By Danielle Galvin
RON Carroll is a Pakenham veteran from way back.
“I was at the opening of the old hall in 1959, and then at the opening of this hall,” he said.
Ron has visited the hall and community hub and he’s thrilled with the new facility.
“It’s wonderful facility that will serve its purpose very well.”
Ron was a member of the Pakenham Hall Committee for 42 years, acting as president for most of that time.
He says the hall brings the community into the next century.
“I remember in the old hall we had the people from the Blood Bank coming in one day and we had 50 or so pigeons we had to get out.”
It was in 1956 that Ron moved to Pakenham, expecting to set up home for a year or two. He still lives in Pakenham to this day, despite his original plans.
“The new hall is a wonderful advance and it brings us into a new social era with the U3A and library in the same building,” he said.
Ron recalls how the old hall had condensation running down the walls.
“The old hall was so big and we used to have these huge dances for 600 people on Saturday nights. These days we’ve also got the cultural centre so we’ve got that as well as another community facility,” he said.
For someone who has lived in Pakenham for over 50 years, the changes in what was once a small farming community must be startling.
But Ron is impressed with the changes he’s seeing in the community he’s known for so long.
“It was a huge community effort to build the old hall in Pakenham for 10,000 pounds, and now we’ve got this hall.”
Ron was one of the 120 residents who enjoyed the celebration ball on Saturday night.
“I’ve heard some people say it’s not big enough but I think it’s fine for what it will be used for,” he said.
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