Joint media release: Recognising Victorian Trades Hall’s Heritage

The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for the Environment and Water
Sonya Kilkenny MP, Minister for Planning, Minister for the Suburbs

The world’s oldest continually active trade union building has been added to Australia’s National Heritage List by Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek.

The Victorian Trades Hall in the heart of Melbourne is home to generations of trade union history - from winning the 8-hour working day to leading campaigns on equal pay, conscription, and apartheid. 

First opened in 1859, the hall is still home to trade unions and political events. It also serves as a cultural hub for art exhibitions and stage shows including acts at the annual Melbourne Comedy Festival.

In recognition that Victorian Trades Hall is significant globally as well as nationally, Victorian Trades Hall is also being considered for inclusion on the World Heritage List as part of an international bid.

The bid is being led by the Workers Museum (Arbejdermuseet) in Denmark, and is expected to include sites in Finland, Belgium, Argentina and the United Kingdom.

The Albanese Government provided $1.2 million to Victoria in the 2022–23 Budget to support the progress towards World Heritage listing of the Victorian Trades Hall.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for the Environment and Water the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP:

“Victorian Trades Hall is a crucial part of our national story, as the birthplace of the eight hour day and generations of political activism and progress. 

“When Victorian Trades Hall was first built, huge numbers of working people were still living in cramped slum housing, sometimes with half a dozen people to a room. Trades Hall must have seemed like a palace – not for the rich and powerful, but for ordinary workers. 

“For close to 150 years, this site has symbolised the strength of working people when they come together and fight for a fairer Australia. 

“We have no shortage of national heritage dedicated to the memory of wealth and power. It’s only right that our national estate also includes the lives and achievements of working people. 

“By including the Victorian Trades Hall on our National Heritage List, we are also progressing our support for the site’s inclusion in a transnational trades halls World Heritage nomination led by Denmark.”

Quotes attributable to the Victorian Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny MP:

“Victoria is home to some of Australia’s oldest and most significant heritage sites and the Victorian Trades Hall in the heart of Melbourne is no exception.

“The Victorian Trades Hall is a significant symbol of our state’s labour movement dating back to 1856 when the long struggle for the eight-hour work day was first achieved by the stonemasons.”

“It is vital we continue to recognise and conserve our heritage, not only at a state level but at a national level and on the world stage.”