Dunedin Centre & Town Hall

The Dunedin Centre is the city's principal purpose-built conference and events complex, occupying 1 Harrop Street on the edge of the Octagon in central Dunedin. Operated by Dunedin Venues, it combines the heritage Dunedin Town Hall with a set of modern, flexible conference and function rooms in a single connected building, so a multi-day programme can run plenary, breakout, exhibition and gala dinner components without moving delegates offsite.

Spaces and capacities

• Dunedin Town Hall - the largest space, an auditorium quoted at up to 2,300 people for performances or trade shows, around 2,200 seated, or up to 550 for a formal seated dinner. It is used for conferences, concerts, live performance, exhibitions, gala dinners and balls.
• Glenroy Auditorium - seats 400 with a built-in stage and strong acoustics. Suited to medium-sized conferences, live performance, banquets, balls, receptions, exhibitions and trade displays.
• Fullwood Room - a large flexible room listed at 400 cocktail, 250 theatre, 180 banquet and 160 classroom. It opens to the Fullwood Foyer, which gives organisers separate space for registration, displays and catering.
• The Terrace - a smaller space used for weddings, meetings, conference breakout and cocktail functions.
• Conference Rooms 1 and 2 - purpose-built adjacent rooms for meetings and seminars, designed to work as breakout rooms alongside a main plenary.

History

The building was constructed in two major stages roughly fifty years apart, the second phase beginning on 3 March 1928 and completed on 15 February 1930. The Town Hall houses the concert organ known as Norma, built by Hill, Norman & Beard in 1919 and opened in the hall in February 1930 with a locally designed and built case. It is a four-manual-and-pedal symphonic instrument and remains a defining feature of the auditorium. The Town Hall is a regular performance venue for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Access and location

The Harrop Street address places the complex directly beside the Octagon, within short walking distance of central city hotels, restaurants and the Dunedin Railway Station precinct. Mobility access to the Town Hall is via the side entrance on Harrop Street.

Suitability

The Dunedin Centre is the natural anchor venue for national and Australasian association conferences, awards nights, AGMs and trade exhibitions coming to Dunedin, and its scale range - from two adjacent seminar rooms up to a 2,000-plus auditorium - lets a single event grow or contract without changing venue. For incentive and gala programmes, the Town Hall auditorium and its organ give the city a genuinely distinctive plenary and dinner setting. See other Dunedin venues for supporting offsite options.