This site was first occupied by Mrs Henry in 1888 as a Coffee Palace. Other occupiers were Mrs Keegan and later the O’Rourke family who were the last occupant as the building burned down in 1927. The site was then vacant until the town Hall was built in 1936.
The Town Hall was opened by the Govenor of Victoria – Lord Huntingfields on 27 October 1936.
A grand Ball was held on Tuesday evening 27 th October which was a great success with over 500 people present with visitors from Melbourne and the Gippsland area.
Excellent music was supplied by Hunter’s full orchestra and things kept going with a happy swing all evening. A special feature of the night was the presentation of 20 debutantes to Mrs. White, wife of the Shire President, Cr. D. J. White.
The debutantes were: Misses Joyce Watson, Joyce Wilson, Poppy Clarke, Jean Stubbs, Marjory Billingsley, Marion Duncanson, Marjory Mackenzie, Kitty Budge, Ina Vinning, Merle Hickson, Lillian Purvis, Ella Kaye, Mary Bolger, Hazel Lubcke, Merle Brinsmead, Fitty Smidt, Marion McGowan, Jean Kleine, Lorna Vary, Queenie Bolding.
The debutantes and their partners – Messrs. W. Henderson, J. Brittingham, H. Butler, W. White, K. Billingsley, G. Barry, L. Roberts, C. Budge, A. Welsh, G. McLaverty, D. McArthur, K. Godridge, E. Vinning, W. Davey, C. Amiet, F. Dempsey, R. McGowan, J. Kleine, G. Vary and G. Bolding, danced a minuet.
Supper was served in marquees adjacent to the hall which enabled the supper room, as well as the main hall, to be used for dancing.
The Town Hall had provision for a large Bio room and Cinematograph facilities to allow for use as a modern Picture Theatre.
Also included was a Supper Room to seat 100, Municipal Offices for Secretary, Engineer and President, a Rates Office, Council Chambers, a Library, an Infant Welfare Centre and a Magistrate’s Suite.
Messrs. A. C. Leith & Associates, Architects & Engineers, Melbourne, was in charge of design and construction. The Contractor was Mr. M. J. Fabarius.
The whole of the buildings were completed at a figure under £7,500, with furnishings costing approximately £1,500. The building was in use as the Shire’s Headquarters until September 1980 when operations were moved to the Civic Centre Complex near today’s Kernot Hall.
The Town Hall was once home to Morwell Historical Society when we moved from the St Andrews Presbyterian Church in May 1993 and occupying the foyer where the current front entrance is.
Today, the site is occupied by Latrobe Regional Gallery which was established in 1971 and is one of the largest public galleries in eastern Victoria.
