Nuriootpa Soldiers Memorial Hall

With its grand two-storey marble facade and portico covered entry inviting all ages through its doors, the Nuriootpa Soldiers Memorial Hall has been bringing people together for concerts, drama and musical productions, family celebrations, discos, old style dances, movie nights and a myriad of other events for generations.

Nuriootpa Soldiers' Memorial Hall was built in honour of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in WWI and the local soldiers who returned home.

More than 1,000 people crowded into the building on 7 June, 1925, to witness its official opening and 10 days later, the celebrations continued with a ball attracting 500 attendees. The grand event was the first of many to follow, as the main street venue became embedded in community life.

The building stands as a monument to Nuriootpa’s unquenchable community spirit. Following the call to build a war memorial in 1919, the townspeople raised 2,700 pounds in just four years with the Coulthard family donating land for the project.

Local builder Arthur Liebich won the contract to bring the original plans, including a library, reading room, meeting room, main hall, stage, dressing rooms and rear supper room, to reality.

William Coulthard laid the foundation stone on 9 June 1924 and, on the same date 12 months later, Sir Henry Barwell officially opened the impressive building in front of the largest crowd ever seen in the district at the time.

The “Roaring Twenties” brought weekly dances, silent films, balls, fetes, bazaars, concerts, and performances by visiting artists, while the library grew to include 2,000 books.

Although the Great Depression affected events and crowd numbers in the 1930s, the hall managed to establish a bowling green and croquet lawn at the rear of the building and in 1930, the 'talkies' arrived, helping revive the mood of the town.

The Vintage Festival Ball was held at the Hall in 1949.

(Text source: Barossa Heritage Trails App - Nuriootpa Trail, and The Leader Newspaper).