A mayor's tripping incident, the creation of an iconic Aussie film, a desperate fight for funds and a bushfire are all part of the colourful history of Kergunyah Memorial Hall, which on Sunday celebrated a century milestone. or signup to continue reading More than 100 people from the Border district flocked to the revamped hall on September 15 for its "grand reopening". The hall featured in the Australian comedy starring Paul Hogan and Michael Caton, a film that was later .
Long-time Kergunyah local , a member of the committee that pushed for the wooden structure to be renovated, said the revamp was sparked after an incident at the hall eight years ago involving the mayor at the time. "There was a step between the hall and the supper room and it was a tripping hazard," Mr Jarvis said. "About eight years ago there was an Indigo Shire disability committee meeting held there and the mayor at the time, tripped over - that was sort of the catalyst for the renovation project.
"OK, so we reckoned we were home and hosed, but it took a bushfire to find some funds to get the modification to the hall. "When the bushfires were on, the Kergunyah brigade and all the other local brigades helped with the bushfires and Indigo Shire applied for some funds." Fast forward to July 2024 and after a $506,000 injection of funds from federal, state and council funds, plus a contribution of $50,000 from the Kergunyah committee, the hall has been given a new lease of life.
It didn't come without a fight, though. Indigo Shire councillor , who lives in the area, said supply and labour hurdles during the worst of the COVID period stalled the renovation. "They received a grant to go ahead to upgrade the building, but because during COVID materials got more expensive, they were harder to get, the cost got higher and higher and I pushed Indigo Shire for more money," he said.
"But they came to the party and the efforts were well worth it, the hall is just beautiful, it is lovely." An ambitious project to completely renovate the hall, involving the demolition of some areas while retaining the original windows and other features to be repurposed, began in November 2023. It involved expanding the west side of the main hall space and installing a new kitchen and pantry at the rear of the building.
Mr Jarvis said he was impressed the renovation had improved the building without unnecessarily modernising it, that it still retained the old world charm as epitomised in . "A huge part of that film was shot at Kergunhah Memorial Hall, it was sort of set at Yackandandah, but a lot of it was actually here," Mr Jarvis said. "The writer of that movie, , grew up in Kergunyah.
" In 2003, Paul Hogan and Michael Caton spent several weeks at Yackandandah and other parts of the North East shooting the film, a tale of two heterosexual men who passed themselves off as gay to receive welfare benefits. The film's world premiere was held at Albury's Regent Cinemas in April 2004. The hall is used weekly for card nights and music events, with Yackandandah's making regular visits.
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