Annandale Council Chambers

Annandale Council Chambers
Alternative names Annandale Community Centre
General information
Type Government town hall
Architectural style Victorian Free Classical style.
Address 79 Johnston Street
Town or city Annandale, New South Wales
Country Australia
Construction started 27 May 1899
Completed 21 September 1899
Client Annandale Municipal Council
Owner Inner West Council (current)
Design and construction
Architect J. W. Richards
Main contractor Robert Mercer[1]

The former Annandale Council Chambers is a landmark civic building in Annandale, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It stands at 79 Johnston Street and was built in 1899 in the Victorian style by architect J. W. Richards. The Town Hall was the seat of Annandale Municipal Council from 1899 to 1948 when it became a Leichhardt Council depot and since 1980 has been the Annandale Community Centre run by the Inner West Council. The hall is currently listed on the Leichhardt Local Environmental Plan.

History and description

When the Borough of Annandale separated from the Municipality of Leichhardt in 1894, the council first met in the Methodist School Hall in Trafalgar street but later leased provisional quarters from September 1894 which were "somewhat inconvenient premises in Johnston street, which were originally intended as dwelling rooms, over a shop."[2][3][4] However a need for a dedicated council chambers and hall was clearly identified, particularly by Mayor Allen Taylor, and by December 1898, the council had two sites to choose from for a new council chamber: a site on Booth Street next to the Annandale Post Office or a site further up Johnston Street.[5]

The site on Johnston Street was eventually chosen by municipal plebiscite for a simple Victorian Free Classical design by architect, J. W. Richards, of Pitt Street, Sydney, and the foundation stone was laid in a ceremony by the Mayoress, Adela Taylor, on 27 May 1899. During the ceremony, mayor Allen Taylor noted that he was "glad they were not going to erect a palatial structure that would plunge the borough into debt that they might not be able to extricate themselves from" but added that later additions could be made to the structure such as a "town hall, where demonstrations of a political and social character might adequately take place."[6] By September of that year, the Council Chambers had been completed at a cost of £1528 and was officially opened on 21 September 1899 by Mayor Taylor in the presence of the Member for Annandale, William Mahony. At the opening the Evening News described the building thus:

"The building stands some distance back from the footpath, leaving sufficient space for the addition of a massive front, and at the rear ample provision has been made for the erection of a large hall at any future time. The ground floor consists of a library, council clerk's office, Mayor's room, ladies' room and lavatories for ladies and gentlemen. On the first floor is the aldermanic meeting chamber, an imposing room, with an open timber roof, and anterooms for the use of the aldermen."[7]

Later history

The chambers continued to serve as the administrative centre of Annandale until 1948, when the Annandale Municipality was re-amalgamated into Leichhardt through the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948. Leichhardt Council retained the site as a depot and truck repository, but by the late 1970s moves were made for the building to be made available as a community centre, which was officially opened on 15 March 1980. In 1983, a bomb shelter built by National Emergency Services during the Second World War in the yard of the building was demolished to allow the construction of a new hall behind the existing former council chambers building, which was opened in May 1985.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NEW COUNCIL CHAMBERS FOR ANNANDALE.". Evening News (9960). New South Wales, Australia. 10 May 1899. p. 7. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "PUBLIC MEETING AT ANNANDALE.". The Sydney Morning Herald (18,979). New South Wales, Australia. 11 January 1899. p. 9. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Annandale Council.". Evening News (8333). New South Wales, Australia. 15 February 1894. p. 3. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "ANNANDALE.". The Sydney Morning Herald (17,631). New South Wales, Australia. 21 September 1894. p. 6. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "TOWN HALL FOR ANNANDALE.". Evening News (9828). New South Wales, Australia. 6 December 1898. p. 8. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "TOWN HALL FOR ANNANDALE.". The Sydney Morning Herald (19,097). New South Wales, Australia. 29 May 1899. p. 3. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "NEW COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT ANNANDALE.". Evening News (10,077). New South Wales, Australia. 23 September 1899. p. 3. Retrieved 28 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "Former Annandale Council Chambers - NSW State Heritage Register". Office of Environment and Heritage. NSW Government. Retrieved 28 May 2016.

Coordinates: 33°52′58″S 151°10′13″E / 33.8828°S 151.1704°E / -33.8828; 151.1704

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