{"id":4472,"date":"2021-01-08T14:24:50","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T03:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/?p=4472"},"modified":"2022-10-03T16:44:43","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T05:44:43","slug":"the-band-rotunda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/history\/the-band-rotunda\/","title":{"rendered":"The Band Rotunda"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the building of a band rotunda was initially suggested in 1907, it wasn\u2019t until 1913 that the idea came to fruition. In order to build the rotunda a subscription was got up, and in this way \u00a380 was raised. Members of the North West Tourist Society then approached the Devonport Council and asked for a donation of \u00a320 with which to complete the building, specifically the domed roof. The original plans showed a domed roof, but the money raised would only allow an ordinary roof to be erected. Council agreed to pay \u00a320 out of municipal funds, and it was agreed that once built the rotunda would be handed over to the Council.<\/p>\n

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Band Rotunda & War Memorial, Devonport. BSMC-3070<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rotunda was to be located on Victoria Parade on the western side of the Mersey River. A meeting of the North West Tourist Society in September 1913 discussed a proposal that the rotunda be erected on the State school reserve. Given that both locals and visitors promenaded along the Esplanade, however, this was suggested as a better position. It was reported that a Dr Addison favoured the school site, however, his argument being that if bands played in the rotunda on the Esplanade, the sound going out to sea would cause sharks to come around.<\/p>\n

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Band Rotunda and Cenotaph. Robinson Studios. BSMC-3130<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The excavations for the foundation of the rotunda began in September 1913. The contractors were Wilson Brothers and they anticipated the structure would be completed in approximately three weeks.\u00a0 The building, octagonal in shape, measured twenty feet across. The roof was to have four gables. The foundation was to be of cement and raised approximately two and a half feet off the ground.\u00a0 Eight columns with an iron fresco were to be connected by a railing positioned approximately three feet above the base.<\/p>\n

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The Rotunda on the Reserve, Devonport. BSMC-4249<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rotunda became a popular place to attend band performances on a Sunday afternoon. In April 1967 it was demolished, Devonport City Council citing the need for too much maintenance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bass Strait Maritime Centre History File \u2013 Band Rotunda<\/em><\/p>\n

North West Post, 11th<\/sup> September 1913<\/p>\n

North West Post, 28th<\/sup> October 1913<\/p>\n

The Advocate, 14th<\/sup> June 1962<\/p>\n

The Advocate, 20th<\/sup> April 1967<\/p>\n

Devonport Times, Volume 2, No 11 1999, page 12, Faye Gardam The Band Rotunda<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the building of a band rotunda was initially suggested in 1907, it wasn\u2019t until 1913 that the idea came to fruition. In order to build the rotunda a subscription was got up, and in this way \u00a380 was raised. Members of the North West Tourist Society then approached the Devonport Council and asked for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4473,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[190,37,38],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4472"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4472"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5025,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4472\/revisions\/5025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bassstraitmaritimecentre.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}