Mendooran Merrygoen Memorial Club

About

The Mendooran Merrygoen Memorial Club, located in Mendooran Memorial Park, is dedicated to Australian Forces personnel who served in the First and Second World Wars. The building was constructed in the 1950s and designed with plate glass windows to overlook the parklands. The club included a large billiard room, a board room, the secretary's office, canteen, and kitchen.  By June 1945, a Mendooran War Memorial Fund had been created with initial ideas for a memorial including construction of a men's club, a room for the RSL, and a women's centre. The War Memorial Committee held numerous discussions between 1946 and 1949, with the decision to construct a Solders’ Club Room surrounded by a small park settled in November 1949 (Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative, 3 November 1949).   Six months later the Committee accepted a tender from Mr C J Pryor to construct a War Memorial Club Room. Arrangements were made to construct the building on land donated by V W Meers (Coonabarabran Times, 21 December 1950). The Memorial Club was opened by Sir James Bisset at a ceremony on 30 January 1953. Due to the War Memorial Committee’s successful fundraising of £5,500 the Committee’s President, Mr Darcy Garling, was able to hand the building over to the RSL sub-Branch free of debt. Several prominent guests addressed the gathering including Mr William Yeo, State President of the RSL, Mr F G Cooke MLA, Patron of the Mudgee RSL sub-Branch, and Councillor L Nott, Shire President. An additional £580 was also raised at the opening to complete the Club’s furnishings and to beautify the proposed park (Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative, 5 February 1953). The building houses several timber honour rolls: the Mendooran and District First World War Honour Roll; Merrygoen Second World War Honour Roll, District Enlistments (for both the First and Second World Wars), and the opening plaque for the Memorial Club.

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