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Wodonga & District Historical Society Inc
From the collection of Wodonga & District Historical Society Inc
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Photograph - Wodonga Civic Buildings Over Time

  • 11 men standing outside a white stone building with Shire Offices in circle at the top

    First Wodonga Shire Hall Corner High Street and Elgin Street

  • A Rose Series postcard of the Wodonga Shire Hall. The building is made of brick with large windows.

    Rose Series Postcard Shire Hall Wodonga

  • An aerial photo of the Civic Centre buildings with central carpark.

    CIvic Buildings Wodonga 1971, Hovell Street, Wodonga

  • A brick building which houses the Wodonga City Offices.

    Council office buildings c2018 Hovell Street, Wodonga

  • Wodonga Municipal Offices with the Soldiers' Memorial in foreground.

    Municipal Offices 1971

  • The Wodonga Civic Centre building with sign at the street front

    WHS Digital Files

  • 11 men standing outside a white stone building with Shire Offices in circle at the top
  • A Rose Series postcard of the Wodonga Shire Hall. The building is made of brick with large windows.
  • An aerial photo of the Civic Centre buildings with central carpark.
  • A brick building which houses the Wodonga City Offices.
  • Wodonga Municipal Offices with the Soldiers' Memorial in foreground.
  • The Wodonga Civic Centre building with sign at the street front

Historical information

Wodonga Shire was created in 1876 when the colonial government agreed to ratepayers' petitions to have their part of the local government district severed from the Yackandandah Shire to form a new municipality.

After meeting for 14 years in rented remises, in the Prince of Wales Hall, Wodonga Council built its first Shire Hall on the corner of High and Elgin Streets in 1890. The date on the façade of the building, 1876, represents the date of the formation of the Shire.

In 1957 the second Shire Office was built in Woodland Grove by A.B. and M. A. Chick. These offices were considered more than adequate for future needs. The façade featured floor to ceiling windows and several different meeting rooms in addition to the council chamber, which featured an impressive “horse shoe” table. It also included a kitchen equipped with modern fittings and a President’s room.

In the late 1960s the area between Hovell and Havelock Streets as far as Jack Hore Place was zoned for civic purposes. In 1969 plans for a civic centre providing a library, theatre and senior citizens’ rooms. It was opened on 22 April 1971.

In 1973, the Council engaged Bruce Marshall to design new offices beside the Civic Centre. Jennings Industries were contracted to complete the offices. The Governor, Sir Henry Winneke, laid the foundation stone of the new offices on 10 March 1976. The Civic Centre was demolished in 2011 to make may for a new $10 million community and entertainment centre which opened in August 2012.

Significance

These photos are significant because they depict the different buildings which have housed the centre of local government in Wodonga since its inception as an independent shire in 1876.

Physical description

A series of photographs depicting the different buildings used to house the Wodonga Council and Civic buildings over time.

Subjects

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