Community & Business
4 October, 2023
Haden Public Hall turns 100
Haden Public Hall celebrated its 100th birthday on the weekend with an “as Aussie as it gets” festival.
A large crowd of people crammed inside the Hall which was packed to the brim.
Children enjoyed the opportunity to take part in old-fashioned games such as the egg-and-spoon, sack and three-legged races.
The Hall’s beginnings date back to 1921, when a building fund was established.
Dances and sports days were held to raise funds for the facility.
Builder Herman Luck was contracted to build the hall which was originally called the Haden School of Arts. The Hall’s debt was paid off in 1930.
Ken Reimers read out a poem about Haden and some of the memories of the people and locations around town, including Ray Clark the butcher, Les Lau the store owner, Tom Freeman the baker, Mick and Mrs Kelly, Norm Wingett, Mrs Dearling and Ivan Borgelt.
Condamine MP Pat Weir said he had a personal connection to the town of Haden, where his mother, a member of the locally-well known Coonan family, had grown up.
“Last time I was here was for a family reunion event,” her said.
“My great-grandfather built the first pub in town.
“My mother described walking to the Haden School and being scared to go past the swaggies.
“A certain Mr Shine was the school teacher then, the father of Cr Kerry Shine who’s here today.”
Mayor Geoff McDonald said the venue had served as a hub for community and played a significant role in the lives of many local residents.
“The Hall has hosted thousands of events, and many of the people here today would have had some of the formative events in their lives here,” he said.
“I congratulate the work of the Haden Public Hall Committee, who are persistent in applying for grants to look after this historic venue.”
Groom MP Garth Hamilton took his children along and told the crowd how he had explained the significance of the hall to his son.
“I told him ‘This is how you got to know people and the community before you had Facebook, TV and regular mail,”he said.
“I guarantee if you go back 100 years, you’ll see a lot of the same surnames still here today.
