In 1924 Mr. E. L. Jones donated block of land in Forbes Street, F.H. Sect. 8, Part 10-11, with an 80ft. frontage.
At a meeting held on 15th November, 1924, H. Cameron moved, J. Henson seconded a motion which was carried, reading as follows: "That a War Memorial School of Arts and Hall be built on the new site". The title was changed in May 1925 to Trundle War Memorial School of Arts.
Mr. J. B. McDonald, M.I.A., Macquarie Street, Dubbo, was then requested to draw up plans for the new Hall and secure tenders for the building of same. On 10th March, 1926, a Contract from Edward Beale, 117 Pitt Street, Sydney, for £5,295.00 ($10,059.00) was accepted by the Committee. This figure was later amended to £5,395.00 ($10,790.00).
In an endeavor to raise the necessary finance for the building, the Committee issued the following documents:
Declaration of Trust and Statutory Declaration a Transfer of Land with plan as Security. They first approached the Commonwealth Bank, but same was not acceptable to the Bank. However, finance was raised through the Primary Producers' Bank £1,400 ($2,800) advance being made available, plus an extra £2,000 ($4,000) to be covered by Guarantors.
As a special money-raising effort, Back to Trundle Week was organised and held from lst-5th June, 1926. The various money making efforts were as follows: Bazaar, Fancy Stall, Hoop-la, Sweets Stall, Flower Stall, Confetti Stall, Art Gallery, Athletic Sports organised by the R.S.S.A.I.L.A., Golf Tournament by the Golf Club, Tennis Tournament by the Trundle Backwater and Yarranvale Clubs, Football Match by the Football Club, Pigeon Match by E. A. Long, Grand Concert by W. W. Haynes, Grand Race Ball, Ugly Man Competition (contestants being J. Medlyn, Geo. Berry, Lai. Carey). Profit from the week being £2,296/12/0 ($4,593.20). This week was really a wonderful effort by the people of Trundle, especially all those who helped in any way organise the above functions. Visitors came from all the surrounding districts and many ex-Trundle-ites, from all over the State came to enjoy the festivities.
The Foundation Stone of the new Hall was laid by Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal, K.C.D., C.M.G., D.S.O.V.D., on 4/6/1926.
Dimensions were as follows:
Hall: 70ft. x 40ft.
Supper Room: 43ft. x 20ft.
Kitchen: 16ft. x 14ft.
Cloak Rooms: 16ft. x 14ft.
Cloak Rooms: 14ft. x 12ft.
Vestibule: 18ft. x 16ft.
Upstairs: Soldiers' Room, Library, Reading Room.
In 1927 a Queen Competition was staged to raise further finance and was most successful, the amount raised being £1,138. The girls who took part were D, Mudge, E. Mailer, M. Simmons, D. Wilcox, W. Ervin, D. Moloney, S. McAneney, S. Hunt.
The building was completed in February, 1927, and officially opened in the afternoon on 15th March, 1927, by Mr. E. L. Jones.
At night, A Grand Concert was arranged by Mrs. T. C. Medlyn and featured some very well-known Sydney artists, but Mrs. Medlyn's and daughter Rhana's items were very well received. During the evening Miss D. Mudge was crowned as Trundle Queen, having raised the most money of all the entrants.
The money available at March, 1927, was:
Insurance £1000
Back to Trundle Week 2339
Queen Competition 1138
Opening Appeal 449
Special Appeal 264
Total £5190
The Committee at the time of the Official Opening being as follows:
President: W. T. Medcalf, Vice-Presidents: Messrs. T. H. Mahoney, J. Medlyn, H. R. Mailer, Committee: Messrs. I. W. W. Giovanelli, G. G. A. Smith, W. A. Long, H. Hullick, H. Allez, R. M. Somerville, J. Medlyn, R. V. Mailer, H. R. Mailer, T. H. Mahoney, Dr. Overend, Treasurer: P. J. Kearney, Secretary: R. W. Giffin.
The first furniture purchased was 200 plain and 200 padded seats in 1927, which served the Hall for many years. In the 1950's 250 stack-a-by chairs were purchased to replace some of the wooden seats.
The Soldiers' Room, which had been incorporated in the original plans, was opened at a Dinner Rally on 23/3/1927.
On 25/4/1930, a Marble Honour Roll showing the names of all those who had enlisted from the District for the 1914/18 War was unveiled by Major-General Sir N. R. Howse, V.C.
The fortunes of the Hall flourished and waned for years, with finance always a problem. When the Primary Producers' Bank closed, arrangements were made with the Bank of New South Wales for carry-on finance, and the Hall still has its account with the Bank of New South Wales.
The Hall over the years has received rental revenue from every source, as well as for public entertainment. Church Services have been held there, and during the construction of the Local Court House, the Justice Department rented a room for 10/- a week as a temporary Court. Good revenue was received from the Education Department also, when they rented rooms for classes while the new school buildings were being erected.
The original lighting was from an engine and generator in a shed at the back of the Hall, but the Committee found it uneconomic to maintain this plant for the small amount of power required, so in 1934 an arrangement was made with P. P. Constantine, cafe keeper, to supply the power when needed. He was to use his own engine, but the Hall handed over their generator. In 1935, the Trundle Electric Light took over the supply of power. Later the Central West County Council was the supplying agency.
In 1945, the residence of Mrs. A. Davis, next door to the Hall was gutted by fire, but thanks to the volunteer fire fighters, damage to the Hall was limited to the windows and doors on the north side — total cost of repairs being £225 ($450). In 1945, the Hall purchased the next door block for £250, and in 1948 sold 50ft. of its frontage to the Ambulance Board, who erected thereon a building for their Ambulance car.
The Addition of the New Supper Room
On 25/4/1946, a Public Meeting was called to form a Committee to build a Memorial to the Returned Men and Women of the 1939/45 War. From this meeting a new project was launched to be known as the 1939/45 War Memorial Fund. The following Executive were elected:
President, P. Bamford; Treasurer, A. Thorburn; Secretary, K. Turner, while the Committee comprised the following citizens: F. Russell, H. R. Mailer, S. A. E. Bloomfield, A. W. Clarke, J. McKeowen, K. Gault, W. Long, Mrs. A. Owen, Father O'Sullivan, J. V. Curr, E. J. Little, A. J. Pike, E. A. Curr, W. Berry, F. Simmons, R. J. O. Berryman, E. G. Wilson.
Although the composition of this Committee changed considerably over the years, it remained as an active Committee until 1952, when it was merged with the War Memorial Hall Committee, and the money raised from the Queen Competition and the money on hand, paid to the Hall Funds.
The main money-raising effort by the 1939/45 Committee was a Queen Competition, the following girls taking part: H. Blundell, F. Casperson and M. Taylor. At the Crowning Ceremony on Christ-mas Eve 1948, Miss M. Taylor was crowned Queen, and the Committee announced that an amount of £2,939/16/3 had been raised from this effort.
After many meetings and much discussion, as well as a Plebesite put to the citizens, it was decided to build as the 1939/45 Memorial, a new Supper Room behind the original buildings, also new toilets.
Plans were drawn by B. D. Fennell, for a building 66ft. x 38ft. to seat 250 people, with a modern kitchen, included in the Hall itself. The contract was let to Cavanagh and Livingstone, the price being £4,300 in 1955. The building being completed and opened by Mr. W. Yeo, State President R.S.S.A.I.L.A., after a banquet attended by many leading citizens on 2/3/1956.
In February 1957, the Hall received a great setback, when a fire started, apparently under the stage, but thanks to many volunteers, and the local Fire Brigade, the damage was confined to the stage and the front portion of the Hall proper. Repairs after this blaze were completed by Mr. J. P. Fuller-ton at a cost of £5,622. Fortunately, with the new supper room completed, the Committee were able to continue renting the premises and use the new portion to raise funds to cover the cost of the restoration.
Also in 1956, a new Bronze Honour Roll showing the names of all those who had served in the 1939/45 War, was erected in the foyer of the Hall next to the Marble Honour Roll, already there.
One of the main functions of the original School of Arts was to maintain a Library for the benefit of the town and district. The Memorial Hall carried on this fine objective, creating a new library immediately after the first fire, and when the building was completed, two large rooms upstairs were set aside as Library and Reading Rooms, and the supply of books was continually improved until 1963, when the Goobang Shire Council took over control of the Library and created a Regional Library in conjunction with the State Library Board. Today, there is a selection of books available to compare with any larger centre.
Although no major work was done to the buildings until the new Supper Room was built, maintenance of same has been constantly the problem of the Committee.
In 1954, all the cracks in the brickwork, etc., were repaired and inside was painted also for the first time, the columns and facades outside were also painted. All this work was done by Mr. N. Bloom-field. In 1975, the Committee received a grant of $10,000, under the Government R.E.D. Scheme, and with the Goobang Shire supervision, all the building was given a coat of paint and necessary repairs completed.
During the whole of the history of the Memorial Hall, finance has always been a problem, and also finding persons to give of their time to serve on the Committee of the Hall. The revenue has come mainly from hiring’s, and it has always been the objective of the Committee to keep rentals as low as possible so that the facilities of the Hall would be available to all local bodies, no matter how small, despite the fact that the Hall has generally been working on an overdraft. It is pleasing to know that at present it has a small working balance in credit, as well as some money invested.
One much appreciated effort was by the local Lions Club, who by organising a Ball and a raffle, were able to present to the Hall a cheque for $2,000. The Hall has also received several other bequests over the years, one in particular from the late George Barnes, the new entrance doors.
Getting a full Committee to serve has often been a problem over the last fifty years. In 1952, the position was so bad that the President, Mr. P. Bamford, threatened closure of all the Hall facilities unless the citizens rallied to its cause. However, at a public meeting shortly afterwards the attendance was so good that another strong Committee was formed and although now small in numbers, they have been able to carry on and preserve for the people a Hall of which every Trundle citizen should be proud.
