For more than nine decades, the Yarrawonga Town (Shire) Hall has stood tall offering the perfect venue for many events and functions.
The Yarrawonga Town (Shire) Hall has hosted many important events and celebrations over the last nine decades.
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For more than nine decades the Yarrawonga Town (Shire) Hall has not only been an iconic structure but an important place for events, and special occassions.
How the hall began
The 1897 Yarrawonga Shire Council Chambers, now a restaurant, served the community well until the mid-1920s, when the increased level of responsibilities forced the Yarrawonga Shire Council to consider having a new building constructed to provide additional office space.
The 1897 Yarrawonga Shire Council Chambers, now a restaurant near the post office, served the community well until the mid-1920s.
Serious discussions about the necessity for a new shire hall began around 1927. The desired location was on the east side of Belmore Street on the north corner of the intersection with Orr Street.
This site was occupied at the time by the Yarrawonga Chronicle office, while the site where the Yarrawonga Community Hall stood was occupied by the Yarrawonga Mercury office.
The Mechanics Institute Library was situated in the Athenaeum building.
A complicated set of deals was worked out by early 1929. Permanent space was provided for the library within the proposed new shire hall, and the Yarrawonga Chronicle and Mercury properties were swapped for the Atheneum building. This left the desired site available for construction work.
Formal plans for the future new shire hall were drawn up by Harrison & Glaskin, architects of Albury. Tenders were called in mid-1929 and the successful tenderer was J. Keith.
During the construction phase, Keith went bankrupt and the job was passed to Alfred Chappel.
The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 1 October 1929 by Cr John Munro, Shire President. The new building, without clock, was completed in November 1930. It boasted one of the largest auditorium and stage areas within the north-east of Victoria along with an elevated balcony-style seating area, making it very suited to grand ball, theatre productions and similar functions. Total seating capacity was 1,000 persons, 700 downstairs and 300 in the dress circle.
No record can be found of an official opening ceremony ever being held for the new shire hall. This was probably a consequence of the deepening economic depression at the time. However, the new hall did host a very successful ‘First Concert’ on 1 December 1930 by a local charitable singing and dancing group “The Sparklets”.
The construction tender for the shire hall included a clock tower but excluded the provision of the four clockfaces. It was seven years before the clock and clockfaces were added to the tower.
The tender and contract for the construction of the shire hall included a clock tower but excluded the provision of the four clockfaces, because the council did not have sufficient funds for these items.
It was seven years before the clock and clockfaces were added to the clock tower, with most of the money required being raised by public subscription.
The money for the clock was passed over to the council on the afternoon of November 11, 1937 in a small ceremony in council chambers.
The official opening of the Yarrawonga Shire Hall in 1931. The hall has hosted many important events and celebrations over the last nine decades.
The clock was called the Memorial Clock, dedicated to the servicemen who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Great War. A plaque to this effect was placed on the front of the building under the western clock face. For some unknown reason, the plaque was installed about five metres above street level. Consequently, its presence is unknown to most passers-by.
The 94-year-old was finally put on the Victorian Heritage Register in September 2022 following the Yarrawonga Community Action Group’s (YCAG) nomination for State Level Heritage listing in 2019.
The Yarrawonga Town Hall continues to be the definitive icon of the town of Yarrawonga. The auditorium in the hall has been a popular venue for major town events, film screenings, theatre performances and dances for decades. Let’s hope the tradition continues.
Information from this article was extracted from the Historical Society’s history book “A Bridge Across Time.” which is available for sale at the Pioneer Museum and Yarrawonga News & Gifts.
The Yarrawonga Shire Hall has been recognised for state-level cultural heritage significance.
The town hall’s future – have your say
Together with the Future Use Advisory Group, Moira Shire Council is seeking the community's thoughts and ideas for the future of the historic Yarrawonga Town Hall.
Share your ideas about what this beloved community asset means to you and how you see it being used in the future.
Your feedback will help inform the vision and goals for the hall.
Moira Shire Council’s Chair Administrator Graeme Emonson PSM encourages everyone with an interest in the hall to complete the survey.
“This is the community’s opportunity to share what inspires them about the town hall, and what could take place there. Local input is crucial in helping us recreate a vibrant and inclusive community space that meets everyone’s needs,” Dr Emonson said.
The Yarrawonga Town Hall Future Use Advisory Group comprises of community group representatives and advises council about future uses and users of the hall.
Council and the advisory group are keen to get broad community input from past users of the hall and from potential new users who may have fresh and exciting ideas about how the hall could be reactivated – recognising there are spatial and financial limitations, including a heritage overlay which limits some structural changes.
The Yarrawonga Mulwala Historical Society will be pleased to provide the questionnaire to anyone interested in commenting on the Hall’s future. Please apply to Yarramulhistoricalsociety2@gmail.com
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