Hall, a white marble foundation stone is set to the right of the main entrance.
Burra Record 13 Sep. 1922
Mt Bryan Memorial Hall
The opening ceremony of this hall to the memory of the men who volunteered for the Great War from Mt Bryan and District was held on Saturday 9 September. The supper room and main hall have been erected for some years. After much debate it was decided to erect two rooms in front of the hall (a library and Council Chamber), and a billiard room and kitchen at the rear. This has now been done. Mr I.J. Warnes was a hard and enthusiastic worker for the project as Chairman of the DC and a generous contributor. Mrs Warnes was asked to open the building. The official party were Mr & Mrs Warnes, Messrs T. Hawke, G.F. Jenkins & S.J. Dickson MPs, E.W. Crewes (Mayor of Burra), Rev. Father Nesdale, Rev. V. Goldney (Hallett), Ensign H.R. Heathwood (Salvation Army), Cr W.H. Quinn & Dr D.M. Steele (President of Burra sub-branch RSL).
Mr Warnes spoke first and talked of the history of the hall scheme. Burra folk had thought he had a lot of nerve when he urged Booborowie and Mt Bryan people to have their own Soldiers’ Memorial. Locals were convinced he had advised them rightly. The erection of the two rooms in front and the billiard room and kitchen justified his pushing for the scheme. The cost had been great and there was yet a deficiency of £400, which he hoped to see eliminated that night. It had been hard to get the pioneers of the district to centralise their interests in the town, but it was now reaping the benefits of that.
Mrs J. Trevilyan whose only son had been killed in action handed Mrs Warnes a silver key. Mrs Warnes made a speech referring to the sacrifices made by the soldiers, her visit to huge areas of war graves in Europe and the need to perpetuate the memory of the victory so dearly bought. She then opened the building.
Mr G.F. Jenkins MP moved the vote of thanks and Mr T. Hawkes MP seconded it, supported by Mr Dickson MP.
Mr W.H. Quinn moved a vote of thanks to Mr Warnes and supporting speeches followed from the other official guests. The total cost of the rooms built was £1,600, of which £1,200 had been paid.
In the front room to be used as a library there is good quality furniture and the roll of honour and on another wall a set of framed photos of the lads who enlisted from Mr Bryan. The other room across the passage is also well furnished as the Council Chamber and committee room. The hall was decorated with melanoxylon and wattle and bunting. Beyond lay the supper room and then the billiard room, which was declared open by Cr W.H. Quinn, who played the first game with Mr J. Beaglehole. Last comes the kitchen, which is well equipped and has two coppers, a table and a dresser. A football match was played in the afternoon in which Hallett 8.12 defeated Mt Bryan 4.7. A grand concert followed in the evening. The day raised £210.
From "Burra in the News" by Eric Fuss
