South Melbourne Town Hall

Architect: Charles Webb 1880

Inner South | IS02

Building Description

The South Melbourne Town Hall, resting on the lands of the Boonwurrung people of the Kulin nation, is one of Melbourne’s most impressive civic buildings, located on Emerald Hill in the heart of South Melbourne. Every year the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), the building’s major tenant, presents a program of more than 180 performances and activities in the South Melbourne Town Hall for its diverse communities of listeners. This expansive program has put the grand historic building on the city’s performance map, making it a destination venue of growing stature. A powerful thread encircles the Emerald Hill neighbourhood, from the days of being a gathering place of ceremony and celebration for members of the Kulin nation, to a site of refuge for abandoned young people; from a grand monument of self-conscious civic splendour and municipal administration, to a place that now dances with the youthful music-making of the country’s most brilliant young musicians. By drawing together a broad and diverse community of artists, musicians and listeners from across the municipality and further afield, South Melbourne Town Hall is a vibrant gathering place, a hub of community and cultural focus, engagement and activity.

What's On

Explore the beautiful Main Hall, wander through to view the stunning architectural features and listen to recordings by the Australian National Academy of Music.

On Saturday 27 July 2019 Emerald Hill and surrounds will light up for Open Doors Emerald Hill – the inaugural winter arts festival bringing together the best of arts and culture in South Melbourne.

Open Doors Emerald Hill brings together disability arts culture, visual arts, music, dance, literature, heritage architecture and Indigenous culture and performance in a one-day free event that’s accessible to all.

Coinciding with Open House Melbourne 2019, Open Doors Emerald Hill will take place over one action-packed day on Saturday 27 July, from 10 am until 8 pm. Find the full program and schedule here.

Location