Building It

The building of the Town Hall got off to an inauspicious start in 1867 when the initial design competition failed to produce any plans within Council’s budget of £25,000. A second competition was advertised and the stipulated cost for building works was increased to £35,000. Premiums of £200, £100 and £50 were to be awarded to the three best designs. This document is the brief for the revised architectural competition. The Council received 20 designs.

(image: City of Sydney Archives, CRS 9/3)

In July 1868 the Council awarded the first, second and third premiums to “Treu und Fest”, “City” and “Bunyip” respectively. When the accompanying signed letters were opened it was found that the designs ranked first and second were by the same architect, J. H. Willson. Allegations of corruption followed.

After a petition from architects and citizens, the Council agreed to put the designs on public exhibition. None of these plans survive, but the Sydney Morning Herald’s description gives some indication of the variety on display. Architectural styles included Gothic, Italian, and a combination of the two. Clock towers were a common feature, although some were ‘out of proportion and look heavy and unsightly’. Arcades and balconies along the George Street façade were popular design elements. The Herald hoped that ‘Australian animals and flora will be selected by the architect as appropriate subjects among the embellishments.’ (Sydney Morning Herald, 31 August 1868, p.2)

(image: Sydney Mail, 30 November 1889, p.1204. State Reference Library, State Library of New South Wales)

The Council’s preferred design was “City” as illustrated in this original perspective view. But there were problems with it: ‘narrow corridors, small rooms, and inconvenient approaches’ (Sydney Mail, 30 November 1889, p.1208), and with scandalous allegations of bribery hanging over their heads the Council decided to withdraw the prize.

Edward Bell, the City Engineer, was asked to modify the design. These plans, “City Improved”, were submitted to Council in February 1869. Animosity between J. H. Willson and Edward Bell grew as each battled to be seen as the real architect of the project. Edward Bell was dismissed for unrelated shortcomings in 1870. Willson acted as a consultant to the Council until his death early in 1872.

(image: City of Sydney Archives, CRS 385/11)

The Cathedral Close Act, which granted the old burial ground to Council, required that the Town Hall had to be completed by 1 January 1872. At the time of Willson’s death early in 1872 it was only part built. With control now back in the hands of Council employees, the brothers Bradridge – Thomas, the City Surveyor, and Edward, the City Building Surveyor – designed the main clock tower. In this view down York Street c.1872, the roof is not yet in place and the clock tower is without its clock. Concerns about the tower’s stability led the Council tso appoint a City Architect to oversee the final stages of construction.

(image: Private collection, Shirley Fitzgerald)

Albert Bond was appointed City Architect in April 1873. He found that Willson’s notes and drawings of roofing details and the internal treatment of the hall were very scanty. To Bond, then, go the honours for designing the turrets on the roofs and the plans for the vestibule, with its intricate plaster work. This photograph of the Town Hall c.1875 shows the roof under construction. Sun streams through the uncovered rear portion of the building. Bond’s work must have been frustrated when in 1874 the Council was given notice to quit its administrative buildings and they moved into the partially complete Town Hall. Bond, the first full-time City Architect, resigned in December 1877.

(image: ML SPF/334. Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales)

The City Architect’s position, vacated by Bond in December 1877, was filled by David McBeath, shown here in a portrait. McBeath had been an employee of the Council since 1859 in various capacities, including a brief appointment as Building Surveyor. McBeath had a hand in completing the vestibule, overseeing the completion of interior decoration and in drawing up plans for the second stage of building the main hall.

(image: City of Sydney Archives, CRS 54/530)

Comparing the perspective view (shown earlier) with what was actually built, illustrates how Willson’s original concept was modified by Bell, the Bradidges and Bond. The overall architectural style is similar, but the clock tower’s proportions were changed and the statues around the tower abandoned. Willson’s proposed great hall at the rear of the building (measuring 143 feet x 55 feet x 40 feet) was never built. Its modest size was exposed by the Exhibition Building in Prince Alfred Park and the ‘magnificent proportions and elegance of construction’ of Melbourne Town Hall, both of which opened in 1870. Grander plans were already underway. (Sydney Mail, 30 November 1889, p.1208)

(image: City of Sydney Archives, SRC Photographic Files)

The Vestibule was officially opened by the Mayor, Robert Fowler, on 12 February 1880 when he presided over a banquet for the Sydney International Exhibition Commissioners. Restored in 1992, the High Victorian decoration features elaborately moulded plasterwork and an elaborate 19th century colour scheme. When this view was produced, large bronze commemorative plaques adorned the walls to commemorate significant events in the history of the City of Sydney since Federation in 1901. These were moved to the surrounding corridors in 2000 to allow a new series of marble and glass plaques could be erected to commemorate events in the 21st century. The first to be unveiled commemorated the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

(image: City of Sydney)