Brisbane City Hall

Brisbane City Hall, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is the seat of the Brisbane City Council. It is located adjacent to King George Square, where the rectangular City Hall has its main entrance. The City Hall also has frontages and entrances in both Ann Street and Adelaide Street. The building is considered one of Brisbane's finest and is registered on the Register of the National Estate since 1978.

The building has been used for royal receptions, pageants, orchestral concerts, civic greetings, flower shows, school graduations and political meetings.

In 2009, it was discovered that the building suffered from severe structural problems. After a three-year restoration, the building was re-opened on 6 April 2013.

History

The City Hall was once the tallest building in Brisbane (see external links below for image from 1957). The building was designed by the firm Hall and Prentice, in association with four young New South Wales Architects: Bruce Dellit,Peter Kaad, Emil Sodersten and Noel Wilson.

Brisbane

Brisbane (ⁱ/ˈbrɪzbən/) is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland, and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of 2.3 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred on Brisbane, encompasses a population of more than 3.4 million. The Brisbane central business district stands on the original European settlement and is situated inside a bend of the Brisbane River, about 15 kilometres (9 miles) from its mouth at Moreton Bay. The metropolitan area extends in all directions along the floodplain of the Brisbane River Valley between Moreton Bay and the Great Dividing Range, sprawling across several of Australia's most populous local government areas (LGAs), most centrally the City of Brisbane, which is by far the most populous LGA in the nation. The demonym of Brisbane is Brisbanite.

One of the oldest cities in Australia, Brisbane was founded upon the ancient homelands of the Indigenous Turrbal and Jagera peoples. Named after the Brisbane River on which it is located – which in turn was named after Scotsman Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825 – the area was chosen as a place for secondary offenders from the Sydney Colony. A penal settlement was founded in 1824 at Redcliffe, 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of the central business district, but was soon abandoned and moved to North Quay in 1825, opening to free settlement in 1842. The city was marred by Aboriginal conflict between 1843-1855, and development was partly set back by the Great Fire of Brisbane, and the Great Brisbane Flood. Brisbane was chosen as the capital when Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales in 1859. During World War II, Brisbane played a central role in the Allied campaign and served as the South West Pacific headquarters for General Douglas MacArthur.

Seat of local government

In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre, (in the UK or Australia) a guildhall, a Rathaus (German), or (more rarely) a municipal building, is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments, and their employees. It also usually functions as the base of the mayor of a city, town, borough, or county / shire.

By convention, until the mid 19th-century, a single large open chamber (or 'hall') formed an integral part of the building housing the council. The hall may be used for council meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the 'town hall', (and its later variant 'city hall') has become synonymous with the whole building, and with the administrative body housed in it. The terms 'council chambers', 'municipal building' or variants may be used locally in preference to 'town hall' if no such large hall is present within the building.

The local government may endeavor to use the town hall building to promote and enhance the quality of life of the community. In many cases, "'town halls' serve not only as buildings for government functions, but also have facilities for various civic and cultural activities. These may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits and festivals. Modern town halls or "civic centres" are often designed with a great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind.

Bradford City Hall

Bradford City Hall is a Grade I listed, 19th century town hall in Centenary Square, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is notable for its landmark bell/clock tower.

History

As town hall

The building was designed by Lockwood and Mawson, and opened in 1873.

Winston Churchill gave his first speech after the Second Battle of El Alamein outside the hall in which he called for the people to 'go forward together and put these grave matters to the proof'.

Before its relocation, between 1847 to 1872, the town hall had been the Fire Station House in Swain Street. In 1869, a new triangular site was purchased, and a competition held for a design to rival the town halls of Leeds and Halifax. The local firm of Lockwood and Mawson was chosen over the other 31 entries. It was built by John Ives & Son of Shipley and took three years to build at a cost of £100,000. It was opened on 9 September 1873, on a very wet day by Matthew Thompson, the mayor.

It was first extended in 1909 to a design by Norman Shaw and executed by architect F.E.P. Edwards, with another council chamber, more committee rooms and a banqueting hall. It was extended again in 1914 with a new entrance and staircase in baroque marble by William Williamson and listed grade I on 14 June 1963.

City Hall (disambiguation)

City Hall is the headquarters of a city or town's administration.

City Hall may also refer to:

Locations

Brisbane (disambiguation)

Brisbane is the capital city of Queensland, Australia.

Brisbane may also refer to:

Water craft

People

See also

1982 Commonwealth Games

The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September–9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named for Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the venue which was used for the athletics and archery competitions during the Games. Other events were held at the purpose-built Sleeman Sports Complex in Chandler.

The Chairman of the 1982 Commonwealth Games was Sir Edward Williams.

The 1982 Commonwealth Games Logo was designed by Paulo Ferreira, who was the winner of a nationwide competition held in 1978. The symbol is derived from the form of a bounding kangaroo. The three bands, forming stylized A's (for Australia), are in colours which are common to flags of many Commonwealth countries.

Matilda the kangaroo mascot for the 1982 Commonwealth Games was represented by a cartoon kangaroo, and a gigantic 13-metre (42 feet 8 inches) high mechanical "winking" kangaroo, who travelled around the stadium and winked at the crowd.