Geelong Army Drill Hall

Geelong Historic Buildings

The Geelong Drill Halls are included in the Drill Hall Study prepared by Defence in draft form in August 2001 and provided to the Commission in January 2003.

The weatherboard Geelong drill hall of 1900 is located at the north west corner of the site with the contemporary residence at the eastern side of the site. The former parade ground occupied the full width of the southern half of the site in 1900. The western half of the parade ground was occupied by the new brick drill hall erected 1938-1939. A new gun shed has been erected behind the timber residence.

1. Geeelong Drill Hall, Residence and Parade Ground 1900
The Geelong drill hall of 1900 was one of the last to be erected under colonial government in Victoria and is based on the architectural idiom employed by SE Bindley at Ballarat 1885, Castlemaine 1888-89 and St Kilda 1889. That is gabled, weatherboard construction with brick chimneys clearly stated and in which the different functions were clearly expressed in the overall design. Although the Geelong drill hall does not appear to have been designed by Bindley, it is representative of the larger group of drill halls erected after 1884 in Victoria.

The plan of the Geelong drill hall typically features a central space with boarded floor, the drill hall, with attached, gabled, lower rows of offices and storerooms at the sides. At the rear a large gun shed, now used as an Officers Mess and re-floored, and gun stores and toilets were also attached. The main entrance from Myers Street features a central gabled porch with vertical detailing reminiscent of the Federation Carpenter Gothic style. A horizontal moulding at window sill level links pairs of casement windows either side of the porch. The detailing of the porch is repeated at the gable, which features three windows. Other windows are for the most part double overhung sash, with high-level windows to the toilet areas. In general window surrounds are classically detailed.

During the Second World War several changes were made to the drill hall. The northernmost chimney was demolished, the wall rebuilt in timber, with a new chimney built at the northern end of the wing. Internally some partitions were demolished and others introduced to create a new sergeants mess and common room. The remaining fireplace in this wing was re-modelled and the floor replaced. Rooms at the south end of the west wing and in the south wing (kitchen, toilets stores) were also upgraded. In 1944 the original corrugated iron roof was replaced by corrugated asbestos cement sheeting. Other than these works the exterior of the drill hall is relatively intact.

The timber framed and clad Sgt Major`s residence to the east of the drill hall is contemporary and features similar architectural detailing in the gables, windows and chimneys. In its original form the building featured two brick chimneys, serving four fireplaces (four main rooms), above a corrugated galvanized iron hipped roof. At the front a gabled bay projected forwards into the verandah, which returned on two sides, with a bathroom accommodated under the verandah at the rear. The gabled bay has been extended forwards effectively removing the front porch, although the additions were done relatively sympathetically. Internally some fabric has been replaced. The decorative plaster archway in the central corridor remains as does an original cast iron fireplace and surround.

The drill hall and residence of 1900 have considerable streetscape values, with the drill hall prominent a strong visual element. The parade ground has been asphalted but remains as an open space except for the area occupied by the 1938-1939 drill hall.

2. Geelong Anti-aircraft Artillery Drill Hall 1938-1939 Drill
By the end of the nineteenth century there was an almost standard approach to the planning, design and construction of drill halls across the Australian colonies. However, in Queensland and Western Australia some drill halls erected in the 1890s featured curved, galvanized corrugated iron roofs. In Victoria in the 1930s this approach was used by Hallandal at Traralgon and Geelong.

The Geelong drill hall is much larger that that at Traralgon and constructed of brick. The dominant barrel-vaulted galvanized corrugated iron roof hall with smaller spaces flanking the ends of the hall is similar in plan to the original timber drill hall of 1900. The attached wings have shallow pitched hipped and skillion style roofs. The building has no eaves. Internally the walls are unpainted brick with concrete floors throughout. The drill hall speace typically features exposed roof trusses.

Imperial British troops were withdrawn from the Australian colonies between 1860 and 1870. An artillery Regiment was first raised in Geelong in the early 1860s. The Geelong Artillery Force was reorganized in 1870 to form the Geelong Corps of the Royal Victorian Volunteer Artillery and a new orderly room erected on a site in McKillop Street , Geelong. During the 1880s there was renewed public interest in the military as a result of the perceived threat of Russian invasion. By the late 1890s the McKillop Street building was proving to be too small and G Bingham made an application for land for a new orderly room at the corner of Bellarine and Myers Streets. The new building was to provide larger facilities, including quarters for the Sgt Major. The site was granted to the volunteer forces despite local opposition.

The new proposals were for a new timber orderly room (drill hall) with an attached gun shed to the rear and a detached residence (quarters). The remainder of the site was to be taken up by the parade ground, surrounded by a corrugated iron fence. The Myers Street frontage was to be fenced with a picket fence with areas of lawn and garden. The design appears to have been prepared by PWD engineer John Blackbourne, based on the work of architect S E Bindley. Contract drawings were signed on 25 April 1900, although the identity of the contractor has not been confirmed. The new drill hall building, completed by November 1900, comprised a central hall with smaller rooms formed in attached pitched roof sections at the sides. The new Sgt Major`s residence reflected the construction and detailing of the timber drill hall.

During the Inter-War years 1901-1935, under the new Commonwealth Government, the new drill hall accommodated units of 2 Coast Artillery Brigade and the Area Office of the 23rd Battalion. In May 1929 the drill hall was transferred to the Navy, but at the end of the year the buildings were returned to the Army.

From 1918 to 1935 there was a sharp decline in construction of new military buildings, but from 1935 to 1939 there was a dramatic increase in Defence spending in anticipation of the Second World War. However, as the Commonwealth Defence Act still did not allow the existence of regular infantry all the major expenditure on accommodation in Victoria was on the construction of a series of new, imposing, red brick drill halls. The majority of designs between 1935-1939 in Victoria were by Commonwealth Architect George Hallendal, all displaying a high quality in design and construction.

Until the Inter-War years changes to the original buildings were minor, but from 1936 drill halls across Australia were upgraded before the onset of the Second World War 1939-1945. From 1936-1944 additions and changes were made to the site. From 1937-38 the original Gun Shed at the rear of the earlier drill hall was converted for use as an Officers Mess and Store. New double doors were added linking the former store shed with the drill hall and a new floor inserted. Minor changes were also made to the smaller rooms. In 1939 a large brick drill hall, the Geelong Anti-aircraft Artillery Drill Hall, designed by Hallendal, was constructed south of the earlier drill hall. The new building was intended to accommodate No.4 Anti-Aircraft Battery.

The construction was supervised by the Commonwealth Department of Works, the new building sharing the existing parade ground. Constructed of red brick, the new drill hall featured a curved roof, the main part of the building accommodating a double height drill hall and gun park. Single-storey brick wings included stores and offices, an armoury and a tractor park opening from the main hall. Roller shutter doors on the eastern side of the building provided access. A new timber wagon shed was erected and a miniature anti-aircraft range on a steel gantry. The northernmost brick chimney to the existing timber drill hall was demolished and a new one erected in similar style at the northern end of the same wing, with other changes made to fireplaces and the smaller rooms and offices. The parade ground was gravelled over and the Myers Street frontage gardens and lawns asphalted over. In 1944 the roof of the existing timber drill hall was replaced with corrugated asbestos cement sheeting.

In the post war years the timber residence, also completed in 1900, was re-modelled by the addition of a sympathetic gabled bay and the original gun shed of 1900 demolished. In 1985 a new large five-bay brick gun shed was erected south of the residence. In addition a number of smaller buildings were added to the complex and the parade ground asphalted over. The site continues to accommodate artillery, the resident unit being the 38 Medium Battery.