Landsborough Hall marks 100 year milestone during heritage month
By Sonia Isaacs
2024 marks the centenary of the Landsborough School of Arts Memorial Hall with a special celebration event planned to coincide with Australian Heritage month and the Landsborough Museum Street Festival on Saturday May 18.
The Landsborough School of Arts was constructed in 1924 on land donated by Mr John Tytherleigh and was built as a memorial to the Service personnel of the district from World War I.
According to LSOA hall committee members, reference exists that the land was donated as early as 1919, however it is understood John Tytherleigh transferred the certificate of title to trustees on February 9, 1922 for the purpose of building a hall.
Records report the LSOA Hall was officially opened in early May 1924 by Lieutenant Governor the Honourable William Lennon who arrived to the launch by train and was met at the station by Mr. John Tytherleigh, the chairman of the hall committee along with committee members.
TROVE records from The Brisbane Courier dated Tuesday May 6, 1924 make reference to a ‘spectacular display’ made at the carnival at Landsborough in a report dated May 5 to mark the occasion of the opening of the Hall and school of Arts. According to the news report, ‘many residences and premises were festooned and decorated and the Hall was arranged with palms and ferns.’
Residents from Landsborough and the surrounding towns welcomed the guest of honour with a special guard of honour and procession through the streets, which started at the railway station and consisting of returned soldiers, boy scouts, charity queens, and many decorated cars and lorries.
The procession was headed by a seated orchestra that had also travelled from Brisbane. It was noted that the car of the Lieutenant Governor was decorated with chrysanthemums, and the lorries were provided for the various charity queens that interestingly included a Commercial queen, a Digger queen, a Tennis queen and a curiously named Oddfellows queen.
After proceeding around the town, the assemblage ended at the hall where Lieutenant Governor Lennon and committee members ascended the hall while the orchestra played the National Anthem.
It is noted that the hall was not fully completed, however, Mr Tytherleigh made clear the intent to make the hall a credit to the town and acknowledged the assistance of town’s ladies in raising funds and the voluntary assistance given by the townspeople in labour and material.
The School of Arts served the residents as a centre of social and community activities; it was a venue for dances, weddings, parties, Queen Competitions, picture shows, boxing contests, a library and music concerts.
Over the years it has been used by the Red Cross, by various churches first assembly and the Masonic Lodge and for social milestones such as debutante and school balls.