Dallas Brooks Hall known as Dallas Brooks Centre after 1993, was an Australian events venue in

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

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 ...

, between 1969 and 2015, before it was demolished to make way for housing. During its existence, many well-known music concerts and other events were staged there.

History

Built in 1969 for the by the local chapter of

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, the building was named after the 19th

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of Monarchy of Australia, the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the premier of V ...

Dallas Brooks General Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks, (22 August 1896 – 22 March 1966) was a British military commander who went on to become the 19th and longest-serving governor of Victoria, Australia. Early life Brooks was born on 22 August 1896 ...

. It was designed by the architecture firm

Godfrey and Spowers Godfrey and Spowers, now Spowers, is an Australian architectural design firm established about 1901 century in Melbourne, specializing in commercial and institutional buildings since the 1920s. William Scott Purves Godfrey W.S.P Godfrey was bor ...

. In 1974, events promoter John Pinder ran his " Reefer Cabaret" concerts at the hall. These consisted of long concerts with several musical acts, along with comedy, poetry readings, and various theatrical, dance, or novelty shows. The first event took place on 3 August 1974, and featured

The Dingoes The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band. They were initially active from 1973 to 1979, and reformed in 2009. Initially based in Melbourne, the band relocated to the United States from 1976. The most stable line-up comprised John Bois on ...

Skyhooks Skyhook was a location technology company based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in location positioning. Founded in 2003, Skyhook initially focused on geolocating Wi-Fi access points by wardriving for commercial purposes. Skyhook trans ...

, and other bands. After complaints from the Freemasons, Pinder was forced to find another venue. In 1993 it was renamed Dallas Brooks Centre, or, according to the signage "Dallas Brooks Convention and Function Centre". In 2001, the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

classified Dallas Brooks Hall in 2001, but was not successful in its bid to have the building heritage-listed by

Heritage Victoria Heritage Victoria is a branch of the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning. It is the regulator responsible for administering the Heritage Act 2017. The Heritage Act provides for the protection and conservation of the cultural heritage ...

in 2002. It was first announced in 2005 that owners Freemasons Victoria wanted to demolish the building, having entered into an agreement with

Lend Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),

to build a large commercial and residential development. The National Trust stated that it would oppose the demolition. Demolition was again announced in November 2012/ In 2015,

Victoria State Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

approval was given to demolish the hall and build residential apartments in its place, comprising two multi-storey towers with a total of 275 units."State Government approves Dallas Brooks towers in support of city growth"
''Herald Sun'', 5 March 2015. There was some controversy about the height of the apartment residential development built on the site.

Description

Dallas Brooks Hall was situated opposite

Fitzroy Gardens The Fitzroy Gardens are 26 hectares (64 acres) located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne central business district in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Clarendon Street, Albert Street, Lansdowne Street, and ...

, at 300 Albert Street, East Melbourne. The National Trust described the building as a landmark, and architecturally "unusual for including numerous halls and meeting rooms in the one complex, and the major concert hall built in Victoria in the post war period before the Arts Centre. It is also a rare example of the 1960s neo-classical revival, derived from a traditional columned temple from the Greek or Roman classical period". The hall had a seating capacity of 2,300.

Events

The hall was the venue of numerous concerts, union rallies, political meetings, graduation ceremonies, public meetings, and lectures through the years.

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

started the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

's campaign for the

1975 Australian federal election The 1975 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution. Malcolm Fraser had been commissioned ...

with a speech at the Dallas Brooks Hall. Musicians who played at the Dallas Brooks Hall include: *

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitar, sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known expert of Hin ...

(1970, 1973, 1981) *

(1974) *

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometim ...

(1975) *

Focus Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...

, and

Sebastian Hardie Sebastian Hardie were Australia's first symphonic rock band. They formed in Sydney in 1967 as Sebastian Hardie Blues Band but dropped the 'Blues Band' reference when they became pop-oriented. By 1973 they developed a more progressive rock style, ...

(1976) *

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

(1979) *

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

(1981) *

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...

(1983) * Sherbet *

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Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was bor ...

Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and occas ...

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He also wrote t ...

Crystal Gayle Brenda Gail Webb (born January 9, 1951), known professionally as Crystal Gayle, is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same ...

References

{{Authority control Music venues in Melbourne East Melbourne, Victoria Taekwondo venues Demolished buildings and structures in Melbourne Buildings and structures completed in 1969 Buildings and structures demolished in 2015 1969 establishments in Australia 2015 disestablishments in Australia