The original building on this site was a Victorian mansion known as Llangollen, which was built in 1879 as the residence of William Howard Rolfe (1818–1879), a prominent landowner and member of the Manly community.

[4] In 1919, when Council proposed its first post-war loan for major public works, the new Town Hall was quickly eliminated as a project and by 1921 a protest committee headed by Alderman Ogilvy, conducted a successful campaign against any proposal, demanding that a referendum be held before any money was spent on such a project.

The council committee also consulted the NSW President of the Institute of Architects, Sir Charles Rosenthal on the matter of the project.

In August 1930, the Town Clerk of Manly, Les Wellings, having recently returned from an official visit to the recently built Newcastle City Hall, noted in his report that the "construction of a similar imposing building at the front door of Manly would give a tremendous impetus to the town.

During the council debate, Alderman Hanson Norman, who stood opposed to a new town hall, said nevertheless that the "present building was in a bad state of disrepair, it gave insufficient space for the staff, and this was a handicap in efficient administration."

[12] On 12 June, marking the council's 60th anniversary, Alderman Nolan laid the foundation stone for the new Town Hall, which followed a tree-planting ceremony by former mayor Arthur T.