The Albert Hall - Home of our Compton
The Albert Hall was officially opened during a Gala Concert on Saturday 10 March, 1928. The then Prime Minister, Mr Stanley Bruce (later Lord Bruce) made the official opening speech and declared that the name was selected from hundreds of suggestions. The name "The Albert Hall" was considered the best choice because of both its identity with London's Royal Albert Hall, the recognised centre of musical culture in Great Britain and Canberra's association with Prince Albert, the then Duke of York who later became King George VI.
The Canberra Times' report of the event quotes Mr Bruce as saying "he did not think he could have done better than to select 'The Albert Hall' as the designation of the official headquarters of music in the Commonwealth."
Although, like Parliament House, The Albert Hall was not meant to be permanent, Mr Bruce considered the building "too fine perhaps for a temporary structure." He hoped that "the hall would come to be the centre of Australian musical life and that from there would radiate the liberalising movements of national significance which played so important a part in the development of the community."
The opening concert featured artists from the NSW State Conservatorium of Music and was reviewed in the same edition of The Canberra Times. The audience was treated to music from Frank Hutchens on piano, Cyril Monk on violin, and Rosamund Cornford on cello, together with soprano Millie Hughes and tenor Bryson Taylor. The reviewer considered each artist "eminent in his or her class" and that they "provided a treat marking a new era in the musical life of Canberra."
The Albert Hall, beside Lake Burley Griffin, is only minutes away from Parliament House and Canberra's City Centre. It is a building of gracious proportions with ceiling-height French doors and windows draped in deep red velvet. The Hall almost one hundred years ago.
Until 1965 the Albert Hall was Canberra's only venue for the performing arts. It was in constant demand and today it is just as busy. Previously managed by the Department of Territories but now managed privately, the Albert Hall continues to provide a central location for a diversity of community activities. The hall has maintained an identity as the venue for various commercial and private functions as well as the centre for such community activities as horticultural exhibitions and other displays.
The installation of the TOSA A.C.T. Compton organ together with the restoration of two 1959 carbon arc projectors has offered increased opportunities for the Albert Hall to regain its popularity as a venue for the performing arts, including the screening of vintage silent films with musical accompaniment on the organ. Such screenings have already occurred and more are planned |
