Pingelly Town Hall’s future on the agenda

The future use of the historic Pingelly Town Hall is a step closer to being finalised, with three options brought to the table at the Shire’s recent council meeting. Two community workshops were held in July to discuss the fate of the building, attended by about 50 community members. During the course of the workshops, three options were concluded to be appropriate for the town hall. The first option was to use the hall to display the town’s history through exhibits such as the Higgins war photos, Aboriginal cultural collections and agricultural displays. The second option was a flexible space in the central hall focusing on rotations of art and craft workshops, historical displays, community pop-up markets and stalls, tourism events and potentially the Anzac Day service. The third option was to incorporate a visitor centre at the front of the hall in a converted kitchen space. Community members present at the workshops felt that all three ideas could work in partnership with each other. The plans, however, would make the Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre the only building that could be hired for private events within the town, with the exemption of pop-up markets. That raised concerns for many at the workshops, who pointed to the hall’s cultural and historical significance to some community groups. They said the Indigenous community was holding wakes at Popanyinning Hall because they could not access Pingelly Town Hall. It was suggested the tradition of weddings and funerals at the hall should be honoured in the transition towards the PRACC as the sole venue for private events. In a report to the council after the workshops, Shire officers said: “It is recognised that this may not suit all users, however, the results of the workshops suggest that the availability of the Pingelly Hall for a hireable space, is considered to be a lower priority than the opportunity for the space to be used for an economic purpose”. That sentiment was echoed by Shire president William Mulroney. “People saw it as an alternative to the old community centre for weddings and wakes, but councillors considered that the hall hasn’t the facilities for these kinds of events now that we have our new recreation and cultural centre, where we have a better facility for very similar rates for hire of the hall,” Cr Mulroney said. The Shire has advertised a final opportunity for public comment on the future use of the town hall, with submissions closing on October 7. A final recommendation will then be made to the council.