The community at Stokes Bay on Kangaroo Island will now have a place to gather again.

Supported by the Prince’s Trust Australia, the Stokes Bay Community Hall on Kangaroo Island will be formally reopened on Saturday 25 November 2023.

After most of the hall's structure was destroyed during the devastating Black Summer Bushfires, the community partnered with the Prince's Trust Australia to ensure that it could be rebuilt as a resilient and meaningful place where they can gather again; both today and for generations to come.

Through design services, community consultation, project management and fundraising, the Prince’s Trust Australia supported the community and brought together the project team including Ashley Halliday Architects, WGA, KatnichDodd, Lucid Consulting, MBM, Aube Projects and many more to bring the project from concept to reality.

The community-endorsed design produced by the Prince’s Trust Australia’s Alexander Dowthwaite and Ashley Halliday Architects incorporated restoration and renovation works to the remains of the existing hall with the addition of a new extension that respects the hall’s heritage, while updating key features with the addition of a commercial kitchen, bathrooms, verandas in the local style and more.

The Stokes Bay Community Hall was the heart of the local community; a place where they could gather for dances, church services, tennis games, and functions from weddings to 21st birthday parties.

With the support of the Prince’s Trust Australia, the hall can once again take its place at the centre of this very special and resilient community.

This project received grant funding from the Australian Government.

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