The Bendigo Town Hall is an Australian

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 ...

prominently located at the intersection of Bull Street and Hargreaves Street in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. It is considered one of the finest

Victorian-era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

Second Empire buildings in Australia.

Early history

The original Bendigo Town Hall was designed in 1859 by Bendigo's town clerk, George Avery Fletcher. A council chamber was added in 1866 and a hall for the trading of grain, known as the Corn Exchange, was added in 1871-72. Although the architecture of the additional buildings adhered to that of the original building, the completed building was unpopular with both the citizens and council of the era.

Vahland rebuilding

In a series of major works from 1878 to 1902 the Bendigo Town Hall was transformed by the architect William Vahland who was given the task of converting the hall into something worthy of Bendigo's leading position as the "City of Gold". His work included extensive new offices, enlargement of the main hall and council chambers, the introduction of an interior decorative scheme, a clock tower and mansard roof. The exterior facades were also remodelled in the classical style. Vahland commissioned Otto Waschatz, who had just decorated the Royal Palace in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, to design the hall's interior which featured decorative plaster adorned with 22-carat gold leaf, reflecting the opulence of the "city built on gold". The end result, completed in 1885, was one of Vahland's most significant works and has been considered the finest " boom style" building of its kind in Victoria. BendigoTownHall2

Present day

In 2003, the Bendigo Town Hall was returned to its 19th-century splendour after an extensive restoration and renovation program including plasterworks, murals and gold leaf worked by artists and artisans. The council of the

City of Greater Bendigo The City of Greater Bendigo is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of and, in August 2021, had a population of 121,470. It includes the city of Bendigo and the towns of A ...

meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Bendigo Town Hall offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities.

References

{{coord, -36.75879, 144.28246, format=dms, type:landmark_region:AU-VIC, display=title Town halls in Victoria (state) Victorian architecture in Victoria (state) Second Empire architecture in Australia Buildings and structures in Bendigo 1885 establishments in Australia