History of Cedar Pocket and the Hall

Time Line

• 1910 discussion begun in relation to building the hall. Fundraising begun and continuing for the next ten years.

• 1918 plans began to build the hall

• Cedar Pocket Hall was built 1919

• 1919 first recorded meeting

• The official opening took place on 26 June 1920 followed by a dance and the unveiling of the Memorial Tablet

• 1926 extensions were made adding a kitchen area and the raised stage. There was  a grand re-opening of the hall on 8 January 1927

• July 1951 a branch of the Country Women Association began

• Dances and other social events continued to be held until the late 1960's.

• May 1995 Hall committee informed the council the hall would close due to damage to the supports and the roof

• Money was allocated to carry out repairs and the Hall re-opened  16 December 1995

• 2000 a new outdoor toilet block and was built along with a children's playground room and facilities downstairs.

• 2000 also saw another major addition with the Rural Fire Brigade shed added to the grounds.

Red cedar had an almost mystical allure to the early timber getters.  It was prized for the durability and workability of its wood and was extensively used for making the fine furniture of earlier days.  It did not grow in stands, but was found as single trees in wet forests along rivers, streams and gullies.  Cedar Pocket, as the name suggests, was blessed with plentiful cedar, but It was not long before the early timber getters cleared the area of these majestic trees.  While the trees were gone, the name remained when the first settler, Robert Cochrane, arrived in 1871 to farm his 9 acre Miner’s Homestead Lease.  The area was easily accessible, being on the road from Gympie, and by the early 1900s the district was home to a successful farming community. 

Selectors found the rich soil excellent for growing crops.  Maize (or corn) was a major part of the cropping with a wide variety of vegetables such as English potatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers and turnips proving successful.  Fruit trees such as lemons and loquats as well as cape gooseberries were popular, while some planted grape vines.  Dairying was also carried on.  However, there was a general desire from the farmers to grow sugar cane which had trialled well in the area.  In September 1910 a conference of growers from around the region was held in Gympie to discuss a proposal for a sugar mill.  While all were confident they could grow the crop, the difficulty was in getting it to the processing plant.  A local mill would solve that. 

The area was going ahead to such an extent that the telephone was connected in 1910.  In May of that year a meeting of the Cedar Pocket Farmers’ Progress Association discussed the idea of raising funds to build a suitable hall for the district with a motion passed to hold a fund raising dance in the nearby Deep Creek School of Arts.  The residents of that area were happy to support the settlers of Cedar Pocket in raising funds for a School of Arts of their own and a series of socials were held commencing in 1910.  The Cedar Pocket Farmers’ Progress Association were the organisers and things got off to a slow start with fundraising continuing for the next ten years.  While this may seem slow progress, it was a case of don’t spend the money before you have it and when the hall was eventually opened it was debt free.

The official opening took place on 26 June 1920 followed by a dance and the unveiling of the Memorial Tablet.  A meeting was held to thank subscribers and the building committee.  The hall was agreed to be a fine building, opened free of debt, with the building, furnishings etc having cost about £500.  There was a general desire to incorporate a library as soon as possible, as well as a piano, so the social and intellectual needs of the community could be met.  The chairman presented a comprehensive set of rules for the guidance of the management committee which were read and adopted.

By 14 September 1920, a new Wertheim piano, Queensland model in silky oak, had been installed following a euchre tournament and dance which raised £37.  Monthly payments were due until the piano was fully paid for.  It was agreed to hold a piano opening with a concert and dance.  Plans were also well under way for the library and reading room which would open to members one night per week.  Illumination would come from a four light ‘Knight Light’ gas plant.

By February 1921, hall funds were in such good shape that arrangements were made to erect a veranda along the front of the building which would improve the lot of the men who liked to ‘have a smoke and a cool down between the dances’.  A Bachelor’s Ball held in May 1921 proved a big success with suggestions that it become a yearly event.  The married men of the district promised to organise a similar event in the near future and dancing continued until the early hours.  Regular meetings and functions connected with the Primary Producers Union (PPU) were also held in the 1920s.

At its annual meeting in July 1921, the financial report showed a healthy balance sheet.  It was resolved that all subscribers to the School of Arts building fund be declared life members of the institution, having a right to vote at members’ meetings but having no right to a library member’s privileges without becoming a library member.  The committee also resolved, by a vote of 15 to 1, that dancing should cease at midnight on Saturday nights.  On the first occasion of this rule being implemented a large number of patrons challenged the decision.  A petition signed by several members resulted in a special meeting on 31 September 1921 to consider the new regulation.  The ‘contentious restriction’ was removed by a large majority vote.

The Ancient Order of Foresters formed a branch, Court Cedar, in the district in 1921.  Their first public function took the form of a plain and fancy dress ball.  The young people of the area combined to form a ‘set’, the card set, and were awarded a prize, being the only ‘set’ present.  The ladies’ prize was won by Miss Roughley as Dice and Mr Allan Roughley as Charlie Chaplin was an easy winner for the men.

Several concerts were held over the following year featuring performers from Gympie and the local area to raise money for the piano fund.  The piano was eventually paid off in September 1922.  After the purchase of the large number of new books, the library was re-opened in June 1923 following a year of inactivity.  The number of books was further increased due to a generous donation of 100 second hand books from the Gympie School of Arts.

In 1924 fundraising began to add a supper room to the School of Arts as the building was continually proving inadequate to accommodate the numbers of dancers and card players attending events.  A building committee was appointed and a meeting on 9 November 1926 decided to commence building alterations about 22 November 1926 with projected completion before Christmas.  The extension consisted of an extra wing 12 feet wide, the full length of the hall, a raised platform 37 feet x 15 feet provided for euchre players and an extra room 15 feet x 12 feet and cost £240. The extensions necessitated an overdraft of £100 which had been guaranteed by four members of the Building Committee.