Koorda Public Hall

Statement of Significance

The Rest Room was built, by community fundraising to meet a need for a meeting place for women and also as a 'rest room' when travelling was difficult. The C.W.A. has lobbied and supported the building of local facilities for educational, health and social activities for themselves and their families. The Rest Room has always been used by many, many organisations for meetings and gatherings of all sorts.

Physical Description

It is a one room building with weatherboard exterior, white plasterboard lining with jarrah dado and a cove ceiling. The roof is corrugated iron. It has an open front verandah and a closed back verandah partly used as a kitchen. It has jarrah joinery and floor and a fireplace with a brick hearth.

History

The C.W.A. held their first full stage show on Saturday night the 25th November, 1933. The tiny stage of the Agricultural Hall had been extended four feet into the main hall and every seat had been sold days before. The night produced a tidy profit of £1 5 for the Rest Room Fund, quite an achievement when a third of the state's workforce was unemployed. Of great importance was the enthusiasm and entertainment at a time when a trip to Perth or a visit to the theatre were considered a great luxury.
By 1934 the C.W.A. had a block of land as well as some money in hand for a Rest Room. Cecil Martin, husband of the first President, Ethel Mary Martin, guaranteed an overdraft and the building was erected by J.W. Price in time to be opened on Wednesday, 4th July, 1934. Equipment, fittings and furniture were all donated by various members and businesses both in Koorda and from Perth.
The new Koorda Record of the 1 3th July gave a full description of the Rest Room as:
"measuring 19ft by 32ft width with a perfectly laid Jarrah floor, handsomely darkened Jarrah dado, surmounted by white ceilite, with toned corner battens and rail with a cove ceiling, it contrived a most handsome room which, with its handsome pictures, curtains and furniture, selected and arranged as only the artistic hands of women can arrange these things, made a whole symbol indeed of its name."
In the following years the Girl Guides, Farmers' Union, the Masonic Lodge, the Buffalo Lodge, the various sporting clubs, the Agricultural Society, a new repertory club and the religious bodies, all used the Rest Room. There were cupboards and boxes belonging to everyone, crammed on the back verandah, behind the piano, in the kitchen and gradually spreading in profusion over the main floor. There were cleaning troubles and not enough nights in the week to go round.
It all quietened down after some years as other premises were built, and then the little Rest Room became more like its name again, but it saw hectic times and frayed tempers on occasions.
By 1949 membership of the C.W.A. was greater than it had ever been and the number of children at meetings seemed to be one of the chief worries. Mrs. Jessie Anderson paid the Road Board for loads of sand for a playground in the back garden and it was decided to build a playroom. Later there was the first attempt at forming a playcentre at the Rest Room which over the years lead to the eventual formation of a Kindergarten.
Many amenities still needed to be provided locally in 1950. At this time the Central North Wheatbelt was said to be the only area without an Infant Health Clinic, and with the postwar baby boom one was needed. The Koorda C.W.A. enlisted the help of the local Road Boards and the Rest Room was set up as the first Clinic Centre in Koorda.
Also at this time, with no hope of a resident medical officer, it was arranged for the Wyalkatchem doctor to visit Koorda weekly. The C.W.A. undertook to have a surgery, in the Rest Room, ready and prepared for him, and this was done for years by roster. Eventually Mrs. Flo Gray undertook the work. She did this entirely voluntarily, supplying her own linen and serving tea to the doctor, for so many years that it just became "her job". Very few people knew it was being done.
In November, 1955 a Music & Dramatic Club was formed combining the Music Club and the old Repertory Club. Mrs. Muriel Utting, the wife of the School Headmaster, was elected President, Kath Carr was Secretary and Mary Main the conductor. Their first, very successful, performance was held in the C.W.A. Rest Room.
Ken May, Brian Pearse and Laurie Vicary asked the Junior Farmer Federation to sponsor a club in Koorda in July, 1956. In August it was formed with Charlie Main as Adult Leader and Keith Rewell and Ian Mactaggart as Adult Advisers. The President and Vice President were Ken May and John Arrow, Secretary Brian Pearse and Treasurer Laurie Vicary. The Social President was John Smith, and Club reporter was Barbara May. The Younger Set of the C.W.A. amalgamated with this new organisation thus allowing it the Rest Room for free and giving it all the help possible. By the sixth meeting in November there were 43 members of the Junior Farmers' Club.
In 1958 Koorda received the Water Scheme. Nowhere in the world had such a scheme been attempted that supplied such a vast area. It was the most important agricultural development since the railways. The pepper trees, oleanders and palms which had been planted, at the Rest Room, on Arbor Day in August, 1938, had just survived the unwatered years but now at last a lawn and other plants could be added. The Brownie Group who used the Rest Room donated and planted hibiscus and the Junior Farmers carted soil and fertiliser as a donation.
When the new Koorda Shire Offices were built in 1975, the C.W.A. moved into the old Road Board Offices in Railway Street and the Rest Room was taken over by the Brownie and Girl Guide Group but still remains as a general meeting place for many organisations.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: With some minor modifications it is of original construction

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.