Mullumbimby Civic Memorial Hall

About

Civic Hall constructed from red brick, dedicated as a School of Arts Memorial Hall in April 1930. In October 1954 the name of the hall was changed to the 'Civic Memorial Hall.'  Description supplied by Architect Mr Andrew Howell: Initial discussion about a suitable memorial began in 1919. However it was 10 years before construction began on a School of Arts Memorial Hall in 1929. Delays were caused by problems raising the necessary funds and debate about the most suitable form that the memorial should take. Funds eventually came from a combination of money raised by public subscription and donations from the Local Council. The structure is a brick hall with a stepped brick gable and a deep set portico at the front. Within the portico is mounted a marble plaque inscribed with 'Mullumbimby School of Arts Memorial Hall.' This inscription is enclosed within an carved, upturned laurel, or olive, wreath bound with a ribbon. The ribbon here is derived from Fasces which were decorative elements (axes and rods bound with a ribbon) used by the Romans to represent justice and judicial authority. In the Fasces, the Axes represented authority while the Rods represented punishment. The ribbon represents the interlocking nature of these two elements of civic authority and accordingly the ribbon on this decorative element has its origin in Roman civic decoration. Traditionally the olive or laurel wreath (often indistinguishable) was used to represent prowess and/or honour, both themes which were applicable to remembering those who had served and those who had died in the Great War. The Olive and the Laurel Tree were also evergreen trees and so were used to represent eternity and often appear in funerary wreaths.

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