Eungai Soldiers' Memorial Hall

About

The original Soldiers' Memorial Hall at Eungai was opened on 29 August 1923, and was constructed on the main North Coast Road at Eungai. The hall measured 90 feet by 60 feet with a stage, supper room and dressing room. The existing hall, identified as the Eungai Soldiers' Memorial Hall, was rebuilt on the same site in 1970 after the original hall was destroyed by fire on 2 January 1968. The Memorial Hall is now a simply designed building, with a small gabled roof and a ramp and decorative bricks at the entrance way. Prior to 1920 there was a Federal Hall in Eungai. However members of the community were keen to have a hall located in a more central position within the village. By November 1920 meetings had been held to discuss construction and fundraising for a new Soldiers' Memorial Hall. A Sports Committee was established to hold a 'Great Sports Meeting' on 26 November 1920 to raise funds for the building (Macleay Argus, 5 November 1920). A variety of fundraising events for the Eungai Memorial Hall Fund were held over the course of the next two years, such as basket picnic races and dances, which were held in the Federal Hall.  A public meeting was held in the Federal Hall on 9 May 1922 to decide upon the site and plan for the new Memorial Hall.  The Macleay Argus, 19 May 1922, reported that a site had been selected on land known as the Police Reserve, and described the proposed hall in detail, which was designed by local resident Artie Nelson. Tenders were called for construction of the hall in March 1923 and building work had commenced by May (Macleay Argus, 5 June 1923).  The Soldiers' Memorial Hall was officially opened by Captain R T Tarrant of Kempsey on 29 August 1923. A record gathering attended from all parts of the district, with a holiday announced for the local schools for the day. The Chairman of the Trustees, Mr C L Bice, presided over the event, announcing the building had cost only £800 due to generous donations of timber from the community. The celebrations included a sports day and a fancy dress ball that night in the new hall (The Macleay Chronicle, 5 September 1923). A year later the original Federal Hall was sold and demolished. The piano and seats were given to the new Memorial Hall. It was planned that some of the money would be used to purchase a memorial tablet to be placed in the Memorial Hall as soon as possible. It is uncertain whether this memorial was created (Macleay Argus, 8 July 1924).