Soldiers’ Memorial Hall Community Consultation Group holds inaugural meeting

The twelve members of the new Soldiers’ Memorial Hall Community Consultation Group have held an inaugural meeting on site. Members of the group were selected through an Expression of Interest process and include serving and ex-service personnel, Council representatives and Memorial Hall user groups.

Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) Environment and Community Chair, Cr Geoff McDonald said the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall Community Consultation Group will provide feedback to Council Project Board during the upgrade.

“The feedback of the community consultation group will help the Project Board on a wide range of information about the project including usage requirements, space allocation, heritage constraints and concerns, staging plan priorities and future opportunities,” Cr McDonald said.

“The consultation group will also report to the Project Board the outcomes of any engagement activities they undertake to assist in the refurbishment of the building.

TRC Mayor Paul Antonio said it has been a long-time goal of Council to upgrade the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall for the community to appreciate.

“The upgrade will involve a multi-staged refurbishment of the building with the initial stage focusing on the front two-story original building and the Shrine followed by replacement of the entire roof area,” Mayor Antonio said.

“The Toowoomba Soldiers’ Memorial Hall is a Queensland State Heritage registered building owned by Toowoomba Regional Council.

“It was built primarily as a common facility for those from the Toowoomba district who had served and returned from the First World War.

“The building also serves as a Shrine to the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“The original idea of erecting a memorial hall in Toowoomba was first raised at a meeting of citizens and returned soldiers held at the Toowoomba Town Hall in 1918.

“A committee to coordinate fundraising and the construction of the hall was appointed in 1919 and now, 100 years later Council has asked the community to provide input into the refurbishments of this iconic building.

“We want the building to be a place that people enjoy which is safe, comfortable, accessible, promotes a sense of community as a gathering space or meeting place, and most importantly a Shrine of Remembrance to those who lost their lives in conflict.”

The upgrade of the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall is funded by the Australian Government through Building Better Regions Fund and Toowoomba Regional Council.

For more information about the upgrade please http://www.tr.qld.gov.au/our-region/major-projects/environment-community/13807-soldiers-memorial-hall-refurbishment or contact 131 872 and quote ‘Soldiers’ Memorial Hall refurbishment’.

Members of the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall Community Consultation Group include:

Dieter Hitchins - Current Treasurer of the Toowoomba United RSL sub-branch Roland Thompson - Current President Toowoomba United RSL sub-branch Terry Brown - Current President of the Harlaxton RSL sub-branch Padre David Snape – Retired Army Chaplain Aaron Hall – Current serving Army Reserve member (and user group of the hall) John Bushell – President of the RAAF Association Toowoomba Nick Hannay - Veteran, and descendant of WW1 veterans Graham Palmer - Veteran of the Vietnam War

Four Council representatives:

Cr Geoff McDonald – Chair – Environment and Community Brad Head – Principal Project Manager, Building Projects Alison Garland – Principal Project Management Officer Kathryn Chaffey – Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Officer and veteran

Caption: Kathryn Chaffey – TRC, Ronald Thompson – Toowoomba United Sub-Branch, Padre David Snap – Chaplin, Graham Palmer – Community member, John Bushell - RAAF Association of Toowoomba, Aaron Hall – Community member, Alison Garland - TRC, Bradley Head – TRC, Dieter Hitchins – Toowoomba United Sub-Branch, Terry Brown – Harlaxton RSL Sub-Branch.