Frere Hall 6.06

Frere Hall is a building in Karachi, Pakistan that dates from the early British colonial-era in Sindh. Completed in 1865, Frere Hall was originally intended to serve as Karachi's town hall, and now serves as an exhibition space and library. It is considered one of Karachi's most iconic buildings.LocationFrere Hall is located in central Karachi's colonial-era Saddar Town, in the Civil Lines neighbourhood that is home to several consulates. The Hall is located between Haroon road (formerly Victoria Road) and Fatima Jinnah Road (formerly Bonus Road). It lies adjacent to the colonial-era Sindh club.HistoryThe building was intended to serve as Karachi's town hall, and was designed by Henry Saint Clair Wilkins, after having been chosen from among 12 possible choices.The building's land was purchased at a cost of 2,000 British Indian rupees, which had been donated by WP Andrew of the Scinde Railway, and Sir Frederick Arthur Bartholomew. The total cost of the Hall was about 180,000 rupees, out of which the Government contributed 10,000 rupees, while the rest was paid for by Karachi municipality.Work commenced in August 1863, and completed in October 1865, though work on the building had not been entirely completed by the time of its inauguration.In 1877 at Frere Hall, the first attempt was made to form a consistent set of rules of badminton. Following the death of Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere in 1884, the building was renamed in his honour. Frere was a British administrator who was known for promoting economic development in Sindh, as well as for making the Sindhi Language the language of administration in Sindh, rather than the Persian language which had been favoured by the Mughals.