Larrakeyah Barracks Headquarters Building

Larrakeyah Barracks Headquarters Building is at Fullarton Place, off Allen Avenue, Larrakeyah Barracks, Darwin, including landscaped surrounds.^[1]

The Headquarters Building (Building 196) is a tropical adaptation of Moderne style architecture constructed of concrete walls and a reinforced iron roof (the roof was formerly clad with asbestos cement). It is a single storey symmetrical structure which is well ventilated with high wide internal spaces and fans for cooling. Although the building is quite long, it is narrow, allowing for good cross-ventilation. The building has an imposing parapetted entrance (appropriate to its role), with guns either side of the approach road. Building 196 is a significant feature of the townscape of the barracks, being on a major axis which runs through the site, and because it is in the centre of the barracks. It is also adjacent to the oval.^[1]

The structure's overall condition is fair. The steel reinforcing has corroded which has led to structural weakness and extensive cracking of the concrete. Treatment of this concrete cancer is taking place during 2003. Air conditioning was fitted to the communications equipment room in 2002. The Headquarters Building is used daily and requires continual maintenance. It had a high degree of integrity as of April 2003.^[1]

Larrakeyah Barracks Headquarters Building was listed on the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004 for the following reasons:^[1]

The Headquarters Building, built in 1940, is architecturally significant as a rare example of a public building designed in response to the climatic conditions of the tropical environment in the era before mechanical air conditioning. It has further significance as an early Darwin example of Moderne architecture incorporating tropical design characteristics.^[1]

The building is significant for its association with the notable government architect, B.C.G.Burnett, who made an important contribution to Darwin's architecture during the period.^[1]

With its imposing entrance, and its position on a major axis within the Barracks and being in the centre of the Barracks, the Headquarters Building is of aesthetic importance within the barracks precinct.^[1]

The Headquarters Building is historically important for its association with the buildup of defence infrastructure in the years preceding the outbreak of the Pacific War, and with the development of Darwin into a major centre at that time.^[1]

• Hardwick, C., 'Register of Significant European Cultural Sites in the Northern Territory'. A Report for the National Trust of Australia (NT), Darwin 1984.
• Allom Lovell Marquis-Kyle, 'Larrakeyah Barracks Darwin, Conservation Analysis'. Prepared for Australian Construction Services, 1988.

This Wikipedia article was originally based on Larrakeyah Barracks Headquarters Building, entry number 105192 in the Australian Heritage Database published by the Commonwealth of Australia 2020 under CC-BY 4.0 licence, accessed on 18 February 2020.