A second story was added in 1901 and this is as it looks today.
Best viewed in original size
There are two cannons which flank the main entrance

The cannons in the reserve to the south of the hall were recovered from the HMVS Nelson, one of the colony's earliest warships. The Nelson was a wooden steam frigate first laid down in 1805 and was on permanent loan to the Victorian Navy from 1867. Nelson remained in service until 1891 and was finally broken up in 1929. In 1898 the Eaglehawk Borough Council wrote to HR Williams MLA to secure some of the Nelson's guns. Other guns were despatched to Ararat, Echuca and Hamilton. Two guns were also recovered in archaeological works at Rosalind Park, Bendigo during 1997.

The HMVS Nelson cannons are of historical significance to the state of Victoria being associated with one of the earliest ships to constitute the Victorian Navy. The Nelson when completed in 1814 was a timber sailing vessel and the largest warship in the British Navy. At the time of its permanent loan to the Victorian Navy, the vessel was already converted to steam and had undergone substantial modifications.