Opening of the Shire of Pakenham Offices on July 28, 1983

In the last post we looked at the some photographs that showed the view from the top of the hill before the Shire of Pakenham Municipal Offices and Council Chambers were built. In this post we will look at the opening  ceremony of the offices, which were officially opened  by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Brian Murray on July 28th, 1983. The picture below shows the Governor  with the Shire President, Cr Austin Bastow, at the opening ceremony. These buildings are still being used by the Cardinia Shire, even though they are moving to a  new building in Officer in a few months.

The official opening of the Shire of Pakenham Municipal Offices and Council Chambers by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Brian Murray with the Shire President, Cr Austin Bastow on July 28th, 1983.



The Governor, Sir Brian Murray, addressing the audience.

The same scene, as above, but from a different angle.  The woman seated directly behind the Governor is Mrs Bastow, wife of the Shire President; further along the row is Cr Bastow and Mrs Murray. 

Cr Bastow addressing the audience. 

The Governor, being greeted by the Shire President, on arrival.

The  Vice-Regal tour of the new building.

The Governor shaking hands Russell Broadbent; Mrs Broadbent is next to Russell. The then Federal member for McMillan, Barry Cunningham is on the right of the photograph.

Two views of the audience.



The photographs, above , were taken by a professional photographer (perhaps some-one from the Pakenham Gazette) and we also have some coloured 'snaps' taken at the same event.

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Views of Pakenham from the Cardinia Shires Offices in 1983

The Shire of Pakenham Municipal Offices and Council Chambers, in Henty Way, were officially opened  by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Brian Murray on July 28th, 1983. We have a series of photographs that were taken before the Offices were built, on its commanding position on the hill,  that show what Pakenham was like in 1983. The group of photographs were labelled 'Photos of Pakenham outside our Office, before it was built'

This is looking east towards the Pakenham Consolidated School, (the white roofed building just left of centre) which was located between Main Street and McGregor Road and moved to Rundell way in 1997.

This is also looking east and adjoins the photo above.

Looking nearly south east, this photograph adjoins the one above. The house you can see on the left of the photograph (white house, silver roof) is on the corner of Rogers Street and McGregor and the McGregor Road Railway crossing.

Looking south - this photo adjoins the one above. 

Looking north towards St James' Anglican Church on the corner of Main Street and McGregor Road. 

Looking north again towards St Patrick's Catholic Church on the Highway.

Looking down the hill to Pakenham High School

Looking  north east to the Lily Pond

I believe the photograph above and the three below complete the view from the hill so they looking from east  (Cardinia Road) to south (HenryRoad) - or vice versa.

  

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Shire of Cranbourne Offices

In the last post we looked at the Shire of Cranbourne 1875 Municipal Offices. With a number of extensions these Offices served their purpose for nearly one hundred years, however an increasing population led to a demand for increased Council services which led to increased staff - so by the early1970s the original buildings were no longer adequate. In July 1974 it was decided to not only retain the 1875 building but to build new Council Offices, further along Sladen Street. Plans were drawn up by the Architectural firm of Leith Barrett & Partners and the tender of H.C.F Constructions was accepted at the July 9, 1976 Council Meeting to construct the 2874 square metre building at a cost of $1,377, 238.00. With landscaping, fit-out and furnishings the total cost was about $1.86 million.




The Foundation Stone was laid by the Shire President, Cr Ern Marriott on November 26, 1976. Cr Marriott is pictured above (left) with Mr H. Sleigh of H.C.F Constructions. Council staff began working at the new building on January 16, 1978 and the first Council meeting was held on February 24, 1978. It was officially opened by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Winneke on April 22, 1978. The foundation stone picture comes from the commemorative booklet produced for the official opening.

Above and below - views of the building.

With Local Government Reforms in 1994, the Shire of Cranbourne and its successor, the short lived City of Cranbourne (which was proclaimed on April 22, 1994) was no more - part of it went to the new City of Casey and the other part to the new Cardinia Shire (both came into being on December 15, 1994). The building was no longer used for Council purposes and is now occupied by Cranbourne Community Health Services.

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Shire of Cranbourne Municipal Buildings

In the last post we looked at the opening of the City of Berwick Civic Centre at Narre Warren so continuing on with the Municipal buildings theme, today we will look at the Shire of Cranbourne Municipal Offices. William Lyall laid the foundation stone of the first Shire of Cranbourne Offices on March 6, 1875. The first Council meeting was held there on September 18, 1875. The suite of buildings consisted of the Shire Hall, Court House and Post Office.

This is the Post Office end of the building. The clock was installed in 1891.

An interior shot of the Shire Hall, maybe taken in the 1920s.

Another view of the buildings, it is actually one of my favourite photographs - hard to believe this is the intersection of Sladen Street and High Street/South Gippsland Highway. If you stood there now, you would probably get run over by a truck. The photograph was taken sometime after June 1939 which was when the War Memorial obelisk was erected. You can see the obelisk in front, right of the building.

The building was extended in 1961/1962 and again in 1970/1971, however this was a building constructed when the Shire of Cranbourne had a population of around 1,000 and by 1976 the Shire population was 25,830 so effectively the Shire was out growing the building. A new building was opened in 1978, which will be the subject of our next post. The 1875 buildings were saved after a spirited campaign by members of the Cranbourne Shire Historical Society, community members and Mr Herb Thomas, publisher of the Pakenham Gazette, and at the time President of the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.

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