Elsmore Memorial Hall

About

The Elsmore Memorial Hall is a typical rural community hall. It is built with weatherboard and has a high gabled front. The roof is covered with galvanised iron and there is a gabled alcove over the front door. Inside the hall is a tallow wood floor, with a kitchen and a supper room. The main hall measures 60 feet by 30 feet (approximately 18 metres by 9 metres). It has a semi-circular stage and steps leading to it on both sides of the hall. Suspended above the stage is the Elsmore First and Second World Wars Roll of Honor. The application to construct a memorial hall for the town was approved by McIntyre Shire Council in 1952, with an estimate of £3,000 (The Inverell Times, 12 September 1952). Around the same time, the Elsmore Hall Committee decided to upgrade the existing School of Arts, which was built in 1904. Instead of upgrading, the building was offered for sale by auction on 29 November 1952. The advertisement in The Inverell Times on 24 November stated "purchaser required to demolish [the hall] and remove all debris within 30 days of sale." The building was purchased and subsequently demolished. The new memorial hall was built on the site in 1953. It was designed by Inverell architect R. H. Lockwood and built by Worgan Bros, also of Inverell. The hall was completed by August 1953 and came in at £2,500. It was officially opened with a grand ball on 21 August 1953. At the function, Ron Bucknell of Newstead Station re-unveiled the town's roll of honor, which now included names of Second World War veterans  (The Inverell Times, 19 August 1953).