A hall by any other name: Renaming to avoid confusion

ABOVE: An old photo of the Rileys Hill Hall.

Susanna Freymark

The confusion of two halls less than 3km apart will be fixed by a name change.

Richmond Valley Council received a request from the Broadwater Rileys Hill Community Centre Committee to rename the hall Broadwater Community Hall.

The committee said the current name caused confusion for identification and location.

This was supported by the Rileys Hill Community Hall Committee who said the halls having similar names caused confusion.

During public consultation on the name change the council received two submissions. One resident supported the name change and a second resident objected to the name being Broadwater Community Hall and suggested the name Broadwater Memorial Hall in acknowledgement of the RSL Sub-branch who donated the land.

The land where the hall was built is known as Broadwater Memorial Park. In the park there is the Broadwater Memorial Tennis Club facilities, a playground and the War Memorial Monument.

The hall was originally constructed and opened in 1996 as a shared community centre for Broadwater and Rileys Hill.

The original land was owned by Graham St. Clair Ireland, Finlay Stewart Bunting McMartin and Frank Coyle. Frank Doyle Everson bought the land in 1952. The owners were members of the Broadwater RSL Sub-Branch. Mr Everson was the surviving owner of the land who transferred ownership to the Council of the Shire of Richmond River in 1980.

The hall was officially opened in 1996 and named Broadwater Rileys Hill Community Centre. This hall replaced the previous Mill Hall of the Sunshine Sugar Co-operative sugar mill, which was condemned in the early 1990s.

At the council meeting on February 21, the council approved the new name of the Broadwater Community Hall.

It will cost about $500 to replace the sign at the Broadwater hall. The money will be allocated from council’s open space and parks maintenance budget.

• The Broadwater Community hall is at 17 Little Pitt Street, Broadwater

• The Rileys Hill Community Hall is at 305 Rileys Hill Road, Rileys Hill.