Adelaide Town Hall is about to have its 150th birthday, having been officially opened on 20 June 1866. It was the first of the great Town hall buildings erected in Australia, and at that time it was by far the largest and grandest building in Adelaide, standing head and shoulders above the largely single storey and quite sparse city.

The Auditorium on the first floor was the central element of the building and it has survived intact to the present day. As something of a birthday present, Adelaide City Council proposed to repaint the space after its last redecoration 30 years ago. Each time this large space was previously painted it had been closed for months, but as it is today a much sought after space, only a period of seven straight days were free to carry out the work.

Achieving the seemingly impossible, a team of about 28, including painters, scaffolders, conservators and Council staff, worked 24 hours a day for the seven days to complete the work.

Swanbury Penglase were fortunate in having been involved in the project, including carrying out preliminary inspections of the ceiling, research to understand the history of the redecoration of the space, preparation of a revised colour scheme as well as inspections while the work was underway.

A 2-minute timelapse video records a taste of this remarkable effort of all those involved. Thanks to Adelaide City Council and Chris Oaten of Insight Visuals.