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Post date: 07/08/2012
Directions:
From Vryheid take the first turn-off into Utrecht and travel down Van Rooyen Street. Turn left into Vryheid. The historic Town Hall, as well as the land on which it is situated, being the Remainder of Erf 188 and measuring one acre, one rood, 38 decimal five two perches, in the Township of Utrecht, Province of Natal.
From Vryheid take the first turn-off into Utrecht and travel down Van Rooyen Street. Turn left into Vryheid. The historic Town Hall, as well as the land on which it is situated, being the Remainder of Erf 188 and measuring one acre, one rood, 38 decimal five two perches, in the Township of Utrecht, Province of Natal.
Archive Import: Significance: The Utrecht Town Hall dates from 1913 and is a brown stone building of considerable character and formsan integral part of the historic centre of Utrecht.
History: As early as 1854 a town had been planned for the Balesberg region. The site was chosen on the farm Schoonstroom, its name being presumably the first name of the town. On 8 March 1856 the town was renamed Utrecht after its counterpart in the Netherlands. It was proclaimed a township in 1904 and became a borough in 1920. In 1903, after the Anglo-Boer War, the district was transferred from the Transvaal to Natal for administrative purposes.
The Town Hall, the facade of which forms an essential part of the historic character of Voorstraat was built in 1913 and officially opened by the Mayor of Durban.
Visual Description: The building itself is of brown stone and is T-shaped. The front facade has two oval windows on either side of the main entrance doorway, while, the door itself is covered by an elaborate portico, which is supported by Grecian columns. The roof of this portico serves as a saluting stand and is approached by an entrance on the first floor of the building. The roof of the building it self has projecting ventilators, each with its own conical roof.
The interior woodwork is still original and there is also a magnificent wooden staircase. The hall ceiling is of pressed steel, well p and is believed to be the only one of its kind in Natal. The other ceilings is of wood and is elaborately carved. A clock tower with a cupola-type roof and flagpoles surmounts the first floor facade. At either side of the Town Hall there is also an ornamental entrance gate which gives access to the Municipal gardens at the rear of the building.
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Construction Date: 1913
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