Melbourne Town Hall

Melbourne Town Hall is the central city and town hall, and is a historic building that has been there since 1867, Australia, in the State of Victoria. It is located on the northeast corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, in the central business district. It is the seat of the local government area of the City of Melbourne. It has been used for multiple purposes such as concerts, theatrical plays and exhibitions.

Melbourne Town Hall
Looking east along Collins Street toward the Melbourne Town Hall
General information
LocationMelbourne, Australia
Construction started1867
Completed1887

History
Melbourne Town Hall, 1910

Melbourne was officially incorporated as a town on 13 December 1842, with Henry Condell as its first Mayor. However, it wasn't until 1854 that its first Town Hall was completed. Begun in 1851, the work ground to a halt with the beginning of the Victorian gold rush. The foundation stone of a new, grander Town Hall was laid on 29 November 1867 by the visiting Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, after the demolition of the first.[1][2] The current Town Hall officially opened on 11 August 1870 with a lavish ball, which was personally funded by the Lord Mayor Samuel Amess.[3][4][5]

The foundation stone of the additional front portico was laid in 1887, and Sir Henry Weedon laid the foundation of the administrative annex building on 27 August 1908.[6]

During the Melbourne International Comedy Festival the Melbourne Town Hall acts as venue to a large number of the performances.

In 1925, a fire destroyed a large part of the town hall, including the main auditorium and pipe organ. It was rebuilt and enlarged, extending east over the site previously occupied by the Victoria Coffee Palace, an early temperance hotel frequented by Melbourne's power brokers. The rebuilt section lost some of Reed's original flourishes including the elaborate mansard roof.

In 1964, The Beatles attended a civic reception at the Melbourne Town Hall. "Outside 20,000 teenagers had gathered to obtain a glimpse of the pop idols. Again, frenzied and hysterical cheering and uncontrollable screaming erupted when the Beatles emerged."[7]

Architecture

The Town Hall was designed by the famous local architect Joseph Reed and Barnes, in the Second Empire style. Reed's designs also included the State Library of Victoria, the Royal Exhibition Building, and Melbourne Trades Hall.

The building is topped by Prince Alfred's Tower, named after the Duke. The tower includes a 2.44 m diameter clock, which was started on 31 August 1874, after being presented to the council by the Mayor's son, Vallange Condell. It was built by Smith and Sons of London. The longest of its copper hands measures 1.19 m long, and weighs 8.85 kg.

Organ

The Main Auditorium includes a magnificent concert organ, now comprising 147 ranks and 9,568 pipes. The organ includes a stationary fixed console and a movable console which is connected electronically to the rest of the organ. The Melbourne Town Hall regularly hosts free concerts on the Organ where the likes of Thomas Heywood have performed. ANZCO is a big proponent of this, promoting the organ and organ music amongst younger individuals[8]; having hosted their "All Stops Out" event on this instrument multiple times.

The majority of the pipes in this organ (even in the great) are enclosed allowing for tremendous expression of the instrument. The wind pressure varies from 1" all the way up to 25" for the ophicleide and diaphone stops. The organ also features 3 "floating" divisions (Bombarde, Fanfare & Orchestral) which can be controlled from each of the 4 manuals.[9]

History of the organ
Melbourne Town Hall organ

The organ was originally built by Hill & son (of England) in 1872 before a fire destroyed it in 1925. A new organ constructed by Hill Norman & Beard was installed in 1929 and has since then been rebuilt and enlarged by Schantz Organ Company of the United States of America from 1995-2001 at a cost of $4.5 million.[10]

Console of the Melbourne Town Hall Organ in 2019

Specification

The stop list is as follows:

I. ChoirII. GreatIII. SwellPedalIV. SoloBombarde
Contra Salicional16Double Open Diapason16Contra Violone32Gravissima64Quintaton16Grand Diapason8
Horn Diapason8Tibia Profunda16Bourdon16Double Open Diapason32Harmonic Claribel8Principal4
Corno Flute8Contra Geigen16Violine16Tibia Profunda32Flute Celeste8Grave MixtureV-VI
Flute CelesteIIOpen Diapason I8Diapason Phonon8Contra Bourdon Acoustic32Violoncello8FournitureIV-V
Lieblich Gedeckt8Open Diapason II8Geigen Principal8Contra Violone32Cello Celeste8Grand ChorusVI-VIII
Salicional8Diapason Phonon8Flauto Traverso8Open Diapason16Salicional8Contra Posaune16
Voix Céleste8Tibia Plena8Cor de Nuit8Tibia Profunda16Concert Flute Harmonic4Posaune8
Lieblich Flöte4Harmonic Flute8Bourdon8Great Bass16Nazard Harmonique2 2/3Clarion4
Gemshorn4Hohl Flöte8Gamba8Bourdon16Harmonic Piccolo2
Echo Viola4Rohr Flöte8Gamba Celeste8Lieblich Bourdon16Tierce1 3/5
Harmonic Piccolo2Gamba Major8Aeoline8Contra Bass16Schalmei16
Dulciana CornetIIIOctave Diapason4Vox Angelica8Violone16Tuba8
Tuba Sonora8Octave Phonon4Principal4Geigen16French Horn8
Cor Anglais8Principal4Harmonic Flute4Contra Salicional16Corno di Bassetto8
Closed Horn8Tibia Octave4Rohr Flute4String Bass16Clarinet8
Cremona8Wald Flöte4Octave Gamba4Quint10 2/3Orchestral Oboe8
Octave Quint2 2/3Harmonic Quint2 2/3Prestant8FanfareOrchestral
Stopped Quint2 2/3Piccolo2Principal8Tuba16Contra Viola16
Super Octave2Salicetina2Geigen Principal8Sub Trumpet16Tibia Clausa8
Fifteenth2Tierce1 3/5Flute Major8Tuba Sonora8Viol d'OrchestreII
Tierce1 3/5Chorus MixtureVBass Flute8Tuba8Orchestral StringsII
Grand FournitureVI-VIIGrave MixtureIIIStopped Flute8Trumpet Victoria8String CelesteII
Chorus MixtureVSharp MixtureIIILieblich Bourdon8Octave Sonora4Octave Viola4
MixtureIVDouble Trumpet16Violoncello8Tuba4Orchestral Strings
Contra Trombone32Bassoon16Super Octave4
Trombone16Cornopean8Fifteenth4
Fagotto16Trumpet Victoria8Open Flute4
Trumpet Victoria8Orchestral Trumpet8Grand FournitureVI
Tromba8Horn8FournitureIV
Harmonic Trumpet8Oboe8Diaphone32
Clarion4Vox Humana8Double Ophicleide32
Clairon4Contra Fagotto32
Tuba16
Octave Diaphone16
Ophicleide16
Posaune16
Trombone16
Bassoon16
Schalmei16
Tuba8
Trumpet Victoria8
Trumpet8
Bassoon8
Clarion4

References

https://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/MTHHill.html

https://whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au/whatson/organ/pages/organ.aspx

  1. "VISIT OF THE DUKE OF EDINURGH". Hamilton Spectator And Grange District Advertiser (605). Victoria, Australia. 30 November 1867. p. 2. Retrieved 16 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "THE MELBOURNE TOWN-HALL: PAST AND PRESENT". The Australasian. LXXXIX (2, 315). Victoria, Australia. 13 August 1910. p. 36. Retrieved 16 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia., PHOTOGRAPH: THE TOWN-HALL, BUILT 1850-53, PULLED DOWN 1868.
  3. "THE GRAND FANCY DRESS BALL GIVEN BY THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL SAMUEL AMESS MAYOR OF MELBOURNE, ON THE OPENING OF THE NEW TOWN HALL, 11th AUGUST, 1870". Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers (162). Victoria, Australia. 10 September 1870. p. 161. Retrieved 16 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "DEATH OF ALDERMAN AMESS". The Argus (Melbourne) (16, 224). Victoria, Australia. 4 July 1898. p. 6. Retrieved 16 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "NEW COUNCIL CHAMBER". The Australasian. LXXXIX (2, 315). Victoria, Australia. 13 August 1910. p. 36. Retrieved 16 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Happy birthday to our Town Hall admin building #melbourne", City Of Melbourne on Instagram
  7. The Beatles in Melbourne, OnlyMelbourne
  8. "Australia". Australian and New Zealand College of Organists. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  9. https://ohta.org.au/organs/organs/MTHS.html
  10. "Town Hall Grand Organ". City Collection. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.

https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/grand-organ-specifications.pdf


Tourism
  • List of Town Halls in Melbourne
  • List of Mayors and Lord Mayors of Melbourne

Notes

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