Demolition destiny has arrived for nostalgic community hall

When the Bee Gees started their 45-minute set at Wollongong‘s Pioneer Hall in 1968 with their hit I Started A Joke, the full-house crowd went wild.

In fact, people unable to secure a ticket danced outside under the trees in MacCabe Park, just happy to hear their favourite band‘s melodies escaping into the night sky.

Over many decades, Pioneer Hall has witnessed so many memorable occasions. All of Australia’s biggest groups played there in the '50s, '60s and '70s. In 1964, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs belted out their smash hit Poison Ivy. The following year, it was The Easybeats, who had everyone singing along to I’ll Make You Happy. And in the mid 1970s, Max Merritt and The Meteors had a packed Pioneer Hall crooning along with Slippin’ Away.

Mario Milano, Killer Kawalski and Spiros Arion fought there in the early 1970s when World Championship Wrestling was bigger than Bandstand with Brian Henderson.

Couples met for the regular Friday and Saturday night dances (the Tornadoes back then were to Wollongong what The Beatles were to Liverpool).

It was the place where many a romance began; our very own singles central just a five-minute walk from the railway station and even closer to the Ruttys bus stop on Burelli Street. It has been a Wollongong institution since its much-celebrated opening back in 1953.

Its time has come

All these years later and its time has come. Wollongong City Council has decided the last dance won’t last forever after all.

In recent days, a security fence has been erected in preparation for the demolition of what is the last remaining community hall in Wollongong‘s CBD.

Council says the difficult decision to bring in the wrecking ball was taken after assessing the pros and cons of keeping the hall open and operational.

In council-speak, it’s simply no longer “fit for purpose”.

The tender was let several months ago, and the cost of demolition is $344,000. That isn’t a long way short of the cost to restore the building to its former glory.

A spokesperson for council said “when the Pioneer Hall Association handed management of the hall back to council in May 2021 (at the height of the pandemic), an inspection identified significant structural issues within the building, including leaks in the roof and instability in the flooring. The building’s amenities, including kitchen and toilet facilities were found not to meet basic compliance and safety standards required for the hall to be opened to the public.”

How much to save the building?

The Illawarra Flame asked council before the wrecking ball flattened the building in the next week or so – what would it have cost to save the building and give it a new lease of life?

“Investigations of refurbishment options in mid-2024 estimated the cost of basic rectification works to address safety and compliance issues and make the hall fit for purpose to be in excess of $500,000,” a spokesperson said.

“The hall presents an ongoing risk of graffiti and vandalism and the ensuing impact on the character and amenity of the park. After considering escalating costs of refurbishment, and alignment with broader objectives for MacCabe Park to be a vibrant public open space, it was determined that demolishing the hall is the preferred option.”

Council confirmed demolition of the historic hall would take place this month, subject to “results of a pre-demolition hazardous materials survey.”

Council says the site occupied by the hall will be returned to parkland. A masterplan for MacCabe Park will be produced in the next 12 months.