The Jolimont Centre is a commercial building in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Australia. It is also the city's long-distance coach station.

History

In the late 1920s, a timber building named the Jolimont Building was erected in

Civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...

, on a block bounded by

Northbourne Avenue Northbourne Avenue is a major road in Canberra, Australia. It extends from City Hill in the south, to the Federal Highway in the north. It is a north–south running road which has three lanes for motorised traffic, and one lane for bicyc ...

, Alinga, Moore, and Rudd Streets. The building had originally been manufactured in England in 1899 for use at

Jolimont railway station Jolimont railway station is located on the Mernda and Hurstbridge lines in Victoria, Australia. It serves the inner eastern Melbourne suburb of East Melbourne, and opened on 21 October 1901.

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

.At last, a plan to develop the Jolimont site
''

Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' 13 October 1981 page 2 It was partially damaged by fire in 1969, and was demolished in 1977. In 1978, approval was granted for the construction of a hotel complex and a long-distance coach terminal. After the project had not commenced in 1981, Lend Lease Development began work on a six-storey commercial and office complex, which was initially tenanted by the

Department of Resources and Energy The Department of Resources and Energy was an Australian government department that existed between March 1983 and July 1987. History The Department was one of three new Departments established by the Hawke government in March 1 ...

, the Canberra Tourist Bureau, Prime Television,

Trans Australia Airlines Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), renamed Australian Airlines in 1986, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its merger with Qantas in September 1992. As a result of the "COBRA" (or Common Brand ...

, and radio station 2CA. During the construction phase, the building was sold to AMP. A two-storey

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

was also built. It opened on 5 May 1983, with

Ansett Pioneer Ansett Pioneer was an Australian long distance coach operator. Founded in 1905 as the AA Withers Bus Company, the company maintained continuous operation under a variety of corporate monikers until its 1993 merger into Greyhound Pioneer Australi ...

and

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using the coach terminal for services to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. Later,

CountryLink CountryLink was a passenger rail and road service brand that operated in regional areas New South Wales, Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne. Originally created as a business unit (or sub-brand) of the State Rail Authority of New South Wales, it l ...

, Deluxe Coachlines, McCafferty's,

Murrays Murrays Coaches is an Australian express and coach charter company. History Murrays was founded by Bill Murray in the early 1950s as a school bus operator in Canberra. The operation was taken over by Ron Murray in 1970 by which time it was op ...

Transborder Express Transborder Express is an Australian bus and coach company based in Yass. Since September 2012, Transborder Express has been owned by ComfortDelGro Australia. History Transborder Express was established in July 1954 by Jack Williams operating ...

, Trans City and

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross ...

began using the terminal. The

1993 Jolimont Centre siege In November 1993 an event known as the "Jolimont Centre siege" took place resulting in the serious wounding of one person and the death of another over the course of two hours. The centre was set on fire and extensive damage was caused by a lo ...

saw the centre rammed by a vehicle rigged with petrol and gas canisters. The commercial space has since been converted to a

Novotel Novotel is a French midscale hotel brand owned by Accor. Created in 1967 in France, the company grew into what became the Accor group in 1983, and Novotel remained a pillar brand of Accor's multi-brand strategy. Novotel manages 559 hotels in 6 ...

hotel.

Coach operators

Narooma Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Central Tilba is nearby to the south. The name Naro ...

, Sydney and

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near w ...

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – t ...

and

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale () ( Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia in a region traditionally owned by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated population of Bairnsdale urban area was 15,411 at Ju ...

Canberra - Melbourne via Bairnsdale
Public Transport Victoria

References

Accor hotels Bus stations in Australia Bus transport in Canberra Commercial buildings completed in 1983 Commercial buildings in the Australian Capital Territory Hotels in the Australian Capital Territory Transport buildings and structures in the Australian Capital Territory Transport infrastructure completed in 1983 1983 establishments in Australia