Council. Manly Council, which had been incorporated in 1877, had been meeting in temporary premises including the original Ivanhoe Hotel in Ivanhoe Park, until 1909, and from then on Llangollen served as the new council chambers. However the size and style of the building was too small and unsuited to the needs of the council, despite the mansion having been purchased for the sum of £5000.[2]

For many years a debate raged over the construction of a new Town Hall at the present site. In May 1911 the mayor, Alderman James Bonner, passed through council a resolution that asked the council to "take into consideration the advisability of calling tenders for competitive designs for a Town Hall, to be erected on the present site."[3] In July 1912, the council appointed a sub-committee to examine the details of such a project, but found its firm opposition from Alderman Adam Ogilvy, who clashed in council with Alderman Ellison Quirk.[4] In 1919, when Council proposed its first post-war loan for major public works, the new Town Hall was quickly eliminated as a project and by 1921 a protest committee headed by Alderman Ogilvy, conducted a successful campaign against any proprosal, demanding that a referendum be held before any money was spent on such a project. The council committee also consulted the NSW President of the Institute of Architects, Sir Charles Rosenthal on the matter of the project.[5] By May 1924, council established a competition for the design, to be administered by Rosenthal.[6] A referendum was held in conjunction with the 1925 Council elections. Two propositions were put, for a new £40,000 Town Hall on the current site or £15,000 for a new Council Hall and offices and ‘making provision for an Art Gallery’ in front of the existing building. Both were heavily defeated.

"Llangollen", as Manly Town Hall in 1919.

In 1928 the Council again moved for a new competition for designs of a new Town Hall, which in May 1928 was won by the firms of Fowell and McConnel, Architects Hodges and Watts, who were asked to collaborate on an amended design. Their vision, costed at around £60,000, sparking a new debate and lambasted as 'pretentious', was rejected at another referendum in June 1928.[7][8][9] However opinion within the council was still firmly of the opinion that a new hall was needed. In August 1930, the Town Clerk of Manly, having recently returned from an official visit to the recently-built Newcastle City Hall, noted in his report that the "construction of a similar imposing building at the front door of Manly would give a tremendous impetus to the town."[10]

In July 1936, with the council's 60th anniversary jubilee only a year away, the council made the decision to restart efforts for the construction of a new town hall. During the council debate, Alderman Hanson Norman, who stood opposed to a new new town hall, said nevertheless that the "present building was in a bad state of disrepair, it gave insufficient space for the staff, and this was a handicap in efficient administration." The Mayor, Alderman Percy Nolan, noted that "the present building was a disgrace" and the motion was carried five votes to four.[11] By February 1937 the old Town Hall had been demolished and a Neo-Georgian revival design (with Egyptian Revival style columns) by Samuel Reginald Maisey of the prominent local firm Trenchard Smith & Maisey was chosen.[12] On 12 June, marking the council's 60th anniversary, Alderman Nolan laid the foundation stone for the new Town Hall, which followed a tree-planting ceremony by former mayor Arthur T. Keirle.[13] A subsequent article in the Sydney Morning Herald noted that the new hall "will be a noticeable addition to the architecture of the suburb. Two-storeys in height, the front, designed after the colonial style, is impressive. Four pillars, rising to parapet height, flank the main entrance. The rest of the exterior maintains the same imposing appearance."[14] In 1965 extensions to the Council chambers at the rear of the Town Hall were completed on 30 September and were unveiled by Mayor William R. Nicholas and Deputy Mayor David Hay.

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Australian Joint Stock Bank (1852–1910), later became the Australian Bank of Commerce until 1931 when it was bought by the Bank of New South Wales.
  2. ↑ "MANLY TOWN HALL.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 25 November 1910. p. 13. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "SUBURBAN NEWS.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 27 May 1911. p. 16. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "MANLY TOWN HALL PROJECT.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 24 July 1912. p. 21. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "MANLY TOWN HALL.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 1 May 1924. p. 12. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "MANLY TOWN HALL.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 16 May 1924. p. 12. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "MANLY TOWN HALL.". Construction and Local Government Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1913 - 1930) (Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia). 27 June 1928. p. 19. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "RATEPAYERS' "NO".". Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931) (Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia). 25 June 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "MANLY'S TOWN HALL?.". Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931) (Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia). 18 June 1928. p. 1. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  10. ↑ ""A CREDIT". Our Town Hall. Manly Praise.". The Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 23 August 1930. p. 4. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "MANLY COUNCIL. New Chamber to be Built.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 14 July 1936. p. 17. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION. Manly Council: New Offices. Modern Building.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 16 February 1937. p. 5. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "NEW MANLY MUNICIPAL OFFICES.". The Sydney Morning Herald (National Library of Australia). 12 June 1937. p. 23. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  14. ↑ "MANLY'S ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 15 June 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 31 March 2015.

Coordinates: 33°47′54″S 151°17′06″E / 33.79841°S 151.28495°E