Brighton Town Hall, Adelaide
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The former Brighton Town Hall is located in
Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...
, a suburb of
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. Its address is 388 Brighton Road, Hove.


Background

The Brighton Town Hall was built in 1869 and was just the fourth Town Hall built in the colony of South Australia. The architect and builder was George William Highet who arrived in the colony in 1836. G. W. Highet served as a town clerk and Councillor and died in
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
aged 80 years. The hall was constructed of stone from Ayliffe's quarry in the Adelaide Hills laid on concrete foundations. The pioneers built it not just as a place for the business of Government but as a place "to serve the wants of the citizens" for many different activities. On 10 May 1869 a foundation stone was laid by the Hon John Hodgkiss a member of the
Legislative Council of South Australia The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the South Australian House of Assembly, H ...
in a ceremony attended by many of South Australia's most important pioneers. Under this stone was placed a
time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...
containing copies of the newspapers of the day.South Australian Register, Thursday 23 September 1869, Page 3 As the City of Brighton and the population grew the hall expanded. In the early 1900s the original building was added to which allowed the library to house more books in a larger reading room. In 1936 the Brighton Council moved to new chambers and in 1937 the Brighton Town Hall was then leased to the RSL. In 2008 after 70 years the RSL moved. Since 2008, after nearly 150 years of continual community use, the building has been left empty. It is a heritage listed building and an important part of the history of Government in South Australia. It still stands as a landmark.


References

{{coord, -35.0121, 138.5229, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Buildings and structures in Adelaide Town halls in South Australia South Australian Heritage Register Former seats of local government