Koondrook Memorial Hall PlaquesPrint Page

Plaques from the former Memorial Hall commemorate those who served in conflicts in which Australia has been involved. 

The Memorial Hall was erected in memory of those who served in World War One. Plaques were added to the wall to commemorate those who served in later conflicts. These plaques were bequeathed to the Koondrook RSL, 8 Arbuthnot Street after the hall was demolished. 

Note: The Memorial Hall was demolished in 2017. 

The Koondrook Memorial Hall is no more, with demolishers moving in this week to raze the crumbling building to the ground. The hall committee of management made the decision to demolish the hall in 2012 after it was condemned by Gannawarra Shire Council. The floor was badly rotted, the walls were severely cracked and the foundations had sunk significantly, giving the hall its characteristic off-centre façade.  With the cost of repairing the hall estimated at more than $500,000, secretary Alan Morrow said the committee had no choice but to proceed with its demolition. 

"We had no choice once the building was condemned; it wasn't safe to be in there," he said.  "The only things holding it together were the bird nests up top, and the walls crumpled when the roof was removed."

Mr Morrow said Gannawarra Shire Council declined to issue a permit to demolish the hall, contributing to the five-year delay before a private building surveyor from Mildura eventually signed off on the demolition.  He said the cost of the demolition had exhausted the committee's funds, leaving no money to reinvent the site, so it had been offered to council, but it declined.

"We're looking at a small hall which could adjoin the Barrook Senior Citizens rooms at the back of the site, but that would require grant money," he said. "We're open to suggestions for the rest of the site, but we're looking at a garden area with tables and chairs, a wishing well, a flagpole and maybe a wooden carving." 

The plaques from the front of the hall have been removed and bequeathed to the Koondrook sub-branch of the Returned and Services League.
Gannawarra Times, 3 February 2017. 

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Dedication