The Port Augusta Town Hall is a heritage-listed former

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 ...

at 54 Commercial Road,

Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...

. It was Port Augusta's seat of local government from 1887 to 1983.

History

The town hall was built in 1886-87, to a design by Alfred Barham Black and H. E. Hughes. An earlier design by James Hill was condemned by architects. The design featured a large central auditorium, 75 feet by 45 feet with a stage. It was built by R. Honey, from stone quarried at

Quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 11 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as both a cooking ingredient and as ...

. The foundation stone was laid in June 1886 by the wife of the mayor, J. C. Knipe. It was opened in May 1887 by Knipe's successor as mayor, David Drysdale. The building was severely damaged by fire in 1944, with the main hall, gallery, mayor's parlour, supper room, stage, dressing and cloak rooms, and mothers' and babies' association all destroyed. The facade, council chamber and town council office were saved. It suffered a further wall collapse while being used as an open-air entertainment venue in 1945 while awaiting reconstruction. It was rebuilt in 1946 at a cost of £30,000, and opened in August by Governor

Willoughby Norrie Lieutenant-General Charles Willoughby Moke Norrie, 1st Baron Norrie, (26 September 1893 – 25 May 1977), was a senior officer of the British Army who fought in both World Wars, following which he served terms as Governor of South Australia and ...

. The original facade was retained as part of the rebuilt town hall. It was added to the South Australian Heritage Register in September 1982. It was also listed on the now-defunct

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

. In 1983, the

City of Port Augusta The City of Port Augusta is a local government area located at the northern end of Spencer Gulf in South Australia. It is centred on the town of Port Augusta. History The Port Augusta region is a natural crossroads and aborigines have been ...

vacated the building when the new Port Augusta Civic Centre was completed. It was used by community groups for many years. Much of the building remained disused and it became increasingly derelict over time. In 2007, a teenage boy was injured after falling through the building's roof. In June 2015, it was placed up for sale by the state government. It was reported the previous month that the community tenants had been given one month's notice. At that time, the building was reported to have structural problems, including issues with asbestos and "substantial cracking in the walls due to movement of the original footing". It had previously been reported to have problems with subsiding side walls and a crumbling facade, which had necessitated the erection of a verandah to protect pedestrians. Local state Liberal MP

Dan van Holst Pellekaan Daniel Cornelius van Holst Pellekaan is an Australian former politician. He represented the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Stuart for the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2010 state election until he ...

has supported removing the heritage listing from all of the site except the facade, supporting retaining only the facade of the town hall amidst a general redevelopment of the site. It was reported in March 2016 that contracts for the sale of the building had been signed, with the contract to require development within two years of purchase. That settlement had not yet occurred. As of 2019, the building had been partially renovated by new owners Gulf Group. The Port Augusta Boxing Club returning to a renovated space in the building, with a wider masterplan still in negotiation.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline Town halls in South Australia Government buildings completed in 1877 South Australian Heritage Register Port Augusta South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate Former seats of local government 1877 establishments in Australia