Happy Birthday Peachester Hall

Peachester Hall 130th celebrations and opening of Heritage Centre By Sonia Clark

Jan Gresham and Helen Page add the final touches to the Inigo Jones display

Peachester History Committee members are excited to mark the impressive 130th anniversary of the Peachester Community Hall (formally School of Arts) and the official opening of the brand new Peachester Heritage Centre this Saturday, October 26 from 10am.

All residents, past and present, those with a link to the Peachester district and the public are all encouraged and welcome to attend this free event that promises to be a fun-filled day of celebration, community spirit and nostalgia.

There will be a lot going on, with the hall packed with community groups featuring activities of the past and present, local historical exhibitions, veteran cars on display from the Veteran Car Club of Australia and live music from the Peachester State School choir and the Singing Belles. There will also be woodchopping and traditional shingle making demonstrations and a live display of pioneer bush crafts such as whip making and blacksmithing. Attendees are encouraged to get into the historical spirit and dress up in period costume from 1889, with prizes for the best outfit.

The official ceremonies will start at 11am. In an exciting coup for the Peachester History Committee (PHC), the new Heritage Centre will be declared open by special invited guests, Naomi Love and Dmitri Koroloff, grandchildren of famous local long-range weather forecaster Inigo Jones. Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson and local dignitaries will also be in attendance.

PHC president Helen Page said that after 20 years of collecting and recording the district's history, which could be extended to almost 40 years if time allocated by previous historians was included, PHC members were excited to see the Heritage Centre project come to fruition.

“It’s so exciting as we have been waiting for this day for more than 20 years. We look forward to unveiling the new purpose-built Heritage Centre to the public, as well as celebrating the important role that Peachester Hall has served as the central community meeting place for 130 years,” Helen said.

The new Heritage Centre will house several permanent exhibitions including displays depicting the rich timber history of the Peachester district from bullock teams to the present, the sport of woodchopping and famous axe men from the local area, the unique whittling collection of Jim Hall, Inigo Jones and the Crohamhurst Observatory, and an Anzac gallery honouring local servicemen and women.

The timber history exhibit includes the Slim Moroney collection, which includes a blitz truck, axes and saws as well as other tools donated by local families.

Helen said that in addition to the permanent displays there would also be future rotating exhibitions focussing on other areas of local history and industry.

“Our opening day will also feature a special collection of lovely local wedding photos and memorabilia, as well as farming and community history information. We are also looking forward to seeing the hall displays from a number of our local community groups such as Mountain Quilters, QCWA, Peachester school, playgroup, local churches and others,” Helen said.

A specially curated historical audio visual, ‘Peachester digital story’, will be launched at the event. It was compiled by Reflected Image Productions and sponsored by Sunshine Coast Council. The production focusses on the story of the Peachester Hall and local district history, and will be played continuously throughout the day.

Given the historic relevance of the timber industry to the district, the nearby Peachester Sawmill will also be open on the day.

Free entry, yummy food and refreshments available for purchase will make it a great day out. For more details call 5494 9557 or follow Peachester Community Hall or Peachester History Committee on Facebook.