Our Hall Kalloona's History

We’re all very proud of our wonderful Scout Hall Kalloona. Here is a story of its background.

After World War II, there wasn’t much entertainment available for young people, except that provided by the local community. There was no TV (not even black and white) and none of the affluence of later years. But there were lots of young parents and children and at Roseville, the Scout groups were bursting at the seams. The 1st Roseville Scout Hall on the corner of Roseville Avenue and Martin Lane could not cope, and in 1946 it was decided to build a new hall for the 1st East Roseville Group. The Group was fortunate then, to have an enthusiastic young Scoutmaster, Malcolm Bray, just demobbed from Army Service in Papua New Guinea.

A Nissen hut was obtained from Army disposals for £150, the money being loaned by members of the Group themselves. But there was no land to put it on Mr Sharpe, a grandfather of some scouts, stored the galvanised iron part of the Nissen hut in his back garden on the corner of Park Avenue and Archbold Road, but Ku-ring-gai Council soon granted the 1st East Roseville Scouts land off Babbage Road, East Roseville, and work was able to start in February, 1947. A second Nissen hut was purchased.

Alt skilled labour was supplied from within the group. Fathers revealed themselves as plumbers, bricklayers, carpenters, electricians and painters. Sunday morning would see fathers with the wheel barrows, boys carrying tools, mother with the tea and scones, often accompanied by an excited family dog, gathering at the site with other family groups. By the time the flooring was to be put down, some ingenious person had obtained cyprus pine floors from the old army camp at Forestville. This floor later was to receive a high shine and support many lively dances. The stone cut from the hillside was used to build the fireplace, with one great slab forming the mantle-ledge.

When the time came for the walls to be erected, the iron was, found to have rusted, and the mothers had the heroic task of scraping down the corrugated surfaces with lumps of sandstone. This surface was then painted silver. Inside, the walls were lined part of the way up with masonite; a stage at one and had four dens opening off it, one for each of the four patrols. The kitchen, with sink and utensils all donated, was lit at first by a hurricane lamp.

All this work was done without cost. The repayment of the loan on the cost of the hut was met by raising money at dances, little parties, music evenings, square dances and card nights, happy occasions still remembered with pleasure. The contribution of all these helpers was recognised in a unique way; no names were recorded, but every helping hand was outlined in chalk above the fireplace as a permanent reminder of their effort.

The inside of the hut was finely decorated by paintings by the artist and book illustrator, Walter Cunningham, himself the father of Scouts in the group. Around the walls on the masonite, he painted a frieze of all the animals in scouting patrols. Above the proscenium arch of the stage was his striking mural of Mowgli, surrounded by the animals of the Jungle Book stories.

A little piano was donated, benches and later stacking chairs were added. Someone gave what appeared to be a telegraph pole - ingenuity soon made it into a totem pole of grand dimensions.

Kalloona is an aboriginal word meaning “the meeting place of young men”, and the motif of the Group depicts an aboriginal elder pointing the way for a young man to go. Walter Cunningham called for suggestions for the subject of the motif, then chose what he thought most suitable and illustrated it. The lady whose suggestion was adopted has explained that she thinks it is more in the spirit of scouting than being led along the way, and this is what we see illustrated in the Kalloona emblem.

The grand opening of Kalloona took place in December, 1949. Some idea of the activities can be obtained from the programme, but the Rovers had one surprise in store. Down from the trees came rockets sliding on wires, to simultaneously ignite the great camp fire, making a brilliant beginning to the evening barbecue.

Sadly, Kalloona also went out in a blaze of fire. In April, 1964, water leaked in after very heavy rain and started an electrical fire which destroyed many things, notably all the group’s records stored in the little office. Walter Cunningham’s murals went up in smoke, and today Mowgli and the animals are remembered by a remarkable reproduction done by Mrs Eileen Mack in consultation with Walter Cunningham and donated to the group by Dick Smith. Some items did, however, survive in the twisted blackened iron; a brass plaque above the fireplace and two brass candlesticks originally loaned to the Rovers were recovered and cleaned of their fire-blackened coating. The builder of the new hut, Mr Ken Ewen, who had been associated with the Group, preserved the feeling for tradition in the new Kalloona a handsome log cabin, opened in December, 1964 at a cost of $8,000. The fireplace made from rocks from the hillside may be found there today.

Much of the land in front of Kalloona was taken when Babbage Road was realigned to make the six-lane highway to Roseville Bridge. Scouts had planted trees around the entrance near the obelisk memorial to Babbage, which now stands alone on the far side of the lanes of traffic. The land on which Kalloona is built was originally Crown Land administered by Ku-ring-gai Council, but in 1978 it was declared a Scout and Guide Reserve in perpetuity.

Since 1978 the kitchen has been extended to its current full size, a fundraising storeroom added adjacent to the loading ramp and with some financial assistance from the guide group the Guide Annex was added.

Additional storage areas were included under the extensions for the increasing equipment needs of the group including kayaks, canoes, and tent storage etc.

In June 1981, a new Jungle Book mural by Eileen Mack replaced the original painted by by Walter Cunningham in 1948 which was destroyed in the fire through a donation by past Queen Scout and Baden Powell award recipient Dick Smith was unveiled by Ron Ewing.

Between 1993 and 1996 the stage and hall lighting was upgraded, the stage curtains replaced, 12 new trestle tables made by Geoff Paul, the Venturer’s Den re-established and re-equipped with tents, ropes, PFD’s, a patrol bush campsite established above the roadway, the showers and toilets tiled and a new flagpole erected. Through the resources of Graeme Fisk a retaining wall was built to provide a safe surface for the re-built campfire circle and to improve the access track to the Venturer's Den for the canoe trailer and vehicles loading gear generally.

Finally, in time for its 50th celebration in 1996, two carved totem poles were completed and erected - one representing the total group and one depicting Venturer activities. The old car parking area was cleared and the surface prepared for grassing to become the outdoor activities area.

In June 2012 the hall underwent significant renovations including re-roofing, fire and an electrical upgrade. A key part of the renovation was the installation of the Caroma Bathrooms which was funded through grants and donations by the NSW State government, Rotary Club of Roseville Chase, Chatswood RSL, Amber tiles Chatswood and Caroma. This was coordinated by Group Leader Peter "Rusty" Allen, Cub Leader and Grants Officer David Andrews and Parent Support Team Chairperson Denis Brown.

In preparation for the 70 years of scouting celebration at Kalloona in March 2019, the hall under the guidance of Group Leader Graeme Steverson and Capital Works lead Grahame Clare underwent a significant renovation. This was supported through grants obtained through Scouts NSW and a generous donation from the Dick and Pip Smith Foundation as well as group fund-raising. This allowed the hall to be repainted internally and externally, new kitchen appliances to be installed and internal lighting upgraded to energy efficient LEDs.

With the re-establishment of the Venturer Unit in May 2019, the Venturer Den below the main hall was stripped, cleaned, repainted, possum-proofed, rewired and decorated after acting as boat and trailer storage for 15 years.

Parts of the above brief history was found in personal records held by former Group Leader Ken Ewen in 1996.