Annandale Council Chambers

Last updated
Annandale Council Chambers
Annandale 27.JPG
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 council chambers 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. It is currently listed on the Leichhardt Local Environmental Plan.

Annandale, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Annandale is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Annandale is located within 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the Inner West Council. Annandale's northern end lies on Rozelle Bay, which is on Sydney Harbour. Glebe lies to its east, Lilyfield and Leichhardt to its west and Stanmore to its south.

Sydney City in New South Wales, Australia

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Port Jackson and extends about 70 km (43.5 mi) on its periphery towards the Blue Mountains to the west, Hawkesbury to the north, the Royal National Park to the south and Macarthur to the south-west. Sydney is made up of 658 suburbs, 40 local government areas and 15 contiguous regions. Residents of the city are known as "Sydneysiders". As of June 2017, Sydney's estimated metropolitan population was 5,131,326, and is home to approximately 65% of the state's population.

Municipality of Annandale Local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The Municipality of Annandale was a local government area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed on 29 December 1893 as the Borough of Annandale when the East Ward of Leichhardt Council separated, and, with an area of 1.4 square kilometres, covered the entire suburb of Annandale, excepting a small block between Johnstons Creek, Booth Street and Parramatta Road. The council was amalgamated with the Municipality of Leichhardt to the west with the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948.

Contents

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]

Municipality of Leichhardt Local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The Municipality of Leichhardt was a local government area in the inner-west region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of the Sydney central business district. On 12 May 2016, Leichhardt merged with Marrickville Council and the Municipality of Ashfield to form the Inner West Council.

Allen Taylor New South Wales businessman and politician

Sir Allen Arthur Taylor was an Australian businessman and New South Wales state politician who was Lord Mayor of Sydney, Mayor of Annandale and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.

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:

William Henry Mahony was an Australian politician.

"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]

Local Government (Areas) Act 1948

Local Government (Areas) Act 1948 was a landmark New South Wales statute that was notable for its wide-ranging reforms for and amalgamations of the Local Government Areas of New South Wales within the County of Cumberland. Largely informed by the recommendations and findings of the 1945–46 Royal Commission on Local Government Boundaries, the act was written and presented to parliament by the Minister for Local Government in the NSW Government, Joseph Cahill.

See also

Architecture of Sydney

The Architecture of Sydney, Australia’s oldest city, is not characterised by any one architectural style, but by an extensive juxtaposition of old and new architecture over the city's 200-year history, from its modest beginnings with local materials and lack of international funding to its present-day modernity with an expansive skyline of high rises and skyscrapers.

Related Research Articles

Leichhardt, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Leichhardt is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Leichhardt is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and is the administrative centre for the local government area (LGA) of the Inner West Council. The suburb is bordered by Haberfield to the west, Annandale to the east, Lilyfield to the north and Petersham, Lewisham and Stanmore to the south.

Marrickville Council Local government area in New South Wales, Australia

Marrickville Council was a local government area located in the inner west region of Sydney, Australia. It was originally created on 1 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Marrickville". On 12 May 2016, Marrickville Council was merged with Ashfield and Leichhardt councils into the newly formed Inner West Council.

Thomas Rowe Australian architect

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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″S151°10′13″E / 33.8828°S 151.1704°E / -33.8828; 151.1704

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