Part Two – post 1920s - Newcastle City Council

the Sydney Symphony Orchestra visited Newcastle it was usually necessary for them
to use the Century Theatre at Broadmeadow.
Plans, ideas and debate in the 1940s and1950s about civic precinct land involved the
Greater Newcastle Council, the Northumberland County Council and the community.
The various proposals have already been mentioned. The council began to resume its
preferred site, which was the land section bounded by Laman, Dawson, Queen and
Darby Streets. Opposition came from those who lived in the cottages thereon and
other residents and aldermen who supported them and those who opposed the cultural
centre project in general. Housing was in short supply in the post-war years and the
social and economic distress argument could not be ignored. Displaced residents
were subsequently relocated in alternate housing.
In 1946 a salaried financial organiser and assistant were appointed to seek funding for
the cultural centre. At the time donations were not ‘tax deductible’. Amending this
law took until early 1947. The Minister for Education the Hon J R Heffron MLA was
then invited to open the fund raising appeal. His acceptance indicated that the
government viewed the cultural centre favourably. This was subsequently confirmed
when the State Conservatorium of Music was placed under the administration of the
Department of Education.
As soon as funds began to accumulate, with large sums contributed by industry,
commerce, groups and individuals, the government responded with promised
subsidies. Achieving the cultural centre was now assured, as was the setting up
therein of a branch of the State Conservatorium.
In order to help meet the demand for music tuition a temporary conservatorium was
set up in 1951 in a timber barrack-type building in King Street at the eastern end of
Civic Park. (In 1951 about 60 students from Newcastle were travelling to Sydney for
music lessons.) Teaching commenced here in early 1952. 165 students enrolled in
the first week. By the end of the first year, 388 students had enrolled and in the
subsequent years of 1953 and 1954, 562 and 608 students enrolled. Conditions in the
temporary building became congested. The sound of music making overflowed into
Civic Park attracting the attention of passers-by. The success of the temporary
conservatorium justified the establishment of a permanent music school in Newcastle
and the continued effort of its supporters. The principal of the conservatorium
initiated a scheme to raise funds for scholarships.
The temporary conservatorium can be seen in the 1960s aerial view of the civic
precinct, Figure 36.
The Cultural Centre Committee continued their work. Apparently there were times
when ‘local politics’ was near to excluding the conservatorium from the plan. Many
negotiations ensued to keep it in, and after the official opening the music school
moved into the third floor. The new building provided improved facilities, 13 large
studios, a large lecture room and small hall capable of seating 40 and 90 respectively,
a library and administrative offices, but no auditorium.
The conservatorium made remarkable growth and established important links with
education, teacher training and the New South Wales University of Technology - the
forerunner of the University of Newcastle, laying the foundation for Newcastle’s
standing today as a significant centre of tertiary education in New South Wales.
Newcastle Civic and Cultural Precinct History ~ Cynthia Hunter ~ January 2003 page 42