Central Hall is a building that stands at the end of Brunswick Street

Brunswick Street

Brunswick Street can refer to three different locations in Australia:*Brunswick Street, Brisbane, a major thoroughfare in Brisbane, famous for the Brunswick Street Mall....

 in Fitzroy

Fitzroy, Victoria

Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...

, Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia. This structure today serves as a centrepiece of Australian Catholic University's

Australian Catholic University

Australian Catholic University is a national public university. It has six campuses and offers programs in five faculties throughout Australia.-History:...

 St. Patrick's Campus. It once held a similar role within Melbourne’s Roman Catholic (and predominantly Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

) community, from the time the hall and adjoining clubrooms were opened in 1904.

Building of Cathedral Hall

The first planning for the Catholic hall took place in 1901. Archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 Thomas Carr

Thomas Joseph Carr

Thomas Joseph Carr was the second Roman Catholic archbishop of Melbourne, Australia.-Early life:Carr was born near Moylough, Galway, Ireland, and educated at St Jarlath's College, Tuam, and at St Patrick's College, Maynooth. He was ordained on 19 May 1866, was a curate for six years, and was then...

, and the Dean Phelan, made several announcements to their parishioners at Mass and in parish meetings relating about a proposed hall. At this stage, the hall was to be built on the grounds of St. Patrick's Cathedral

St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne

St Patrick's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Denis J. Hart. The building is known internationally as a leading example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture.In 1974 Pope Paul VI...

, facing north on Albert Street. By October 1902 this idea had been abandoned since the hall would have obscured the view of the Cathedral from Albert Street (heading west to the Cathedral).

On 8 November of the same year, Archbishop Carr announced at Saturday evening Mass that the Archdiocese had acquired a property on Brunswick Street, a former boot factory built in 1873. The property had come at a 'very moderate' cost of £4,200.

The foundation stone of the hall was laid by the Archbishop at a ceremony on Sunday 26 April 1903, and work on the hall and the clubrooms proceeded on the designs of the architects Reed, Smart and Tappin

Bates Smart

Bates Smart is Australia's second oldest architectural firm, established in 1853 by Joseph Reed as the practice Reed and Barnes. JPE Design Studio in Adelaide founded in 1851 by Daniel Garlick is the oldest continuing architectural practice in Australia....

. The clubrooms in the old factory structure were opened in June, but the hall itself was finished about a month behind schedule, and was not able to host the St. Patrick's night celebrations on 17 March 1904 as first hoped. Instead, the grand opening took place on Sunday, 10 April, with over 2,000 people crowding the hall (which had a capacity of 1,100).

History

Central Hall has been put to many different uses since it opened in April 1904. During the 1920s the hall played host to jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 nights, and in the postwar period, Cathedral Hall hosted Italian dances each Sunday night for many years.

Central Hall (as it became known from the 1960s) is best known for hosting the TF Much Ballroom of the early 1970s. T. F. Much Ballroom was a major Melbourne music and cultural event. Bands which made a name for themselves at Ballroom events include Daddy Cool

Daddy Cool (band)

Daddy Cool is an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1970 with the original line-up of Wayne Duncan , Ross Hannaford , Ross Wilson and Gary Young . Their debut single "Eagle Rock" was released in May 1971 and stayed at number 1 on the Australian singles chart for ten weeks...

 in 1970-71. Other bands to play at the hall during the 1970s included Spectrum

Spectrum (band)

Spectrum is an Australian progressive rock band that formed in Melbourne in 1969 and, in its original period, remained in existence until 1973. Its members also performed under the alter-ego Indelible Murtceps...

, Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...

, Indelible Murtceps

Indelible Murtceps

Indelible Murtceps was the alter-ego of 1970s Australian progressive rock band Spectrum. The name 'murtceps' is 'spectrum' spelled backwards. The Melbourne-based group developed an extensive repertiore of original experimental progressive rock music, intended for performance in a serious concert...

, and Tamam Shud

Tamam Shud

Tamam Shud were an Australian psychedelic and progressive rock band, formed in Sydney in 1967, which released two albums, Evolution and Goolutionites and the Real People before disbanding in 1972...

.

By the late 1980s, Central Hall had even become a venue for Victorian state boxing matches and title fights.

Central Hall and Australian Catholic University

While still owned by the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australian Catholic University was granted the use of Central Hall, and became the scene of the opening of St. Patrick's campus on 28 July 2000. The hall is regularly used for all of ACU's theatrical activities, while the Recital Room (formerly the Supper Room) with the hall also accommodates the university's music students, and other classes when absolutely necessary. Central Hall has undergone restoration in recent years, and was nominated for heritage listing in 2002.