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The Sydney Trades Hall, also known as the Trades Hall Building and the Trade Unions Hall, is a heritage-listed trade union building located at 4-10 Goulburn Street in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Smedley, with later additions by Spain and Cosh and Minnett, and was developed from 1888 to 1916. The building was built and owned by the Trades Hall Association, the original trade union affiliates who built the hall in 1888, and is now owned by Unions NSW. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
History
The Trades Hall was conceived on 14 December 1882 when representatives of thirteen unions met at The Swan with Two Necks Hotel in George Street. This was the original meeting place for the Union Movement. It was there that the organisation that led to the building of the Sydney Trades Hall was formed.
An apocryphal has it that in 1932, New South Wales Premier, Jack Lang had the State's money removed from bank accounts and taken to Trades Hall, where the NSW ALP had offices, so that the Federal Government would not be able to seize it. He was subsequently dismissed from office by Governor Philip Game. However, others contend that Lang did not move any money out of the NSW Treasury, but rather, that he simply refused to allow Federal Government officials into the Treasury building where state revenue was held. This was done in order to prevent citizens being deprived of services owing to the demand that British banks should be repaid before the people.
Description
A large load-bearing brick and sandstone building of four storeys and basement. An octagonal tower of five storeys at the corner of Goulburn and Dixon Streets is capped by a pitched copper roof surmounted by a sheathed square copper cupola. Although enlarged considerably at three main periods, , 1912 and 1916 the additions closely follow the original Victorian neo classical design consisting of sandstone to the ground floor, window trims grouped three to a bay, string courses, cornice and balustered parapet with face brickwork to the remainder. The original building is part of the four bays to Goulburn Street while the seven bays to Dixon Street are additions.
Condition
As of 30 September 1997, the building's physical condition was judged to be good, with low archaeological potential.