Sarsfield Hall - May Update
The hall after the community had recovered resources prior to handover to the builder.
May marked a significant milestone in the journey toward our new community hall, one filled with both reflection and anticipation. After years of community consultation, planning, and working together, we began the process of saying goodbye to the old hall and preparing the site for what comes next.
On May 17th, members of the Sarsfield Community came together to move everything out of the hall and into storage. It was a busy day with lots of laughs, reminiscing and a shared sense of purpose as we carefully packed up decades’ worth of memories, equipment, and supplies.
That evening, we shared our final community meal within the walls of the old hall. It was a moment to share the stories, friendships, and events that have filled the space over the years. We reflected on the importance of the hall after the fires, and how the community came together within its walls. A fitting farewell that reminded us just how much this hall has meant to our community.
The very next day, we began the next stage: reclamation. Before handing the site over to the builder, members of the community were invited to re-purpose materials from the existing structure. True to the Sarsfield spirit of sustainability and resourcefulness, key elements of the hall found new homes and new uses.
Roof tin, facias, the verandah, the kitchen, timber from the sports shed, windows, and doors were all carefully removed and set aside to be reused in projects around the community. This process not only preserved valuable resources but also ensured that pieces of the old hall will live on, quite literally, in the next chapter of Sarsfield’s story. Even the carpet from the hall made it into storage shed.
The site was handed over from the SCA to the builder on Wednesday 21st of May.
An old cricket ball was found under the roof tin of the verandah! Does anyone know how it got there? Was there a very lucky shot at a cricket game back in the day?
We’ll be sharing more updates as construction progresses, and the new hall begins to take shape. Thank you to everyone who has contributed their time, tools, and hearts to this transition.