The Chan Building was the eighth and last of the large government office blocks built in the centre of Darwin in the 1960s.
It was known as Block 8 for the first ten years of its existence and was named the Chan Building after Harry Chan (1918-1969), a Chinese-Australian businessman and former mayor of Darwin around 1980.
Until its demolition in September 2020, it was the last of this group of office blocks to be left standing; all the others being demolished by the late 1990s.
In 2015, the Northern Territory Government announced plans to refurbish the building into a world-class visual arts museum. The redevelopment was controversial due to increasing costs, and eventually, the plans were shelved and the building demolished.
You can read more about the history of the Chan Building on Wikipedia.
These photos are dated from around 1973.
It was known as Block 8 for the first ten years of its existence and was named the Chan Building after Harry Chan (1918-1969), a Chinese-Australian businessman and former mayor of Darwin around 1980.
Until its demolition in September 2020, it was the last of this group of office blocks to be left standing; all the others being demolished by the late 1990s.
In 2015, the Northern Territory Government announced plans to refurbish the building into a world-class visual arts museum. The redevelopment was controversial due to increasing costs, and eventually, the plans were shelved and the building demolished.
You can read more about the history of the Chan Building on Wikipedia.
These photos are dated from around 1973.