Auckland Town Hall is a prominent civic landmark of neo-Baroque style. Taking pride of place on Queen Street in Auckland’s CBD, it was specifically designed by Melbourne architects JJ and EJ Clark to fit the wedge-shaped piece of land acquired for it.
Auckland Town Hall has been at the centre of the city’s political and cultural life since its opening, and over the years has hosted countless significant events and figures.
Some of the famous (and infamous) ones include: a reception for Gallipoli survivors in 1915; a civic function for Edward, Prince of Wales in 1920; a Red Cross dance (with entertainment by Artie Shaw’s band) attended by Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States in 1943; the official New Zealand welcome of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, in 1953 and 1958 respectively; The Beatles tour in 1964 (kick-starting Beatlemania in New Zealand and linking New Zealand to international youth culture); a speech by Germaine Greer in 1972 attacking anti-abortion campaigners and during which she swore and was subsequently arrested; a dinner for US President Bill Clinton and other APEC leaders in 1999.
Find out about upcoming events at the Auckland Town Hall here...
