“Busselton should be as much about its past as it is about its future,”
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This was the thought of City of Busselton councillor Rob Bennett following a heated discussion in council last Wednesday regarding the preservation of one of the region’s oldest halls, Wilyabrup Hall.
The City of Busselton voted to go ahead with a motion which will see the future management of eight of the community halls within the district outsourced to community groups.
The aim of the motion is to save the city money by allowing community groups to take care of maintaining the halls.
The report stated that by transferring the management of the halls it would better suit the needs of the community.
Through the Building Asset Management Plan the city allocated $24,445 in the five year plan to the Wilyabrup Hall, however following a structural assessment an estimated $57,000 would have to be spent to bring it back up to standard.
Cr Bennett said the extra funding should be considered for a structure with such cultural significance and said he would like to see it retained and the money spent to bring it up to scratch.
“There seems to be funding for big ticket items but it’s a shame there isn’t always as much for heritage,” he said.
Mr Bennett said Wilyabrup was where the South West wine region was born and the hall held a lot of history and memorial plaques.
The original hall was constructed in 1928 and was a school as well as teachers accommodation.
Wilyabrup resident Heather Watson agreed and said the humble hall was extremely important to the local community.
City of Busselton mayor Ian Stubbs said at the council meeting if the city was to make an exception for the Wilyabrup Hall they would have to consider the same for the other halls.
Cr Stubbs said the city was focused on preserving local heritage with some very good outcomes being achieved so far.
He said there had been a significant investment in the historic Busselton Jetty and heritage buildings in the Busselton Cultural Precinct and central business district.
