Our road trip to visit 34 Institute buildings in the Mid North was for three days this May, which happens to be History Month. We got to 32 of them – missing the turn-offs to Gulnare on our way north on the first day and to Farrell Flat coming back. All 34 of these buildings are in use and only one of them is in private hands. The building of only one Institute in the area (at Hanson) has been demolished.
With fine weather on all three days we were able to improve on some of our website photos, but what was more interesting was discovering how buildings had been redeveloped. In Auburn the Institute was built in 1885 just around the corner from the impressive Town Hall that had been built 19 years before. At Gladstone the extensive Civic Centre has three frontages and the original Institute frontage has been demolished.
Many additions to former Institute buildings that opened as War Memorial Halls are at Gulnare, Georgetown, Gladstone, Laura, Wirrabara, Booleroo, Orroroo, Tarcowie, Appila, Caltowie, Jamestown, Mount Bryan and Farrell Flat. Others have obelisks or statues of soldiers at the front – at Yacka, Terowie, Hallett, Wirrabara, Wasleys. Many of the halls still house the town’s honour rolls. Eighteen of the Halls have evidence of their past role as the town’s picture theatre; the projection holes in their walls are still evident.
We saw how many of the original Institute halls are now being used. Three of them have been developed into the District Council Office – at Gladstone, Orroroo and Peterborough. Four of them house the town’s Post Office – at Tarlee, Tarcowie, Whyte Yarcowie and Stockport. Only at Clare is the town’s library in the former Institute building while the Flinders Mobile Library visits ten of the towns fortnightly, mostly parking in front of the Institute building. At two of the Halls one of the additional rooms has been converted into a gymnasium.
Most of the Halls are for hire and are the venues for special community events such as markets, Anzac Day services and concerts. While most of the Institute buildings are now serving a useful function, they are no longer the heart of their communities.