Hong Kong House

Hong Kong House
Hong Kong House in 2007.
Location in Greater Sydney
Former names Central Hotel
Gresham Hotel
General information
Type Commercial hotel/offices
Architectural style Victorian Free Classical style.
Address 80 Druitt Street
Town or city Sydney, New South Wales
Country Australia
Coordinates 33°52′21″S 151°12′23″E / 33.87263°S 151.20629°E / -33.87263; 151.20629Coordinates: 33°52′21″S 151°12′23″E / 33.87263°S 151.20629°E / -33.87263; 151.20629
Completed 1891
Client Excelsior Land Investment and Building Company and Bank Limited
Owner Government of Hong Kong
Design and construction
Architect Ambrose Thornley
Main contractor Edward Johnson
Official name Gresham Hotel
Designated 2 April 1999
Reference no. 00291

Hong Kong House, also known since 1995 as the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney, is a landmark heritage building and former hotel in the Sydney central business district. Built in 1891 to a design by Ambrose Thornley, it is located on 80 Druitt Street, at the corner with York Street, and is adjacent to other prominent heritage landmarks, the Sydney Town Hall and the Queen Victoria Building.[1] In addition to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Hong Kong House also houses the office of the Hong Kong Tourism Board in Australasia, Invest Hong Kong and the office of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

History

In 1888 the Excelsior Land, Building and Investment Company and Bank Limited held a competition for the design of a hotel and banking premises on the site. The competition was subsequently won by architect Ambrose Thornley, with his final design submitted in June 1890 and labelled "Central Hotel".[2] By the late 1900s, the hotel had been renamed the "Gresham Hotel" and in 1896 a branch of the City Bank of Sydney had been opened on the ground level of the building.[3] In 1925 the hotel was bought by Tooth and Co..[4] When the City Bank of Sydney was bought out, the bank became a branch of the Australian Bank of Commerce in 1918, and later a branch of the Bank of New South Wales when they bought the Bank of Commerce in 1931.[5] In the late 1980s the "Gresham Hotel" was converted to offices and since 1995 has housed the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.[6]

The building is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register[7] and the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate,[8] with its interior listed in the City of Sydney Local Environmental Plan.[9] A plaque commemorating the building's history and continuing association with Hong Kong was unveiled on 23 June 2011 by Governor of NSW, Marie Bashir, and Hong Kong Chief Executive, Donald Tsang.[6] In late 2014, during the "Umbrella" protests in Hong Kong, the street-level frontages of Hong Kong House were covered with yellow, pink and blue Post-it notes containing messages of solidarity with the protests.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hong Kong House". Sydney Open. Sydney Living Museums. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "The Central Hotel". The Newsletter: an Australian Paper for Australian People. 8, (13). New South Wales, Australia. 17 December 1904. p. 25. Retrieved 11 July 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "City Bank of Sydney". Evening News (9243). New South Wales, Australia. 19 January 1897. p. 5. Retrieved 12 July 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "GRESHAM HOTEL". The Sun (4694). New South Wales, Australia. 20 November 1925. p. 5 (FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 11 July 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "A.B.C. BANK". Daily Examiner. 6, (775). New South Wales, Australia. 21 February 1918. p. 4. Retrieved 12 July 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. 1 2 "About Hong Kong House". Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Gresham Hotel". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "Gresham Hotel (former), 147-149 York St, Sydney, NSW, Australia". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  9. ↑ "Former "Gresham Hotel" Including Interiors". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  10. ↑ Bagshaw, Eryk (2 October 2014). "Post-it note revolution hits Hong Kong House in Sydney's CBD". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 July 2017.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on the Gresham Hotel and the Former "Gresham Hotel" Including Interiors, listed on the "New South Wales State Heritage Register" published by the Government of New South Wales under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 11 July 2017).

Further reading

  • Freeman, Peter; Metcalf, Andrew; Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney, Government of the HKSAR (2012), Hong Kong House, Sydney, Watermark Press for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney, Government of the HKSAR, ISBN 978-0-949284-98-3
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