Upper Kalgan Hall facts for kids
Upper Kalgan Hall is a special old building and an important historical site in Kalgan. It's located near the Kalgan River, not far from Albany in the Great Southern part of Western Australia.
This hall was built in 1912 using wood from local trees and corrugated iron. It's a simple, rectangular building with a sloped iron roof and walls. For many years, it was a busy place for the community. People used it as a school, a church for visiting ministers, and a spot for social gatherings and dances.
Building the Hall
The Upper Kalgan Hall cost about £110 to build. This was a lot of money back then! The government helped out by paying half of the cost.
The wood used for the hall was jarrah timber. It was given for free by two people named Messrs James and Hill. The building was also put together for free by Messrs Wiley and Allwood. This shows how much the community worked together to create this important place.
In 2008, people started making plans to fix up the hall. The goal was to have it all ready by 2012, which was its 100th birthday!
A Place of History for Indigenous People
The area around Upper Kalgan Hall is very important for history, especially for the local Mineng people. It's an "archaeological site," which means scientists have found old things there that tell us about the past.
This site shows the earliest signs of people living in the Albany area. The Mineng people have lived here for an amazing 20,000 years! In 1987, experts dug up parts of the land around the hall. They found tools and other items that proved the Mineng people lived there continuously from about 18,850 BC all the way up to the 1800s.
The hall is also close to a natural crossing point in the river. About 500 meters (or 1,640 feet) downstream, there are even old fish traps. These traps show how the Mineng people used the river for food long ago.
