Dunedin Municipal Chambers
| Dunedin Town Hall | |
|---|---|
The Octagon (south) facade
|
|
| Alternative names | Dunedin Centre Dunedin Municipal Chambers |
| General information | |
| Architectural style |
Neo-Renaissance (first phase) Neo-Baroque (second phase) |
| Location | The Octagon, Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Construction started | 23 May 1878 (first phase) 3 March 1928 (second phase) |
| Completed | 25 May 1880 (first phase) 15 February 1930 (second phase) |
| Renovated | 1989 |
| Cost | £20,000 (first phase) £86,000 (second phase) |
| Owner | Dunedin City Council |
| Height | 47 m (165 ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect |
Robert Lawson (first phase) Henry Mandeno and Roy Fraser (second phase) |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | Bill Hesson and Robert Tongue |
| Awards and prizes | 1991 New Zealand Institute of Architects’ National Award |
| Official name | Municipal Chambers |
| Designated | 2-Jul-1987 |
| Reference no. | 2197 |
The Dunedin Town Hall is a municipal building in the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. It is located in the heart of the city extending from The Octagon, the central plaza, to Moray Place through a whole city block. It is the seat of the Dunedin City Council, providing its formal meeting chamber, as well as a large auditorium and a conference centre. The oldest part of the building has been called the only substantial Victorian town hall still in existence in New Zealand. It isn't but it may be the most substantial Victorian municipal building still in use in the country for its original purpose.
The name is ambiguous. The structure was built in two major stages with a fifty-year gap between. The first stage, built in the 19th century, is a block of offices. This was popularly called the “Dunedin Town Hall” even though it had no auditorium. The second stage, built in the early 20th century, had not one but two auditoriums; this whole new addition was then officially designated the “Dunedin Town Hall”, and the pre-existing office block became the “Municipal Chambers”. The term “Dunedin Town Hall” now came to be used in its official sense but also specifically for the main auditorium by itself and frequently too for the whole extended building. In the 1980s the official name for the second stage additions was changed to “The Dunedin Centre” but few people know exactly what that refers to. This article is about the whole building.
Dunedin City was incorporated in 1865, the first so constituted in New Zealand. Following the population growth and wealth generated by the Otago gold rush, the city council decided it should build new and larger premises. The settlement's first wooden town offices were demolished in 1859, and no formal structure existed after that, partly because of indecision as to where it should be. A decision was finally made in favour of the site of the city's first hospital. (This is commemorated by a plaque in Municipal Lane.) A design competition was held which was won in 1877 by Thomas Bedford Cameron, with a design submitted by R. A. Lawson placed second.
When costed Cameron’s design proved to be more expensive than the £7,000 allowed for the project. The council, which had admired Lawson’s impressive front elevation, employed him to re-work Cameron’s design and also to supervise its construction. In the event he was allowed to substitute his own design for Cameron’s.
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