CLUNES TOWN HALL AND COURT HOUSE
98 Bailey Street Clunes
From Victorian Heritage Database
The Clunes Town Hall and Court House was
designed by Percy Oakden and constructed by William Cowland in
1872-3. The distinctive Victorian Free Classical style building is
a reflection of the civic pride and community confidence of a gold
town at the peak of its prosperity.
In July 1851 it was announced that payable gold
had been discovered near Clunes. Clunes' fortunes fluctuated
during the early 1850s and it was not until the Port Phillip and
Colonial Gold Mining Company began quartz crushing operations that
the town experienced significant development. The township of
Clunes was surveyed in 1858 and in 1861, Allotment 7 of Section 4
was temporarily reserved for municipal purposes for the newly
proclaimed Borough of Clunes. Architect Percy Oakden was appointed
to produce a design for the Town Hall, Borough Offices and Court
House in late 1871. A grant of £2100 from the Victorian Government
to the Clunes Borough Council for a court house, tied to a 999
year lease, provided sufficient funds to construct a substantial
civic building. The foundation stone was laid by the Chief
Secretary of Victoria, Charles Gavan Duffy in April 1872 and the
Town Hall opened in May 1873.
Oakden's design was for a symmetrical building,
with the Borough offices and Police Court flanking the
two-storeyed central hall. The Police Court consists of court
room, barrister's office and holding cell on the lower level and
clerks' and magistrate's offices on an upper level. Much of its
original furniture is extant. The lavish main hall is of
particular note, with its decorative ceiling, lunette windows and
stage. The Town Hall was the centre of social functions for nearly
a century, and modifications to the building to accommodate
entertainment include the early dressing rooms, the 1916 stage
remodelling to include proscenium arch, backdrops and curtain
painted by Richard Ford, the modifications for the screening of
picture shows and the relocation of the Bible Christian Church for
use as the Supper Room.
The building was a symbolic centre for community
loyalty and sense of belonging, evidenced by the large World War I
memorial on the western wall of the main hall. The memorial
consisted of the painted rising sun by Richard Ford and the
collection of 152 individual photographs of local servicemen and
women, which originally hung alongside it.
In December 1982, the Government revoked the
appointment of the Clunes Court House during a period of
rationalisation of court facilities. With the amalgamation of the
Borough of Clunes and the Shire of Talbot, the Clunes Town Hall
was no longer the location of municipal operations. Though with
the growth in car usage and changing tastes in entertainment, the
Town Hall gradually became less of a focus for community functions
and leisure activities, it remains a significant place for the
township of Clunes.
Victorian Heritage Database
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