Fremantle Town Hall

Fremantle Town Hall is a town hall located in the portside city of Fremantle, Western Australia and situated on the corner of High, William and Adelaide Streets. The official opening, on 22 June 1887, coincided with the celebration of Queen Victoria's Jubilee and it was formally named by the mayor, Daniel Keen Congdon and the state governor, Sir Frederick Broome, as the Town and Jubilee Hall.

On 7 June 1876, Councillor E. H. Higham suggested that the Council should approach the Colonial Secretary to have a government reserve, on the corner of South Terrace and Essex Street, set aside to build a town hall. The use of the site was approved by the state governor, Sir William Robinson, who offered convict labour for the construction as well as free design and specification preparation by the government engineer, and promised to seek a liberal grant from the Legislative Council for the construction project. The government engineer drafted plans that are no longer extant.

On 11 July a ratepayers' meeting talked of the funds needed to build the town hall and W. E. Marmion unsuccessfully suggested that a more central site in High Street be purchased instead. Plans did not go ahead as funding could not be met.

The more central site that had been previously suggested was bought by the Council in 1876 after the Church of England decided to demolish the first St John's church, located on what is now High Street, and build the current church in St John's Square. In doing this, they sold the southern part of their land to the Council, which both funded the new church and resulted in a triangular area of land suitable for the new town hall.

In April 1881, the Chairman of the Council again raised the matter of the town hall. He proposed a building to cost no more than £8000. Attempts to raise funds locally failed, and the architect behind the plans was rejected in favour of Melbourne architects John Grainger and Charles D'Ebro, who also designed the National Bank in Fremantle.

...
Wikipedia