The Leongatha Memorial Hall and Former Shire Offices – Corner McCartin St and Michael Place, Leongatha

            The Leongatha Memorial Hall and Shire Offices were opened and dedicated by Brigadier General
Elliot and Chaplain Colonel Cookston on 24 May, 1926. Chaplain Cookson dedicated the Hall with a prayer that concluded with "In the Name of the Town and Residents of the District, I Dedicate this Hall". It was designed by local architect, T. E. Molloy, and was constructed by Raymond V. Ritchie for £14,000.

The interior decoration included 12 panels depicting scenes from the leading "purely Australian" battles of World War I, with the proscenium being flanked by scenes depicting Gallipoli, and the battle between HMAS Sydney and the Emden. These were painted by Mr. J. Broche of Inverloch.

The need for a new Memorial Hall and Shire Offices to replace the original buildings constructed in 1890 and 1891 respectively was recognised from the early 1920s, and a resolution was passed at a public meeting held on 13 August 1923 that Council be approached in relation to this matter. The issue came to a head when the old Mechanics Hall and adjoining Shire Offices were destroyed by
fire on 19 February, 1924. A committee was formed after the fire and after several meetings it was decided to advertise for suitable designs. On 22 July 1924, the plans of T. E. Molloy were chosen and following this a loan to finance the project was made, while the Leongatha Branch of the RSSAILA donated £1,000 on the condition that a suitable room was placed in the building "for the exclusive use of members". Tenders were called and on 15 April 1925, the offer of Mr. Raymond V. Ritchie was accepted.

The Leongatha Memorial Hall and former Shire Offices is a large brick, hip roofed public hall fronted by a two storey Free Classical facade and single storey wings to either side, terminating at the corner with an engaged colonnaded rotunda and returning north along Michael Place in a single storey classical facade which fronted the shire offices. A notable element is the symmetrical central façade.  This is constructed of clinker brick at the ground floor with paired double hung windows on either side of a battered and coursed render arched entry surround connecting through a wide rendered band with the words “In Remembrance” in raised letters to the piano nobile above. The clinker bricks are tuck pointed in blocks, rather than as individual bricks. The whole of the piano nobile is rendered, with windows between alternating single and paired detached Tuscan columns carrying a wide architrave with triglyphs and bosses, cornice and a parapet with a central pediment containing the sunburst coat of arms of the Australian armed forces. It climaxes with a statue of the “Winged Victory” carrying a palm frond and sword and flanked by bronze lamp standards now missing their opal spheres.  Pedimented render plaques commemorating the fallen are mounted at the sides of the entry element. The side wings are single storey and are almost symmetrical in form. They have paired and single detached columns supporting an architrave with triglyphs and bosses, cornice and solid balustrade, dividing each side into two brick bays with central windows. The columns sit on short pedestals to the window sill height. Perhaps its most notable and dominating feature is the corner rotunda.  This has a matching pattern but slightly higher columns and architrave capped with an octagonal metal clad dome. This rotunda serves as an entry and separates the McCartin Street facade from the Michael Place front. The slightly lower Michael Place front is designed as a separate composition of three bays divided by paired piers with the central element projecting slightly and capped with a pediment. There is a small granite obelisk at the curb opposite the hall entry which commemorates later war dead.

The Australian Federation period represented an important phase in the development of Leongatha. The new butter factory, which was erected in 1905, led to increased prosperity in the town and agitation for better public facilities. The new Post Office in 1906 was the first of a number of new buildings added over the next ten years including the Railway Station (1910), Mechanics Institute Library (1911), Court House (1912) and Agricultural High School (1914). After the interruption caused by the Great War (1914 – 1918), this civic building program finally reached its zenith with the construction of the new Memorial Hall and Shire Offices between 1925 and 1926.

Leongatha is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia, located 135 kilometres south-east of Melbourne. The town is the civic, commercial, industrial, religious, educational and sporting centre of the region.   The Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co. Limited, is a farmers' co-operative which trades in Australia under the Devondale label, and has a dairy processing plant just north of the town producing milk-based products for Australian and overseas markets.  First settlement of the area by Europeans occurred in 1845. The Post Office opened as Koorooman on 1 October 1887 and renamed Leongatha in 1891 when a township was established on the arrival of the railway.  The Daffodil Festival is held annually in September. Competitions are held and many daffodil varieties are on display. A garden competition is also held and there are many beautiful examples throughout the provincial town.  The South Gippsland Railway runs historical diesel locomotives and railcars between the market and dairy towns of Nyora and Leongatha, passing through Korumburra.

Taken in: Australia / Victoria / Leongatha (show map)

Taken on: January 10, 2013

Tags:

Leongatha Memorial Hall

memorial

rememberance

The Great War

World War I

World War I memorial

shrine

Leongatha Shire Offices

former Leongatha shire offices

offices

Leongatha Memorial Hall and Shire Offices

1920s

20s

1926

Edwardian

Edwardiana

architecture

building

architecturally designed

T E Molloy

Raymond V Ritchie

hip roof

public hall

public building

two storey

Free Classical

Free Classical architecture

Classical Free style

Classical Free building

facade

Leongatha

Victoria

Australia

provincial Victoria

country Victoria

South Gippsland

Gippsland

Country town

town

dairy town

market town

McCartin

McCartin Street

Michael Place

Michael Pl

symmetrical

brown brick

clinker brick

brick

tuck pointed

detail

architectural detail

coat of arms

sunburst coat of arms

Australian Armed Services

Armed Services

crown

balcony

balustrade

cast iron

cast iron balustrade

window

windows

gable « less

Sets appears in: • Edwardiana • Leongatha Memorial Hall and Former Shire Offices

Groups appears in: • Australian Images • Architecture more » • Melbourne and Beyond • Historical places • Architecture and Buildings • architectural photography • Trove: Australia in Pictures • History is All Around Us • Historic Australia 1901-1945 • Traveller's World • War Memorials • Victoria, Australia • victoria australia • Buildings and Sculptures • IMAGE`S OF BUILDINGS - OLD AND NEW • Historical buildings • Historical Buildings and Landmarks (No Limits) • Architecture of Days Gone By • My Australia • Architecture Directory • Brick by Brick • South Gippsland • Australia-down-under • Australian Summer • : War Memorials : • The Best of Australia and New Zealand • Historical Memorials, Tombstones and Graves • Gippsland, Victoria • Leongatha And Surrounds • Built environments • They Dont Make Them Like They Used To • Edwardian Architecture • War Memorials of Australia and New Zealand • Architectural Beauty ! • 1926 • Buildings & Architecture • Architecture of Modern Movement 1880-1940 • Visual Delight • Australian War Memorials • Buildings - Around the World • Gippsland History • Buildings and Architecture International • World Architecture • School of Digital Photography • ABCTV Weather • The 20s Turn 90 « less

Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/2.8, 1/500 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Focal Length:	6.2mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Show full info

Stats: 12,720 views

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: