Architectural Information

Many Australian capital city town halls have a clock. Most, like Perth, are four-faced mechanisms housed in a tower.

A town’s clock tower was often situated in the north-west corner of the building and the four clock faces were aligned with the directions of the compass. Both aspects helped travelers to orient themselves.

The Perth Town Hall design has been compared with 14 -16th century village public buildings in Italy, Germany, Brussels and Britain which often incorporated a market place beneath a hall and a watch tower at one end.

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Perth Town Hall – Architecture