page_title: Mackay Town Hall
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mackay Town Hall / History
caption_attribution_description: Mackay City Council Building
context_page_description: Mackay Town Hall is a heritage-listed former town hall at 63 Sydney Street, Mackay, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the second town hall to be built on this site. It was designed by Arthur Rigby built in 1912 by Charles Porter for the Mackay Town Council. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 29 May 1998.
context_section_description: The former Mackay Town Hall, the second constructed in the city, was built in 1912 by local builder, Charles Porter, to the design of Mackay architect Arthur Rigby. It was constructed on land purchased by the Mackay Borough Council on 13 December 1872.
  John Mackay and his party had explored what was to become the Pioneer Valley in 1860. The present city blocks were surveyed in June 1863 when the settlement consisted of several dozen huts and tents in a line along a track parallel to the southern bank of the river, and the first land sale was held at the police office, Bowen, on 13 October 1863.
  The settlement became the business centre for the pastoral stations in the district, providing services, supplies and port facilities. By the mid-1860s the township of Mackay had a post office, telegraph connection to Brisbane, churches, banks, and a racecourse. The track through the valley and over the range to Fort Cooper pastoral run had been upgraded to a road.
  By 1868, public meetings had discussed the establishment of a local municipal council under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864 for the purposes of establishing local government in the area. Further meetings and a petition signed by 178 householders, freeholders and residents of Mackay resulted in the proclamation of the Borough of Mackay on 22 September 1869.
  The inaugural meeting of the Mackay Municipal Council, which was composed of local businessmen, was held on 1 December 1869. This meeting was possibly held in the Court House in River Street, which served a number of government functions. Soon after, the Council met in the original Post and Telegraph Office in Wood Street. Subsequent meetings were held in a building in Sydney Street owned by Mr R Fleming.
  The first Municipal Chambers (town hall) of Mackay was a timber structure, constructed on Allotment 3 Section 33 in Sydney Street in 1872. By 1884, when Mackay was experiencing a boom in sugar prices, the building was deemed to be inadequate and plans were prepared for a new town hall. However, it was not until 1909 that the Town Council accepted recommendations from its newly formed Town Hall Committee, that a town hall of brick be built and that Council apply for a ten year loan from the Queensland Government for that purpose. The following March, the Committee also recommended the building should be on the site of the original Town Hall in Sydney Street, and that competitive designs be called for.
  Two designs were submitted, and that of Mackay architect and engineer Arthur Rigby was accepted on 30 November 1911, with modifications to the roof as recommended by the Treasury Department. Tenders for construction were called and the lowest, that of Charles Porter for £2327, was accepted. Porter had previously undertaken major building contracts for the South African Government, and his constructions in Mackay included several nearby places of local significance, including Paxton's Shipping Office and Store, St Patrick's Presbytery and St Mary's Church in River Street as well as the Australian Hotel. His company also supplied building material and furniture to the Mackay community.
  The first town hall was moved to the rear of the block, to make way for the new building. Tenders were accepted from Thomas Cherry, a cabinetmaker in Mackay, and Victor Leon Thomas Warry for the supply of furniture and Porter's supplied gas fittings. Furnishings included "cork carpet" in the hallway, linoleum in the downstairs rooms, fibre matting on the stairs and the Council room left bare. Photographs of John Mackay and past mayors were hung in the entrance hallway.
  The Town Hall was constructed of locally produced bricks and the plan featured a central, square tower designed to include a clock. The clock was never purchased and circular, glass paned windows still remain on the west, north and south sides of the tower.
  The new Town Hall was constructed during the year of the "Jubilee of 50 years of economic growth". The official opening was on Wednesday 2 October 1912. The first official Council meeting was held in the new building on
caption: Mackay Civic Administration Building, 2006
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