The paddocks come alive to the sound of music

It’s a little off the track, and a little out of the way, but all roads led to Bannister District Community Hall on Friday night as members of the local community and friends from neighbouring towns and villages converged for the repurposing of the Hall.

The event, dubbed the Renovation Celebration, marked another significant milestone for the Hall after a lengthy hiatus, and featured a stunning performance by local band The Reflections Trio, made up of Ebrentia Brits, Tammy Aslett and Phil Fraser.

In recent years the Hall has been the recipient of significant funding and grants from Gullen Range Wind Farm Community Benefits Fund, Veolia Mulwaree Trust, the Upper Lachlan Foundation, Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor’s “Powering Communities” Grant and State Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman’s “Community Building Partnerships” Grant.

That funding, coupled with the tireless work of committee members and helpers, has made it possible for the Hall to resume its role at the centre of the Bannister community.

Originally built in 1936, it was used as a community hall with regular dances, get-togethers and community activities.

In 1988, local man Sid Gillett bought the Hall and built a residence at the back which he moved into in the early 1990s. The residence portion of the venue is now available as a rental property. 

On January 21, 2015 the Hall was purchased by Goldwind Australia, part owners of the Gullen Range Wind Farm, and handed over to the community.

Since then, a series of successful grant applications and renovations have followed including the upgrading of the hall’s kitchen and toilet facilities, the installation of a waste water system, gas heating, resanding of the original floor boards, fencing, painting, clearing and maintaining the gardens and lawns, replacement of guttering and building a new outside landing.

Former Bannister Hall committee president Russell Erwin cut the cake that was prepared to commemorate the occasion.

The Hall was finally given the ok for operation this year and the Renovation Celebration marked it’s re-emergence as a multi-purpose venue suitable for a wide range of community activities.

President of the Hall Committee, Kathy Klem, described the night as the fruition of all of the work and tender loving care that has been put into the venue over the last decade.

“We’ve all been working towards having a community centre that’s of benefit to the whole community, and we now have it,” she said.

“It’s able to be used as a bushfire meeting place, for family events, for Landcare meetings, film nights, yoga, book clubs and all sorts of family occasions.

“This is especially useful in a farming community where our people are spread out and don’t have a central place to come together.”

Kathy said all of the feedback on the night was very positive with everyone she spoke to impressed at the potential for the Hall.

“Everyone was so positive,” she said.

“To a person, everyone described the band as sensational, and wanted to know more about them. And we got nothing but positive comments about the catering as well. Most people wanted to know when the next event would be and that was very encouraging.”

Some of the audience at the show.

For the record, the next event planned is a Bush dance and Ball that would echo the very first big event at the Hall back in 1936. It will feature old time dances, and newer dances for younger members of the community, representing a great family night to come together and celebrate. Details and dates are to be determined.

Between the two song brackets, the committee’s first president Russell Erwin was asked to cut a special cake to mark the occasion. Mr Erwin had originally suggested the use of the hall as a community meeting place for a playgroup and other community activities at an RFS meeting some years ago.

Kathy thanked and congratulated the whole committee, including former members, for their community spirit in being so proactive and supportive over a lengthy period and helping make the reopening a reality.

She also thanked Upper Lachlan Shire Council’s Senior Building Surveyor Brian Smithers for his unwavering support and guidance.

“We’ve been blessed by so many hard-working helpers and so many generous grants, donations and funding which have all come together to give us back a meeting place for our community,” Kathy said.