Hall Cellar Restoration

As part of the ongoing work of restoring the Beltana Town Hall, Beltana Progress Association was fortunate to receive funding from FRRR, ANZ, the OCA and PIRSA to begin the renovation of the cellar under the wooden floor of the hall.

Opening up the access hatch we were confronted with the remains of the time that had passed since the cellar was last used, however, undaunted the community pitched in to clear, first the staircase and then, with the assistance of SouthVac, the rest of the area.

Once the space was clear, carpentry, electrics and stone masonry works were undertaken to add partitions, lighting, and to make the stairway safe for our future plans of displaying a collection of Flinders Ranges art.

The next stage is to finalise some stone masonry on the walls (which are in fantastic condition considering their age!) and undertake protective work on the floor. Stay tuned for the next update!

Regional Growth Fund Announced

Beltana Progress Association has been fortunate to be successful in securing funds for the continuing renovation of the Hall from the Regional Growth Fund and were happy to host the OCA and Minister Van Holst Pelekaan as a part of the announcement of these funds. Further information, including the other communities who have received funds can be found by contacting the OCA.

ANZAC Day 2019

Community members and visitors gathered at the Beltana Hall at dawn to commemorate ANZAC Day, a meaningful service was followed by breakfast, music by John O’Dea and then Lunch for those who stayed on. We look forward to gathering again next year on this special day and hope to see you there.

Small Halls Concert Enjoyed by All

On March 16 2019 Beltana was host to a fantastic event presented by the Woodfordia Foundation - The Festival of Small Halls. People arrived at the Beltana Town Hall from far and wide in the late afternoon for a BBQ dinner and stayed into the evening to enjoy performances by John O’Dea, John Flanagan and Canadian band The Once. Everyone was impressed by the quality of the artists and all agreed that we look forward to doing it again! With just over 70 people attending the evening was a wonderful introduction to the Festival and we would like to thank our sponsor, the Fund for Rural & Regional renewal who helped make this social occasion the success that it was.

Water Supply to the Hall

Here in the Outback, water is a precious resource and until recently Beltana has been providing public toilets in the town which were hooked into the meagre supply of rainwater at the hall. Obviously this was not a sustainable situation. Therefore, with help from the OCA we were able to trench and lay a pipe from the town well to the hall, enabling us to fill a separate tank with ground water that can be used for the bathroom facilities and to irrigate the plantings of trees around the hall. These small steps towards sustainability will enable the town to continue to provide improved services to the community and public in general well into the future.

Interpretative Signage Updated

The Beltana Progress Association underwent a major project to update the ageing interpretative signage around the town. In this process, the signs were redesigned to match modern standards, the information updated and a number of additional signs locations were added to round out the story the signs tell about our town and its important place in the history of South Australia. The signs have been well received by visitors who are using our town park and taking the time to walk around and learn more about our historic locations. If you can’t make it to check out the signs in person you can see them in the gallery of our Instagram page where they will be featured in the coming months.