As many community members would appreciate, the Cobargo School of Arts Hall, or our ‘Grand Old Lady’, has stood our community in good stead over the last 150 plus years. During that time the various committees, Council groups and the wider community have supported many restoration and improvement projects to achieve what we have now.

In many ways the single most important (and most overdue) element is now in place with the building of the concrete ramp from the disabled parking area to the kitchen area at the back of the Hall. This means that we have finally achieved disabled access to all areas of the building.

In addition, successive Hall Committees have successfully bid for grants or Council support to ensure that a new roof, a rebuilt toilet block, an updated kitchen, air conditioning, repairs to the main hall floors, a picnic area and seating on the east side of the building, and a self-contained solar panel and battery array to ensure constant power availability even when the grid goes down, are all in place.

So, what next? Well, now that the booking arrangements for all the halls in the Shire are made through the Council there is very little left for a full committee to do. There are some minor ongoing secretarial and reporting duties, including future potential grant applications, but the capital improvement items on the overall to-do list have been ticked off and a full committee structure is no longer fit for purpose.

Therefore, it is our intention that we replace the hall’s full committee with a streamlined model. This revised model will retain only a couple of formal committee roles but will be supported by a ‘Friends of the Hall’ group if or as required to ensure any further support is available, but not as a part of a full committee.

If you want to book the School of Arts Hall, go to Venues for Hire Bega Valley Shire Council.

Steve Williams

Photo: The new disabled access ramp from the disabled parking area to the back entrance of the hall, giving access to kitchen, supper room and the stage.