The Auckland Town Hall is an
Edwardian
In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
building on
Queen Street in the
Auckland CBD
The Auckland Central Business District (CBD), or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson on land gifted ...
, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions (such as
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
meetings and hearings), as well as its famed Great Hall and separate Concert Chamber. Auckland Town Hall and its surrounding context is highly protected as a 'Category A' heritage site in the Auckland District Plan, registered by
Heritage New Zealand
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...
as a
Category I Historic Place.
History
Building
Since as early as 1872, there were plans to create a town hall for the city of Auckland.
The corner of Greys Avenue and Queen Street was chosen as the location in 1880, and the corner was requisitioned by a formal act of parliament, the Auckland Reserves Exchange and Change of Trust Act 1881. The area proved to be too small, so the municipal government purchased the adjoining properties in 1883.
A design competition for the building was held in 1908, which was won by
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
-based architects
JJ & EJ Clark.
Construction began after the foundation stone was laid by mayor
Arthur Myers on 24 February 1909,
and the building was officially opened on 14 December 1911 by
Lord Islington
John Poynder Dickson-Poynder, 1st Baron Islington (31 October 1866 – 6 December 1936), born John Poynder Dickson and known as Sir John Poynder Dickson-Poynder from 1884 to 1910, was a British politician. He was Governor of New Zealand between 1 ...
,
Governor of New Zealand
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
, the building is one of the most prominent heritage structures on
Queen Street. Costing £126,000 (approximately $21 million in 2017) to construct,
the building was constructed of Oamaru limestone, with a Melbourne bluestone base, and incorporates a 40-metre high clocktower.
The five-storey
Italian Renaissance Revival design bears a resemblance to the
Lambeth Town Hall
Lambeth Town Hall, also known as Brixton Town Hall, is a municipal building at the corner of Brixton Hill and Acre Lane, Brixton
Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in ...
at
Brixton
Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...
, London, built at around the same time. The
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
formed Auckland's first permanent seat of both administration and entertainment in the city's history, with its Great Hall (seating 1,673 people) modelled on the
Gewandhaus
Gewandhaus () is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics.
History
The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'')
The ...
in Leipzig, and considered as having among the finest acoustics in the world.
Auckland residents had mixed opinions of the building after it was constructed, with some likening it to a cheese wedge or a
flat iron.
The exterior is constructed of two types of stone; the ground floor is made of a dark volcanic basalt, heavily rusticated, which contrasts with the pale stonework of the upper storeys.
Oamaru limestone from the south island was used for the upper part of the building. The lower part is often assumed to be Auckland basalt but was actually sourced from Melbourne, in Australia. This was probably due to the architects already having a history of sourcing consistently good quality stone from the quarries there, as well as the availability of heavy duty steam saws to handle the notoriously difficult stone.
The interior contains several varieties of English ceramic surfaces – tessellated floors and glazed ceramic wall tiles. The semi-circular Council Chamber is fitted with wood panelling and
Art-Nouveau-style electric light fittings, while stained glass is a feature of all the main rooms. The ceilings throughout all the main floors are ornamented with good quality plasterwork, the Great Chamber being the most elaborate. The great four-sided clock in the building's tower was donated by
Arthur Myers (
MP and former Auckland mayor) and the Great Hall's pipe organ by Sir Henry Brett. The Town Hall project was championed by Myers before and during his time as mayor (1905–1909), and one of his last acts in office was to lay the foundation stone.
The Town Hall's interior was extensively restored from 1994–1997 at a cost of
NZ$
The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zeal ...
33 million, partially because the unreinforced masonry structure did not meet earthquake standards. Australian engineering firm
Sinclair Knight Merz pioneered various techniques to reinforce the structure without substantially changing the heritage character of the building.
In 2007, the exterior underwent additional restoration work. A number of ornamental details on the exterior had been removed in the 1950s due to earthquake concerns, and some of the Oamaru limestone was damaged during aggressive stone cleaning. After careful research and analysis, these were replaced by limestone sourced from the same levels of the North Otago quarry that provided the original stone. Interior acoustic performance was corrected by the removal of earlier ill-judged and obtrusive intervention measures and their replacement by less-visible and more effective treatments. Interior paintwork was restored throughout to the original Edwardian-era colours. Complex fragmented porcelain and glazed ceramic tiling was restored with exact, new purpose-made replicas in the lavish main entrance foyer. The original carpet was recreated (for reference, a small portion of the original was left in one corner of the Council Chamber). The stained glass windows were restored and (where necessary), rebuilt and the entire building was unobtrusively fire protected.
Town Hall Organ

The Town Hall
Organ
Organ and organs may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function
* Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body.
Musical instruments
...
, dating from 1911, is the largest musical instrument in the country,
and is itself a 'Protected Object' in New Zealand law. It was funded by former mayor of Auckland
Henry Brett, designed by English organist
Edwin Lemare and constructed by Norwich pipe organ manufacturer
Norman and Beard.
It was extensively remodelled in 1969–1970 when the
organ reform movement
The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' (also called the Organ Revival Movement) was a mid-20th-century trend in pipe organ building, originating in Germany. The movement was most influential in the United States in the 1930s through 1970s, ...
reached New Zealand, significantly altering and reducing its original Romantic-era power, discarding many parts of the original, and adding new ones to produce a then-fashionable Baroque sound. The resulting compromised instrument was dismantled in January 2008 for restoration and rebuilding. The rebuilt organ, incorporating remaining parts of the 1911 original, some recently recovered components, and new elements, was built by
Orgelbau Klais of Bonn, Germany. It returned to the Great Hall at the end of 2008, and was reassembled as the country's largest (and once again most powerful), organ.
Auckland City had committed itself to providing NZ$3 million to the restoration project, with a $500,000 remainder obtained via private fundraising. The restored organ was officially unveiled on 21 March 2010, with a specially commissioned symphony.
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
In early February 2016, the administration staff of New Zealand's largest metropolitan orchestra, the
Auckland Philharmonia, moved into the vacant former mayoral office suite, making Auckland Town Hall, where the orchestra largely performs, its new home.
Gallery
Aucklandtownhallnight.jpg, Town Hall entrance from Queen Street
Auckland Town Hall At Night.jpg, Overhead view of the Town Hall at night
View from the door of Auckland Town Hall.jpg, from the door of Auckland Town Hall
References
External links
Auckland Town Hall(official website)
*
held in
Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.
{{Coord, -36.8526856, 174.7634912, display=title, format=dms
Theatres in Auckland
Buildings and structures in Auckland
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
Concert halls in New Zealand
City and town halls in New Zealand
Italian Renaissance Revival architecture
Tourist attractions in Auckland
1910s architecture in New Zealand
Auckland CBD
Government buildings completed in 1911
Music venues completed in 1911
Theatres completed in 1911