Municipal Building

Item details


Name of item:	Municipal Building
Other name/s:	Corporation Building
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Government and Administration
Category:	Council Chambers
Location:	Lat: -33.8799838383 Long: 151.2058391600
Primary address:	181-187 Hay Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Parish:	St Lawrence
County:	Cumberland
Local govt. area:	Sydney
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Metropolitan

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
LOT	2		DP	1002966

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
181-187 Hay Street	Sydney	Sydney	St Lawrence	Cumberland	Primary Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
City of Sydney Council	Local Government

Description


Construction years:	1893-


Former use:	Aboriginal land, town lot

History

Historical notes:

The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. There is no written record of the name of the language spoken and currently there are debates as whether the coastal peoples spoke a separate language "Eora" or whether this was actually a dialect of the Dharug language. Remnant bushland in places like Blackwattle Bay retain elements of traditional plant, bird and animal life, including fish and rock oysters (Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani).

With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Cadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today. All cities include many immigrants in their population. Aboriginal people from across the state have been attracted to suburbs such as Pyrmont, Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe and Redfern since the 1930s. Changes in government legislation in the 1960s provided freedom of movement enabling more Aboriginal people to choose to live in Sydney (Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani).

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Changing the environment-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Developing local, regional and national economies-National Theme 3
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Building settlements, towns and cities-National Theme 4

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Heritage Act	ch of use + gen build maintenance Order Under Section 57(2) to exempt the following activities from Section 57(1): (1) Change of use; and (2) Routine maintenance of the building where maintenance means the continuous protective care of existing material without the introduction of new materials.	Sep 2 1988
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Heritage Act	See File For Schedule Order Under Section 57(2) to exempt the following activities from Section 57(1): * The maintenance of any building or item on the site where maintenance means the continuous protective care of existing materials. * Change of use	Aug 11 1989
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	HERITAGE ACT 1977 ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT STANDARD EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL I, Penny Sharpe, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales and under section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977: revoke the order made on 2 June 2022 and published in the Government Gazette Number 262 of 17 June 2022; and grant an exemption from section 57(1) of the Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out the class of activities described in clause 2 Schedule A in such circumstances specified by the relevant standards in clause 2 Schedule A and General Conditions in clause 3 Schedule A. This Order takes effect on the date it is published in the NSW Government Gazette. Dated this 29th day of October 2025 The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC Minister for Heritage For more information on standard exemptions click on the link below.	Nov 7 2025

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register		00693	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - Permanent Conservation Order - former		00693	11 Aug 89	88	5531
Local Environmental Plan	CSH Local Environmental Plan 4		07 Apr 00
Register of the National Estate			21 Mar 78

References, internet links & images

None

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5045561
File number:	S90/04800 & HC 84/676

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