Brisbane City Town Hall, Queensland.

Built in the 1920-30's, Brisbane Town Hall in King George Square was not the first town hall in Brisbane. The first Brisbane Town Hall was built in Queen St in 1864, and less than 20 years later was deemed inadequate. The foundation stone for the new town hall was laid in 1917 by Governor Gould in swampland, and a call for designs was submitted. The decision to build the Town Hall on swamp land in the 1920's may not have been a good idea. During construction of the building the site was flooded with wet weather and a workman drowned.

A second foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales (future King Edward VIII) in 1920, along with a time capsule, By 1927 the council had moved in, despite the building not being finished. The town hall was finally completed in 1930, and another foundation stone was laid by the then Governor of Queensland Sir John Goodwin to officially open the building. When it opened it was the tallest building in Brisbane.

The town hall is built on over 2 acres and is considered the largest town hall in Australia. There are many things to see in the Town Hall. It is open 7 days a week and has two cafes. I suggest you book the Shingle Inn if that is the cafe you want. You can pick up a free visitor guide at the front desk or in the Mayors office.

1. There are daily free guided tours of the town hall. We have never been able to book one on the day we decide to go. I suggest you book one on the Brisbane Town Hall website if you know in advance.

2. The Museum of Brisbane (MoB) is a free museum on the 3rd floor of the town hall. It has a changing display of history and culture. We love visiting there and have seen many different displays over the years. When we visited the display was about the history of habitation in the Brisbane area, and included art work of the development. 

We were pleasantly surprised with the addition of a QR code with a signing video to explain the display.

3. The 92m Clock Tower was the tallest structure in the city until 1973. You can book a free tour to the clock tower from the Brisbane City webpage. It is free and books out quickly. Sometimes if you are in the MOB - Museum of Brisbane - you may be able to take a 'no show' place. The accent up to the top is in an original 1930's cage lift. Be aware that the clock chimes every fifteen minutes and it is very loud.

4. The auditorium is a lovely art deco designed area with a huge Father Henry Willis Organ, built in 1891 and relocated to Brisbane City Hall.

The organ has 4300 pipes.

5. We were told by a member of the Town Hall staff about the Gold Mirror Room. We looked up the guide and found it near the Lord Mayors office. This room is used for press conferences and as a waiting room for visitors to the Lord Mayor.

Just outside the mirror room is a hallway with plaques from many different councils around the world, and all the past lord mayors.

The foyer off King George Square had a historic display of the building of the town hall, which I  don't remember being there last year when we visited.

We came across this door, although I don't remember which floor it is on. 

It comes from Brisbane House in Largs Scotland, the home of Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, whom Brisbane is named after. 

The Ann Street foyer had another display of history and art work.

 

 

So much to see at Brisbane Town Hall, and the best thing is that each time you visit it is different.