-By Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour-
Maryborough City Hall is a significant building historically and architecturally. I really enjoy working in this building which has played a role in the lives of so many people over the decades since it was completed in 1908.
One man who knew the building particularly well was Charles Henry Crystall.
Crystall was an alderman on the Maryborough City Council immediately after the hall was built, from 1909 to 1913 and came agonisingly close to being elected Mayor in February 1911.
Crystall didn’t just work in the Maryborough City Hall though – he built it.
In response to the call for tenders in December 1906, the firm of Crystall and Armstrong were contracted to build the civic building for just under £9,000. It was designed by one of Queensland’s most accomplished architects, Robin Dods.
Crystall was born in central London in June 1855 and came to the colony of Queensland as a young and ambitious man; arriving in Maryborough in 1874, a time when the town was booming as a result of the Gympie Gold Rush.
Crystall was in the police force before he found his calling as a building contractor; being skilled in building, joinery, and also as a draftsman.
During his years as an alderman, he took a very active interest in the public works being undertaken or considered across Maryborough, such as bridges, roads, pipes, and buildings.
He passed away in February 1922, aged 68. The funeral at the Wesley Church (a very handsome building that has sadly been demolished) was well attended by a large cross-section of the community. Amongst the pall bearers were the Mayor, Harold Reed, and the Town Clerk, David Woodrow. The flag at City Hall was flown at half-mast as a tribute of respect to his memory.
From the Wesley Church, his remains were taken to the Maryborough Cemetery and there as Reverend Lewis performed the last rites beside the gravesite his coffin was lowered into plot C879.
For some reason, his grave remained unmarked, until last year, when working with the Friends of the Maryborough Cemetery we erected a very fitting memorial at his grave which includes an original piece of Maryborough City Hall from when he constructed it in 1908.
