Centenary of the ColonyPrint Page

The foundation stone of the Maitland Town Hall was laid to commemorate the centenary of the colony in 1888. The Centenary was celebrated in 1888 to mark 100 years of the first colonisation of Australia on the 26th January 1788. 

The hopes awakened by the local Centennial Celebration Committee with regard to the proposed town hall, promise to be realised. Possession has been taken of the site granted by the Government for the purpose of its erection in High-street, and the unsightly structure which has been for some time a disfigurement to that portion of the main thoroughfare, is being razed to the ground with considerable alacrity. With the concurrence of the West Maitland Borough Council, which has met the committee of townsmen with whom the project originated, in a very candid spirit, a memorial stone is to be laid on the site upon which the intended town hall is to be built, on Anniversary Day. The desirableness of taking the step was affirmed by the Borough Council at its last meeting, and in pursuance of arrangement the Mayor, Aldermen Gillies, Wilkinson, Crothers, Mullen, Browne, Young, and Pulbrook, met Messrs. J. Main, Neville D. Cohen, H. H. Capper, R. A. Young, Jas. Pritchard, J. G. Chapman, M. Murray, and E. P. Carr, at the Council Chamber, on Monday evening, when details for the ceremony to take place on the 26th instant were planned. The suggestions agreed to at the conference were approved by the Centennial Celebration Committee at a general meeting held on Tuesday night in the Masonic Hall, at which there were assembled Messrs. N. D. Cohen (in the chair), Crothers, Gillies, Pritchard, Chapman, Symington, Main, E. Blair, Pulbrook, O. K. Young, Tipper, Barlow, Schubert, C. Webster, W. Taylor, H. H. Capper, and H. G. Smith (secretary). Apologies were offered for the absence of Messrs. Buxton, W. G. Lipscomb, and R. A. Young. At each of the meetings the project was discussed with much enthusiasm. It was generally argued that if it would not be possible to lay what would really be the true foundation stone, designed to serve for all time, on Anniversary Day. Before that could be done the ground would have to be properly laid out, plans and specifications prepared, and a tender accepted for building the town hall. However a memorial or commemorative stone could be laid to mark the centenary. After all it was a matter of sentiment, and their desire was to inspire the people with enthusiasm in order to make the day-the hundredth anniversary of the colony-a day to be remembered. 
Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW),
19 January 1888.

Location

Address:	281 - 283 High Street, Maitland Town Hall, Maitland, 2320
State:	NSW
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -32.737214 Long: 151.560626 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Plaque
Monument Theme:	Landscape
Sub-Theme:	Settlement
Actual Event Start Date:	26-January -1788
Actual Event End Date:	26-January-1888

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:	Thursday 26th January, 1888

Source: MA