Hall upgrade work on track

The view from centre stage into the Queenstown Memorial Hall. It is planned to have the entire...
The view from centre stage into the Queenstown Memorial Hall. It is planned to have the entire mezzanine floor removed by Christmas. Photos by James Beech.
The new foyer extension of the memorial hall.
The new foyer extension of the memorial hall.
The supper room is to be repainted and refurbished and  the bar area  tidied.
The supper room is to be repainted and refurbished and the bar area tidied.

About $266,000 still needs to be raised for the ongoing $3.1 million upgrade of the Queenstown Memorial Hall, but the revamp is on track, a fashion fundraiser will be held next week and hall bookings are increasing for next year.

Between 25 and 30 steel workers, carpenters, painters and services tradespeople continue to labour on the hall, which has been the venue of countless community ceremonies, productions, exhibitions and parties over the past five decades.

Hall trust chairwoman Cath Gilmour, of Queenstown, said on Friday she and trustees were "delighted" with progress. The huge upgrade was still on budget and on schedule.

"While it's still a building site, we're very impressed with the builders and they're doing a grand job.

"There haven't been any major unforeseen issues."

Ms Gilmour said in addition to the fashion fundraiser, it was hoped the funding shortfall would be helped by a Lotteries grant, although the decision on the application would not be known until next month.

People were still welcome to make pledges and have their names etched in stainless steel in the trebled and modernised foyer of "the geographical and emotional centre of our community," Ms Gilmour said.

The chairwoman confirmed the complex would be renamed "the Queenstown Memorial Centre" when it was fully reopened to the public on February 28.

The name change was suggested by Queenstown members of the Returned and Services Association, who are based in the upstairs Gallipoli Room, because the facility will be much more than a hall.

The upgrade was already proving its worth, evident by the increase in cultural and commercial bookings for the centre in 2013 and beyond, which would not have been made without the improvements, Ms Gilmour said.

The DT Carter Memorial Hall Fashion Fundraiser in the Queenstown Motor Group showroom, Remarkables Park Town Centre, is on Wednesday, November 28, from 7pm-9pm.

Tickets are $45 from the park retailer.

 

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement