02/04/2025
๐๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ธ๐ป๐ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฝ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐พ๐ต๐ฝ๐พ๐ป๐ช๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐ท๐ฝ๐ป๐ฎ
Today the 2nd of April 2025 we celebrate 100 years of our amazing Cultural Centre, the opening of this magnificent building that has served our community as a hall for debutante balls, weddings, Anzac Day celebrations, public meetings and many Community events. This structure of amazing grandeur with its 6 iconic columns that is located at 112 Victoria Street St George and has claimed pride of place in our main street since the official opening.
The previous Balonne Shire Hall designed by Richard Gailey was once the head quarters of the Divisional Board. It was burnt down early on the 30th June 1917 along with the office that was also destroyed. Luckily many of the records in the strong room survived as it had only been built the year before. Temporary shire offices were located to the St Georgeโs Terrace until the new hall was built.
Council decided to build a hall for St George to replace the previous hall that was destroyed by fire to address the requests from the public. Plans were to utilise reinforced concrete as a far more fireproof option, sand from the river made this an attractive proposition as it was also used successfully on the New Soldiers memorial hospital designed by architect Roy Chipps.
Treasury approved a loan of ยฃ3,000 for the Shire Hall and offices and H.J. Fosterโs tender was accepted. The Shire Engineer suggested that the specifications be changed to allow a further strengthening of the floor joists and the roof principals plus reinforcement of the concrete work. Robert James Cockrell was appointed Clerk of Works for the project, though ill-heath forced him to resign soon afterwards.
Features of the hall were a large door in the back wall of the supper room which costed an extra ยฃ5 and the council added an extra ยฃ1,000 to the original loan for other improvements. Material for the new Shire Hall and offices were railed to Thallon and brought to St George by motor lorry. This lorry was capable of hauling four tons and the largest seen in town.
The building was 120 feet long by 50 foot wide and dominated Victoria Street The brick strongroom from the previous building that had survived the fire was now incorporated into the design. We now could host 600 people for a function with a stage and supper room with great attention to ventilation inside the hall with the twenty-foot-high walls and window that allowed the breeze.
The Governor of Queensland Sir Mathew Nathan carried out the official opening, arriving to the music of a Brass Band and was presented with a gold key to the building by Balonne Shire Chairman Roberts.
This was the second visit of the Governor to our shire. He first visited St George in February 1921 as it was his intention to visit as much of his domain as he could. He met with J. E. Kirby of โMiltoniseโ and they discussed the future opportunities for the Shire. They discussed what could be transformed by irrigation and the prospects of closer settlement, which could be made possible through the artesian water. On this visit he also displayed interest in the shearers, selectors and allowed extra time to speak to women about addressing education in the west.
The original Cultural Centre was supplemented in 1963 by the Civic Centre which now contains shire offices, public library and council meeting rooms. These were officially opened on the 4th May in the that year by Hon. G.F. Nicklin, Premier of Queensland.
In 1925 we also celebrated the first fuel bowser pump erected in St George, a new hospital that was completed thanks to Mr W B Anderson who lost 4 of his 12 children in a 6 month period. Cactoblastis was introduced to end the prickly pear, with the intent of treating the Thallon - St George Road first.
๐Compiled by St George Heritage Centre
Balonne Shire Council St George Region StGeorge QLD NoticeBoard Care Balonne Assoc. Inc. Bill Winks
