Narembeen Civic Precinct

Child Places

• 05876 Narembeen Lesser Hall
• 01793 Narembeen Public Hall
• 05862 Narembeen Roads Board Building (fmr)

Statement of Significance

Social: Social *social significance
*demonstration of a way of life, custom, process or function.

The Civic Precinct represents a diversity of civic and social priorities in the community development of the town and region of Narembeen. They represent the contributions and dedication to the community service by people in the Narembeen. The precinct demonstrates the civic and community ethic of the Narembeen community which has continued since the inception of the town.
Historical: The precinct is significant in demonstrating close assoc iations with the pioneers of Narembeen. Each building in the precinct was instrumental in the evolution of the town and region of Narembeen. The associations with the civic and community leaders .The precinct represents the changing economical fortunes of the town. The precinct off ers the potential for the interpretation of the history of Narembeen
Aesthetic:The precinct creates a cohesive streetscape in Latham Street and is an important townscape element in Narembeen. The interrelationships between the building demonstrates a unity of setting within the site. The precinct demonstrates the community's sense of place for its pivotal civic and social roles.
Rarity & Representativeness: The Civic Precinct is a significant example of an extant group of community places revealing the history and development of the town since its foundation. The civic precinct represents Narembeen's beginnings.

Physical Description

Lot 19 on the corner of Latham street and Longhurst Street in Narembeen comprises an area of 2415 square metres and three of the most significant buildings in the town are located on that site.
The first permanent building was the Narembeen Hall (Lesser Hall) in 1923, the same year as the town was established. The hall is situated parallel with the western boundary on the western side of the site, with a frontage to Longhurst Street. In 1927 the Road Board Building was constructed parallel with the Hall, but on the east side of the site facing Latham Street along its length. The road was aligned at an angle, but the building responded to the hall. In 1939 the Public Hall was located in between the two existing buildings, linking to the Lesser hall which was only 2m to the west of and parallel to the new hall. The entry frontage of the new hall addressed the corner of the site, and simultaneously responded to the Latham Street frontage of the Road Board Building. The design constraints of the site have been overcome with considerable alacrity.

The Lesser Hall was a timber framed weather board and iron structure which has subsequently been reclad in fire-cement sheeting, which is unpainted.
The Road Board Building was a substantial brick and tile structure , and the public Hall in 1939 responded to the brick and tile for the hall section. The entry however was very modern cement rendered and painted in a light cream colour.

Each of the buildings is individual, but the complexity of the ir interrelatedness and interaction is significant within the context of the site and the townscape . Each of the buildings was a purpose built structure consisting of several parts with specific functions .
The intersection of Longhurst Street. the road west to Bruce Rock and Perth, and Latham Street, the road south to Kondinin, is the entry of two of the three roads into Narembeen

History

Assessment 1995
Construction: Lesser Hall 1923; Road Board Building 1927; Public Hall 1939
During the period from 1913 to 1924, when the Narembeen Road Board was established, the East and South Kumminin Districts (now part of Narembeen Shire) were represented by notable Narembeen pioneers including Charles Latham, WJ Brennan, A Burgin, J Cairns, J Currall, W Fricker, C Northmore and G Snook.

With the development of the Emu Hill district with soldier settlements after World War One, the scattered population was becoming increasingly difficult to administer and it was thought appropriate by the eastern population of the Bruce Rock Road Board that a specific Road Board should serve their district.

The Narembeen Progress Association formed in 1922 to guide the development of the new town, with an aim to establish a Narembeen Road Board· which would then facilitate the interests and welfare of the town and district of Narembeen. One of the first objectives of the Narembeen Progress Association was the provision of a hall or meeting place in Narembeen.

After Connolly and Hale purchased 30 acres of Tom Savage's land at the railhead in 1922, and gained a hotel license, the town of Narembeen was created. The land which comprises the "civic precinct" is located on land that was originally part of Tom Savage's farm and was actually where his original bush timber and hessian house was situated. The site was later that of the first shop (hessian and timber) in Narembeen, the Emu Hill Co-op when Narembeen was just a railway siding. The shanty was demolished when the Narembeen (Lesser) Hall was built.

Paddy Connolly and Henry Hale who had subdivided the private town site, and owned the Hotel, donated the land for the Narembeen Hall which was subsequently constructed and opened on the 8th September 1923. only a short time after the Hotel.

One of the Narembeen Progress Association initiatives was to set up special committees. Trustees for the Hall were nominated to Messrs Connelly and Hale for their approval. Progress Associations were also formed in the other districts (around the siding) and they supported the Narembeen Progress Associations aim to establish a Narembeen Road Board.

The inaugural meeting of the Narembeen Progress Association. in the Hall. on the "civic precinct", was attended by the chairman of the Bruce Rock Road Board who supported the establishment of a Narembeen Road Board. The decision was made at that meeting which determined the establishment of the Narembeen Road Board in 1924.

As the predecessor to the Narembeen Road Board, the Narembeen Progress Society was proactive in developing the facilities and infrastructure of the new "private" town of Narembeen. Committees were established with specific responsibilities, the extension of the railway north to connect to Merredin in 1925 was one of the initiatives of the Association.

The foundations of the local Government centre were being established by the Narembeen Progress Association in the initial formative years in the history of Narembeen. In May 1923 with support from Progress Associations at Wadderin, Emu Hill, Central Kumminin and South Kumminin, the Narembeen Progress Association formally notified the Bruce Rock Road Board of the intention to establish a Narembeen Road Board.

In June 1924 the Narembeen Road Board was formally proclaimed. The Narembeen Progress Association, having achieved what it set out to do, disappeared.

At the Narembeen Road Board elections on the 23 August 1924, seven board members were elected from the ten nominations. The foundation members of the Narembeen Road Board were;
Central ward: Edward Bailey, Charles Latham. Bertram Long North Ward:Joseph Currall, Henry Rothbaum
South Ward: Richard Wakeman, Richard Cheetham
Charles Latham was elected as the first chairperson of the Narembeen Road Board and remained in that position until 1926.

After the Great Depression, the rural sector had improved by the late 1930s with wheat and wool prices rising. Signs of the recovery were evident throughout the Narembeen district . The Naremb·een Road Board built the Narembeen Public Hall in an enthusiastic burst of renewed confidence, which proved to be short-lived with the onset of World War Two in the same year that the hall was being constructed.

In 1939 the Perth Architects Powell Cameron and Chisolm were commissioned by the Narembeen Road Board to prepare plans for the Narembeen Public Hall. The functional design of the hall responded to the existing lesser hall in that it provided the kitchen and supper room facilities to enable the dance floor of the new hall to be retained almost exclusively for that purpose.

Uses

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