Carlisle Memorial Hall and Gardens

At the close of World War I in 1918, the residents of Victoria Park East, formerly known as Bickford, and since re-named Carlisle, decided to erect a hall in commemoration of the men who enlisted from the district. A series of entertainments were organized and an amount of £300.00 was raised towards a building fund, while a group of voluntary workers gathered together to carry out building operations. Their efforts were supplemented by a contingent of bricklayers & plasterers who came from repatriation continuation classes, with the result that the hall with a seating capacity of 500, complete with stage & dressing rooms and up-to-date conveniences were completed in time for the opening ceremony. This fell on Saturday 5th June 1920, performed by his Excellency the Governor, the the presence of a large assemblage, which included the Acting Premier (Mr. W.J. George), the Mayor of Perth, Major General Hobbs, Colonel Tilney, Colonel Pope (Commissioner of Railways), Mr. R.T. Robinson M.L.A., and many returned soldiers. After a musical selection by the Clontarf Orphanage Band, Chaplain-Major Vine, rector of Queen’s Park, unveiled a memorial tablet and Mr. E.E. Bardwell, on behalf of the committee and all who had assisted to bring the work to a successful consummation, asked the Governor to formally declare the hall open.

The hall was used for many purposes including RSL meetings, general community functions and political meetings. During the 1930’s the hall was converted to show talking pictures. This continued at least until the end of the decade.

In 1954 the Briggs family operated the hall as a cinema with a reduced seating capacity of 200. At the same time they opened the Picture Gardens. This continued until 1961. - Source : Film Weekly

In 1968 the Perth City Council took over the hall but it had fallen into such disrepair it was decided to demolish the hall and replace it with more substantial premises..

The new hall was built by Perth City Council with the co-operation of the previous hall committee. Their names are engraved on a wooden plaque in the present hall foyer. The hall is still owned by the Town of Victoria Park, however the Harold Hawthorne Centre leases the hall from them. The original plaque and honour toll information has been transferred to the new hall.

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