The beginning of a square, and the end of history

For those who are young or new to Melbourne, it might be a shock to discover that buildings once occupied the site of Town Hall Station, at the corner of Swanston and Collins streets.

This photograph from the 1960s shows Melbourne in transition. Between the familiar landmarks of St. Pauls Cathedral and the Nicholas Building (with the Olympic advertisement), part of the city’s history was being erased to make space for the city’s future.

The site was once occupied by the Victoria Building. Initially opened in 1888 for the Freehold Investment and Banking Company, it was home to the bohemian Yorrick Club, a number of businesses, and formed part of the Queens Walk arcade. Notably, the arcade was the site of clothes manufacturer Henry Bucks, and the Cavalier tea rooms. By the 1960s, the building was bought by British-based developer Hammerson Group, with plans to replace the site with a new 16 storey building. By 1966, they had the Victoria demolished by Whelan the Wrecker.

The City Council however wanted a public square to bring people back into the city. Under Mayor Evans, an early suggestion was to have the square connected to Town Hall by a tunnel under Collins St. While the land was in private hands, the council acquired the site for $2. 75 million in 1966, turning the vacant corner into a temporary planted plaza.

In the next few years, the council spent millions buying the rest of the block up to Regent Place. By 1969 the buildings at the Flinders Lane corner including the 1883 Cathedral Hotel (where the Dulux sign is), and its Swanston St neighbour, the Chandris Building (formerly Surrey House) were reduced to rubble. So too the ANZ bank at 60 Swanston St, and finally the Greens Building in 1971.

Next to go were the Wentworth (Collins St) and the Regency Buildings (Flinders Lane). This ended a fondly remembered era for the Regent Place laneway. The dresses at Irresistible Frocks, the books at the Regency bookshop, and – to the delight of children – Tim the Toy Man, were no more. All that remained by the mid-1970s was a concrete plaza.

The Regent Theatre however had the narrowest of escapes. Opened in 1929, and surviving a fire in 1945, the picture palace was bought by the council and closed in 1970, with plans to replace it with a skyscraper hotel.

This was met with backlash by the community, and the “Save the Regent” committee was formed to fight the plans. This included a petition with more than 2000 signatures, including that of ballet dancer Sir Robert Helpmann.

The theatre’s fate would be determined by a public inquiry in 1975 and, after three days of arguing, the government sided with its preservation. Even then it lay dormant for another two decades before a redevelopment scheme would refurbish the Regent into the musical theatre it has become, re-opening in 1996.

As for the square, it finally opened in 1980, complete with its fountains and infamous yellow Vault. Redeveloped in the 1990s, the square itself closed in 2017 to allow for an entrance to Town Hall Station, ironically now providing the tunnel beneath Collins St first suggested more than 60 years ago. •