The Australian Hall is noteworthy as a fine and unusual Federation Free Style building and as an important and rare sample of early twentieth century architecture. The building also has heritage significance related to its associations with the German Concordia Club and subsequent owners, as well as for its uses as a theatre and cinema. Most significantly, the Australian Hall was the venue for the first Aboriginal Day of Mourning Conference, held on 26 January 1938.

Today, as a memorial to the conference and a commemoration of the Aboriginal Civil Rights movement, the Australian Hall is the most important post-contact Aboriginal historic place in New South Wales (NSW) and the only ‘European’ building with recognized cultural significance for the Aboriginal community.

Situated in downtown Sydney, the building is surrounded by modern structures. In the early 1990s plans were submitted to demolish the building for extensive high-rise redevelopment, which resulted in a lengthy campaign led by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC) and the National Aboriginal History and Heritage Council (NAHHC), to save the building.

As a result of the campaign, a Permanent Conservation Order (PCO) was placed on the entire building in 1998, which entitles the site to protection under the NSW Heritage Act (1977).   

The Australian Hall building was originally named after the organization who built it, the Concordia Club. Since its construction in 1912 the three-storey red-brick structure has had a series of owners and a variety of uses. In the 1920s the building was owned by the Knights of the Southern Cross (KSC), a Catholic fraternal society, who changed the building’s name in 1923 to the KSC Hall. The main hall in the building was known as the Australian Hall and from the 1920s until the 1950s this hall was leased out for a wide range of functions, including dances and meetings.

One such meeting was the Day of Mourning Conference in 1938. Held on the 150th anniversary of the landing of the First Fleet (the ships that brought British settlers and convicts to Australia in 1788), a day mourned by many Aboriginal people, the Conference aimed to draw attention to the suffering of Australia’s indigenous population and was a protest against oppressive legislation, inequality and injustice.

In the 1960s considerable alterations were made to the hall and other parts of the building in order to convert it first into a theatre and later into a cinema. In 1979 the building was purchased by the Greek Cypriot community and named the Cyprus Hellene Club.

It was when the site was scheduled for demolition in the early 1990s that the importance of the Australian Hall for the Aboriginal community was revealed and a campaign to save the building from redevelopment began. The Australian Hall physically represents a period in Aboriginal post-colonial history and the struggle to preserve the hall was concerned not only with saving the structure itself but also with changing the notion that Aboriginal history ended with colonization. The struggle was also about gaining recognition of the fact that the sacred sites of Aboriginal people are not limited to pieces of land and other natural places, but that the Aboriginal community also has an interest in heritage buildings.

In 1998 the building was purchased by the Metropolitan Aboriginal Association (MAA) and the entire structure is now known as the Australian Hall.

The restoration project began in late 1998 when a survey and study of the existing structure was undertaken. In 1999 a comprehensive Conservation Management Plan was prepared which provided a management framework for the project. Construction works began in May 2000 and were completed in just over 8 months, in February 2001.

Since the spiritual and symbolic significance of the building to the Aboriginal community is in the building’s public areas, especially the hall itself and the street façade, the focus of the project was primarily on the restoring these important parts of the building to their 1938 state.

While restoring the facades and primary public spaces, the project also aimed to adapt the remaining fabric of the building for a variety of uses related to the needs of the Aboriginal community. The project also sought to sensitively introduce modern services and facilities and make the building comply with contemporary standards for safe and equitable use.

Interior works included the removal of the cinema fit-outs installed in 1961, reconstruction of the timber floor and the rear stairs, and the reinstatement of the coffered ceiling, proscenium arch and decorative plasterwork. Works carried out on the exterior included the removal of the awning and cladding which had been added in the 1960s and restoration of the bricks and façade.

The restoration approach taken was to restore as much of the 1938 character as possible while taking extreme care not to damage other historical layers and aspects of significance. So while some features were replaced with 1938-era replicas, in cases where the original and historic details could be recovered they were preserved, such as an intact frieze which has been retained in situ, with the original paint finish. Similarly, timber joinery was repainted but the dents were retained to illustrate the age and history of the timber. In the case of the entrance hall, the original 1912 floor was uncovered when the 1960s-era vinyl flooring was removed so the floor was restored to its original state, rather than recreating the 1938 flooring. Likewise, the 1920s-era central entry hall terrazzo flooring and Southern Cross motif were retained and restored.

An attempt was made to distinguish the restoration and new works from the original historic fabric. In the main hall, for example, a section of new floorboards was marked with a timber border to distinguish the new materials and to interpret the significance of that section of flooring - this border illustrated where the projection box had been when the hall was used as a cinema.  Also, in order to distinguish new features key new elements were marked with the date of construction, such as the replica proscenium arch bearing the date 2001.

Another important aspect of the project was the integration of modern services with the building’s historic fabric. Rather than alter the structure, most of the added building services were incorporated within newly introduced elements. The supports for the new exhaust fan, for example, were built into the new proscenium structure in the hall ceiling.

Mobilizing resources and people
In the early 1990s when the Australian Hall was threatened with demolition, the Aboriginal Community was successfully mobilized by the MLALC and the NAHHC to campaign to save the building. Having achieved the protection of the building under heritage legislation, the site was then purchased by the MLALC, with funding from the Indigenous Land Fund. The building’s restoration costs, of around A$6 million, were then funded entirely through the MLALC after a submission to the Federal Government for funding of A$1.2 million was rejected.

The awareness generated in the general public and the Aboriginal community about the history and importance of the Australian Hall has ensured that it will continue to be a place of interest and significance so that its upkeep is unlikely to be neglected in the future. Furthermore, the revenue earned through leasing of floor space on the ground floor of the newly-renovated Australian Hall is a reliable source of funds for the maintenance of the building.

The restoration project has recaptured the physical essence of the venue for the 1938 conference and the restored building is a tangible reminder of the historic struggle by the Aboriginal community for equal rights, which has strengthened pride in recent Aboriginal history.

Furthermore, the project has established an urban centre for the Aboriginal community. In addition, as a celebration of cultural heritage, the project has enhanced awareness of Aboriginal heritage among the younger generation of the now multi-cultural Australia and provides a lesson about important events in Australian history.

The project has also benefited the Australian community as a whole by conserving a significant site in Sydney’s urban and social history and restoring an important part of the early twentieth century urban streetscape.

The project was undertaken to the highest level of professional conservation practice, as recognized by its support from both the NSW Heritage Council and Sydney City Council. It fully responds to the expressed needs of the Metropolitan Aboriginal Association Incorporated, as owners and occupiers of the completed project. By integrating the conservation of the cultural heritage of both communities, the project meets the requirements of conservation and client objectives providing a link to the past and opportunities for the journey forward.