Henley Town Hall
The Henley and Grange Council decided to build a Town Hall in 1919 and used £1,500 in funds raised through the 1921 Henley carnival to begin the build and another £6000 as a loan.
The foundation stone was laid with a silver trowel by Mayor Beck as school children filed past, each one tapping the stone three times with the trowel. A bottle containing newspapers, coins and a list of Council members was placed beneath the foundation stone.
It was opened for use on June 22nd 1922, and has been used since for both large and small gatherings. It has seating for 300. The Hall was used as the Odeon picture theatre for many years and is currently being used for classes in Tai Kwando, computing and dancing.
Image credit: State Library of South Australia PRG-280-1-34-20
Did you ever watch a movie in the Henley Town Hall?
My mother, Philippa Gamlin was the first woman to be elected to Henley and Grange Council in 1956. The topics of the day included changing the restrictive dress code while bathing at the beach.
Also, from memory, there was talk of putting a supermarket on the West side of the square and utilising the space in front for car parking. This would have meant the loss of the square as an amenity. At that time the summer festival was enormously popular and the Henley to Grange parade was well attended, so it was a battle between the community and developers. The people won!!
Our immediate family left Henley in 1960 but Philippa and Max returned to SA upon retirement.
The construction of Henley Town Hall involved my grandfather Jack Gamlin who arrived from UK in 1911 and also built many homes in the Henley and Grange area.