Box Hill Town Hall – A Social History

Helen Harris OAM, President, Box Hill Historical Society

The Box Hill Historical Society is delighted to announce that it has been awarded two grants by the SRLA Community Projects Fund.  This article relates to one of those grants – a social history of the iconic Art Deco Box Hill Town Hall.

Built in 1935, the building served as the Chamber for Council meetings, as office space for employees of the City of Box Hill, and for hosting functions in the two halls.  Nowadays it houses not only some Whitehorse Council staff, but a collection of community groups, including the Box Hill Historical Society, and Council’s art gallery.  It continues to host a wide variety of events, including wedding receptions, funerals, dances, concerts, markets, political meetings etc.

Our project is firstly to collate and document some of the events and people that have been associated with the building.  Secondly to invite up to 15 people to be recorded speaking of their memories of the town hall. The resultant video, which is being funded by the grant, will be housed on the town hall website.

Lastly, we will publish a book of people’s memories of this iconic building in 2027, in line with the centenary of the proclamation of the City of Box Hill.

We therefore invite people to email us with their stories and memories of the town hall.  We are especially interested in images – pamphlets advertising forthcoming events, photos taken in the interior, and small souvenirs, such as dinner invitations.   Our email address is boxhillhistory@gmail.com