Canning Town Hall - Municipal Heritage Inventory - City of Canning Cannington, Western Australia, Australia
By jinta29 on 21-Jan-18. Waypoint GA11856

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DESCRIPTION
Canning Town Hall is an Inter-war classical style building located at the corner of George Street
and Albany Highway, Cannington. The Canning Town Hall building comprises the original hall
constructed in 1909, the extension on the northern side of the building constructed in 1926, the
eastern wing of former offices constructed in 1955 and various additions including the brick
covered way along the eastern side probably constructed in 1972, and the toilet block on the
western side of the hall constructed in 1996.
The different elements of the building are visually diverse and comprise a range of architectural
styles and materials. The walls however are all of brick and the whole building has been painted
white, which gives a more unified appearance.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Canning Town Hall comprises a hall and offices, which was built as a town hall and administrative
centre for the Queens Park Municipality, later the City of Canning.
It was constructed in 1909 following a period of controversy regarding its proposed location. The
site finally chosen on the comer of Albany Road and George Street being purchased by the
Queens Park Council from a J.H. Woods for 100 pounds. A tender of £597-10-3 was accepted
from builder J McCracken, and the architect, H Jefferies, was appointed to oversee the project.
Minor alterations took place over the next few years. The front doors were painted in 1911 and a
small notice board installed nearby. An honour roll was installed inside the Hall in 1915 and
approval for the erection of a flagpole was granted in 1917. The hall was used for various
activities including social functions, dances, concerts first aid classes to name but a few.
A change in the use of the Hall, which presaged a much longer history, was proposed in 1920
when the managers of the Lyceum Theatre, Mount Lawley, wrote to the Council, with an offer to
rent the Hall as a picture theatre. On 25 July 1921 the Council voted to allow the Hall to be let
one night a week as a cinema, for a period of six months with an option to renew.
In the same year a memorial to fallen soldiers was erected in front of the hall and a chain fence
with a turnstile was erected to replace the original picket fence. In 1948 the memorial arch was
relocated to its present site and incorporated with memorial rose gardens as memorial to both
World Wars.
In 1926 the hall was extended to include a public gallery with a new boardroom and additional
office space. A new brick section was constructed at the front of the existing hall. The original
part of the building was also upgraded including rewiring and structural work.
In 1964 Council considered plans to remodel the Hall, and in 1965 accepted a tender to turn the
Hall into offices for the Council, before it took up space in its new Administrative Centre, next
door. In 1972, the Council decided to convert the Hall into a community hall and Senior Citizens
Centre, and renovations took place the following year.
In 2015 the Hall was available for hire for special events such as weddings; and also seminars,
workshops and theatrical productions.
The Town Hall was largely surrounded by market gardens up until the 1950s. This changed
dramatically with the intensification of Albany Highway and its transformation into a commercial
strip and with the purchase of 17.75 acres of adjacent land for the purpose of constructing a new
Council Administration Centre.