Renovations continue at hall

The Trafalgar Public Hall is continuing to undergo renovation and improvement works to ensure it remains a centrepiece community facility in the town.

A team of volunteers is working quietly behind the scenes of the hall, raising funds, applying for grants and undertaking extensive works.

“It is a public hall that belongs to the community.

“All the fundraising we do is to keep the hall in the local community’s hands,” said secretary Shirlene Browne.

In recent years the committee has undertaken thousands of dollars worth of works to give the ageing hall a facelift and make it more user friendly, including a $35,000 new kitchen in 2012 and most recently $12,000 to resurface the hall, stage and balcony floor.

The volunteer committee includes chairman Shane Browne, secretary Shirlene Browne, treasurer Jo Porter, bookings manager David Lyons and committee members Greg Porter, Ian Bosma, Tania Stanley, Eva Moscato, Kylie Marslen and Robyn Jones.

Mr Bosma has been a part of many of the changes, having been on the committee for 30 years while the Porters have been dedicated members for about 20 years.

The hall receives an annual hall maintenance grant from Baw Baw Shire but other than that is an independent, community owned facility.

The pro-active committee has set short and long term goals but share a vision that all fundraising goes into improving the hall.

One of the committee’s long term goals is to upgrade the toilets, which are in almost original condition.

Trafalgar’s original hall, the Trafalgar Mechanic’s Institute, built in 1889 and then rebuilt in 1908.

In the 1920s it served as the town’s library with more than 2000 books in stock before it burnt down in 1934.

The current hall was officially opened in 1935 and in its heyday was the town’s centre for music, dancing and entertainment with a grand ballroom and movie projector for a theatre.

Today, the hall remains very much a community asset and is available for community bookings including functions, parties and funerals and offers a fully functioning kitchen to hirers.

The Trafalgar Amateur Drama Society (TADS) is a permanent resident and holds annual theatre events that are a major fundraiser for the hall. Other regular users include pilates and dance. For bookings, contact David Lyons (0409 015662) or trafalgarpublichall@gmal.com.