Canberra's Albert Hall to be preserved and cherished

The ACT government says the plan is coming.

However, it's taking its own sweet time on it.

Incredibly, work on the draft plan began almost a decade ago.

How hard is it to work out how to protect the building? And yes, it does need protection.

The building in the heart of the national capital was Canberra's unofficial town hall for its first 40 years.

Many readers will recall the saga in 2007 when the National Capital Authority had a great idea for the Albert Hall precinct. It wanted to reinstate some of the plans made by Walter Burley Griffin when he designed the city in 1912.

The NCA proposed the land around the hall would be opened up for commercial purposes such as tourist facilities and cafes.

A "landmark building" of up to eight storeys would be constructed on the northern section of Flynn Place fronting Commonwealth Avenue and a continuous public pedestrian plaza would be constructed on the lake foreshore "with seating, outdoor cafes and urban art".

While Albert Hall's cultural values would be protected, the community was alarmed at the plan which included the possible axing of a stand of pines next to the hall.

Canberra residents don't like change, it seems. However, this revolt was a good example of people power. It led to the creation of a lobby group, Friends of the Albert Hall, and the refurbishment of the hall.

Now, the future of the hall seemed assured, given the Minister for Planning and Land Management, Mick Gentleman, was a member of the Friends.

The hall was opened 88 years ago – on March 10, 1928 – by prime minister Stanley Bruce.

He said he had chosen the name from the Royal Albert Hall in London.

For decades, the hall was a centrepiece of social, community and cultural life, as Canberra grew. The hall was used as a cinema after the installation of a state-of-the-art German projector. It's still there.

Until the completion of the Canberra Theatre in 1965, the Albert Hall was the only venue in the city for audiences of more than 700 people.

However, as other venues became available, and were closer to population centres, the hall fell into disrepair.

Many people would recall the dilapidated state of the hall when it was used for the Lifeline Bookfair in the 1980s.

The former federal Labor government and the current ACT government have funded the restoration of the building, constructed in the federal classical style, with a porte cochere at the front.

In Albert Hall, the Heart of Canberra, Dr Lenore Coltheart says Canberra is the only Australian capital city never to have a town hall, "that hearth of urban life".

"Instead, the national capital has its Albert Hall, built for all civic, cultural and community 'town hall' occasions," she says.

"Set prominently between the sites Walter Burley Griffin had selected in 1912 for a municipal city hall and a federal 'capitol' building, Canberra's Albert Hall signifies the singularity of Australia's national capital. Without the proposed capitol, national as well as civic occasions became part of its history."

The book reproduces fine photographs of events at the site, such as the Rotary conference in 1929 and the British empire forestry conference in September 1928

The book describes Albert Hall as "the simple, elegant building at the heart of our national capital" that has served as the city's unofficial town hall.

"Coronation banquets and balls, performances by international stars, weekly dances, art exhibitions, Australia's first citizenship ceremony and addresses by Bertrand Russell and H.G. Wells all feature in Albert Hall's remarkable past."

Now the government is finally moving to finish the management plan. An Assembly committee examined the draft plan and proposed eight recommendations.

The government has accepted six and noted two, and has decided not to allow a permanent cafe.

A series of action plans will be developed over the first four years of the plan of management to address operational issues including management, hiring arrangements, building and grounds, marketing and promotion and heritage matters.

Gina Pinkas, vice-president of Friends of the Albert Hall, is disappointed and frustrated the management plan has taken so long to finalise.

"It should have happened a long time ago but we are very pleased we're finally getting one," she says.

"Nobody was really wanting to achieve this plan of management within the lower levels of the government, I'm talking about public servants now, and responsibility for the Albert Hall changed portfolios.

"It's unusual to have a plan of management for a facility like the Albert Hall rather than something like Namadgi or Tidbinbilla, where people responsible are very keen to get those plans.

"In other words, there wasn't a great will to get it out and they got various consultancies that didn't even understand the legislation.

"So the management plan is gradually happening and we're very pleased because it's a very long, slow process; it should have happened before self-government."

The management plan will last for a decade but the Legislative Assembly has the power to change it.

"If we elect people who agree, for instance, to sell off the Albert Hall, there's nothing that can be done about it," she says.

"It's the responsibility of the elected representatives to ensure the plan reflects the needs of the people of Canberra."

A sale of this iconic building seems remote, given the fierce community love for the hall. However, who could have predicted the NCA's previous thought bubble?

Pinkas says the row in 2007 occurred because Treasury officials believed the building's upkeep was too costly.

"Commercial agents wanted to get their hands on the Albert Hall and the land and because some people in the government, namely Treasury, at the time thought it was a financial liability to the government, so [they thought] 'yes, let's lease it out to somebody else who can make some money out of it'," she says.

"The people of Canberra and also ministers disagreed with that; it was some high-level bureaucrats at the time who wanted to lease it out, but certainly the Labor government supported keeping it in community ownership."

The Friends group agrees with the government decision to rule out a permanent cafe at Albert Hall.

"We thought it was a silly idea," Pinkas says, pointing out there is little passing trade.

"The idea came through the Heritage Council; they thought they could raise money with a cafe but the people who use the Albert Hall like to bring in their own catering or do their own catering.

"Also, the National Capital Plan, which sets the planning for the Albert Hall site, does not allow any permanent commercial activity there, so it's not allowed but they kept bringing up this cafe idea, which we opposed."

The minister is clearly a big supporter of the hall and fondly remembers attending many events there, such as during the centenary of Canberra.

He defends the time taken to develop the plan of management as being needed to adequately consult all stakeholders.

"The hall has been an iconic institution for the ACT, of course, for many years and this plan recognises the need to balance the heritage of the hall with ensuring it can be hired by a range of people in the ACT community," he says.

"It was important to make sure that we deal with all the stakeholders and look at some options for rates for the community in hiring the hall, so those processes are undertaken and, of course, then we had the committee inquiry into the plan of management and now the government response, so it's now right to go.

"We don't have any plan at this time for a cafe; our intention was to ensure that if the cafe did go forward, that it wouldn't impede those who are hiring the hall from self-catering."

The main cost for groups wanting to hire the hall was public liability insurance.

The government has taken out a blanket policy and charges groups about $100 for insurance for an event.

"It's dramatically changed the price for people who want to lease the hall," he says.

"Previously, you had a lease price and you had to purchase your own PLI, which sometimes is $2500, you can imagine for a four-hour event, that's quite steep.

"Friends of Albert Hall were pushing for that change and I was able to help out and push that through."

When the Friends group was given a grainy photograph of the front of the hall, Gentleman was the only one to identify an item on the wall: an old-fashioned alarm button to summon the fire brigade.

Later, it was moved into the kitchen and sits on the wall there. It's has heritage value only and is not connected to the outside world.

Gentleman says the future of Albert Hall is assured.

"There were rumours many years ago about having that lease go to another entity outside government but the community was rightly supportive of keeping it within government and ensuring its future, so that's what's occurred," he says.

"This government certainly has a view that it should be retained by the territory and the community and that's the way we are proceeding."

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