Bendigo Town Hall

In a series of major works from 1878 to 1902 the Bendigo Town Hall was transformed by the architect William Vahland who was given the task of converting the hall into something worthy of Bendigo's leading position as the "City of Gold".

[2] His work included extensive new offices, enlargement of the main hall and council chambers, the introduction of an interior decorative scheme, a clock tower and mansard roof.

[2] Vahland commissioned Otto Waschatz, who had just decorated the Royal Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, to design the hall's interior which featured decorative plaster adorned with 22-carat gold leaf, reflecting the opulence of the "city built on gold".

[3] The end result, completed in 1885, was one of Vahland's most significant works and has been considered the finest "boom style" building of its kind in Victoria.

[4] In 2003, the Bendigo Town Hall was returned to its 19th-century splendour after an extensive restoration and renovation program including plasterworks, murals and gold leaf worked by artists and artisans.