The 2,466-seat hall, the largest indoor venue at the Arts Centre Melbourne, is mostly used for orchestral and contemporary music performances.
[1][2] It was opened as the Melbourne Concert Hall in 1982 (the theatres building opened in 1984) and was renamed Hamer Hall in honour of Sir Rupert Hamer (the 39th Premier of Victoria) shortly after his death in 2004.
[3] Construction on the A$136 million inside–out redevelopment of Hamer Hall was due to begin in 2010.
[4] The venue's redevelopment was the first stage of the Southbank Cultural Precinct Redevelopment and was delivered through an alliance between Arts Victoria, Major Projects Victoria, the Arts Centre, Ashton Raggatt McDougall and Baulderstone.
The redevelopment included a new outlook to the city and new connections to central Melbourne, St Kilda Road and the Yarra River, new and expanded foyer spaces, improved amenities, new stairs, improved disability access, escalators and lifts as well as improved acoustics, new auditorium seating and staging systems.