Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury: In the heart of Adelaide City, South Australia
Precious Historic Buildings Go 5 - Star.
Taking up all their prime location town acre almost since Adelaide found its place on the map, the Treasury Buildings have always exuded an understated dignity, but now they’ve acquired some discreet 5 - star pizzaz as well during their transformation into a modern apartment hotel.
They’ve commanded mid-city attention from Victoria square for a long time with all their King William Street facades in place before both their grand neighbors, the Adelaide Town Hall and the GPO. They look identical in style, but the Survey Department next to town hall dates from 1857, the new Registry on the Flinders Street corner came two year later to house South Australia’s revolutionary Torrens Title system, and by 1865 the Treasury had their splendid three storey central section. Very pleasing architecture it is, too - “Florentine Palazzi” - for which we owe thanks to then government architect Edward Hamilton for consistency all the way.
For more than a century, the Treasury Buildings were the executive epicentre of the state - Governor’s office, Premier, Cabinet, Treasury and more were housed within. With them all gone, however, a controversial question arose in the 1990’s. What should happen to all this valuable and prominent property? The answer is just now in place, and it is the Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury, all designer cool and even a bit “out there” in style. Inside the main entrance from Flinders Street is a guests’ lounge that now features the rather elegant beginnings here long ago. Ink drawings show colonial architect George Strickland Kingston’s first structure, set back several metres from the current street alignment. And now revealed and celebrated in the renovations is a portion of the front wall with its dressed sandstone and arched windows crafted and cut in 1839, only a couple of years after the Buffalo first bobbed in the Bay.
Mostly, the hotel apartments are very contemporary in design and fittings, but when you enter to be surprised by an old arched brick ceiling it means you are staying in the old fire-proof vault. And past the original polished wood staircase in the foyer, the hotel reception desk is appropriately in the original census office.
In the semi - basement of the 1907 wing we found the elegant and solution to the problem of where to put a lap-pool and sauna. In the 1840’s, the office keeper lived on this side of the quadrangle, and an archeological dig in his water closet (later filled in) revealed a Sheffield master-cutler’s brass stamp dated 1847, a blue and white plate now on display in the lounge, and many fragments of domestic wares and food bones.
The Treasury Buildings’ transformation to contemporary apartment hotel has nevertheless retained a real sense of history. There is access for instance, to the tunnels beneath that are alleged to lead under Victoria Square - or is it towards Parliament House in the other direction? Henry Ford once said, “History is more or less bunk,” and he was right about the subterranean myths here at least. The suitably mysterious rough walled and twisting pathway below is in truth confined to the basement of the 1867 east wing. It was dug later than that to hook up two below ground sections for the map makers who revolutionized - speeded up - publication of maps internationally with a photolithographic method invented right here.
What about the old coke ovens in one basement corner? They smelted gold here in the 1850’s? Wrong again, because this section wasn’t built until the 1860’s and so they were probably for smelting lead for the printers who worked here. Back in the day light of the courtyard, the gold story does hold up, as it was very likely smelted in temporary sheds to form ingots and gold coins. It was brought back by armed escorts in 1852 from the Victorian fields when the South Australian Government offered a better assay price and helped save the colony from ruin.
As office workers and visitors to the very heart of the country are discovering, the Treasury off King William Street offers a quiet haven for coffee, lunch or an after hours drink in the lofty room that once housed a massive departmental front counter. There has been a quadrangle within since 1839 and a Mr. Milton nurtured a lovely garden in that century, earnings it the title, “Milton’s Paradise”. Surveyors Charles Sturt and Goyder probably took a breather from their offices here, aspirants for 1860’s new land releases slept overnight in the open courtyard, and in the 1960’s the Beatles made their escape through it from the massive mob outside the Adelaide Town Hall. It really is an historic location for lunch.
Above the arched and doric columned foyer of the 1870’s grand central section facing Victoria Square is the tour de force in political heritage terms. The expansive restored cabinet room houses the table round which premiers and cabinets of the state sat from 1876 right through to the end of the 1960’s. A century or so back, South Australia led the nation-to-be from this room, as pioneering legislation was thrashed out to allow trade unions, give women the vote, establish national parks and push for a Commonwealth in 1901. Premier Tom Playford was at the helm for a record breaking 26 years in this cabinet room. It has been kept intact, with some older book cabinets returned, and appropriate bodies can hire it for meetings.
Hotel guests are invited to enjoy the history of the Treasury Buildings, although the idea of the “beef rites” - violent clashes between police and an angry mob outside the Premier’s office in 1931 during the Great Depression might be a shade confronting. By contrast, John McDouell Stuart’s triumphant return from crossing the continent 140 years ago - back to the Survey Department within - had the crowds cheering instead.
Back in King William Street, the Treasury now offers a fine restaurant and an historic room for a cleansing ale. Just along towards the Victoria Square corner in the old registry office (now an apartment shielded from peering eyes by potted shrubs), the race to win the fabulously rich Moonta copper mine lease was won and lost. Crammed with history, it is a very significant set of heritage buildings, and so it is well worth calling in to see how well it has been transformed into the 5 star Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury.
Details:
Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury
Cnr King William and Flinders Street
Adelaide, South Australia, 5000Phone: (08) 8112 0000
Email: mgat@medinaapartments.com.au
Reservations: 1300 300 232
