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Berowra Community Centre's 40th Anniversary, 2020
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DetailsThe lead up to the opening of the Berowra Community Centre in 1980 was an interesting saga.
In 1970 Hornsby Council called a public meeting to propose to take over the old Berowra School Hall (District Hall) with an eventual goal of building a new public hall on the site. However, this idea did not move forward.
In 1973 the Berowra Cabaret on the Pacific Highway was demolished and a new business centre was built in its place (including Berowra Chinese). Whilst this was a privately owned facility the Cabaret was a popular location for local parties, meetings and other events.
In 1975 gymnastics run the Berowra RSL Youth Club was becoming very popular amongst Berowra’s youth. This was being held in the old Berowra Bakery building (below where Berowra Care Car is today). The location was far from ideal and the RSL Sub-branch wrote to Council asking for a new gymnasium to be built.
At the same time the Berowra Progress Association was speaking with Council about a new public hall to replace the run-down District Hall and there was high demand from both the senior citizens of Berowra and the youth of Berowra for a new multipurpose facility.
On 19th August 1975 a well-attended public meeting was held in Berowra by Council with an aim to set up a “530A committee” to investigate a proposal for a new Community Centre in Berowra. The committee is established and made up of representatives from Council and 16 local organizations. The groups and their representatives were;
Berowra Scouts – Dr Morris Oxenburg (530A Committee Chairman)
Berowra Progress Association – Don Smith
Berowra Waters Progress Association – Mr H. Cranswick
Berowra Lions Club – Alan Spencer
Berowra Pre-School Centre – Alison Melloh
Berowra Parents & Citizens’ Association – Mrs W Adnum
Wideview School Parents & Citizens Association – Mr W. McDermott
Berowra Public School Mother’s Club – Mrs H. Lambert
Berowra Bowling Club – Mrs H. Lawrence
Berowra Junior Rugby League Club – Mr B. Tutill
Berowra RSL Youth Club – Bill Foster
Berowra Girl Guides – Mrs J. McCready
Asquith Boys High School – Mr Stephen Joyce
Asquith Girls High School – Miss Jill Batty
Senior Citizens Club – Mrs F. Boyce
Berowra Community & Health Resources – Mr G. Smith
The three A Riding Councillors (lead by Cllr Peter Matthews) and the Shire Clerk.
A considerable amount of work was put in over 12 months, with each committee member serving on at least one of the many sub-committees.
The committee wanted to recommend a facility with something for everyone in the community and therefore needed a large site. Nine sites in Berowra were inspected and considered for the new community centre. These were;
1. King Road (next to Berowra Oval but accessible from King Rd. It would have required the removal of bushland)
2. Gully Road (where it was eventually built)
3. Turner Road (the end of Turner Rd)
4. Kita Road (old IGA site)
5. Crowley Road (near where the High School was proposed)
6. Barnetts Road (near the Lookout)
7. Boundary Road (next to the Bowling Club)
8. Crowley Road (behind the District Hall)
9. Warrina Street (junior soccer field)
After 12 months (in July 1976) a detailed report was presented to Council with a site on Boundary Road recommended as the most appropriate. After conducting a detailed survey with a good number of local residents, the facilities recommended to be catered for included;
Gymnastics & associated sports
Social receptions (weddings, dances & such like, requiring kitchen facilities)
Library, including student study area
A young people’s meeting place, suggested as a coffee lounge, open after school hours
Several small meeting rooms for small club activities
Billiards, table tennis, darts
Squash
Amateur theatricals & concerts
Playground area & landscaping
Off-street parking
Proposed funding sources for the facility in the 530A report were;
State Government Grant via Sport & Recreation Service of NSW
Hornsby Shire Council grant or loan
Special rate levy on rate payers of Berowra & surrounding district
Federal Government grant directly to Council
Council adopted to put the report out to public consultation however there was still a lot of work to be done.
When grants were unsuccessful there was some concern about Council preferred funding proposal which was a special rate levy for the project, with a lot of objections from residents of Mt Kuring-gai and Cowan who were expected to contribute. After this feedback residents outside Berowra were eventually excluded from paying the levy.
There was also strong objection from some Berowra residents to the proposed levy over six years which was between $22 and $44 annually (depending on the resident’s land value). This was to fund two thirds of the cost with the remainder coming from Council general funds. At the time localized special rate levy was not an uncommon way for Council to raise funds for a large local project and a number of amenities were financed using this method in the 1960s and 70s. Of the 2,300 Berowra ratepayers written to about the levy 386 objected, and the same number wrote back in support. The Berowra Community Centre rate levy was finally adopted by Council into the 1980 budget and went on over 5 years after the community centre opened.
The next problem was a lot of negative feedback about the proposed site, particularly from the residents of Boundary Road. Their concerns around parking, traffic, noise etc. were considered valid and the site was changed to just down the hill with the vehicle access being only from Gully Road. The original reasons the 530A committee first dismissed the Gully Road site did not concern Council too much. These were that the site (part of which was a former sandstone quarry) was too low, it had dampness with constant seepage from Berowra Waters Road and the Oval embankment, and it was too isolated so at risk of vandalism.
On the original chosen location the planned gymnasium became 6 tennis courts with a clubhouse, BBQ area & separate car park, which opened n 1983.
Final plans were settled on and Council went out to tender. Work got underway in 1978 with the estimated costs of construction at $400K however, this amount would prove to be very modest. The final cost at completion hit $660K plus $95K for fit it out with furniture, carpets, curtains etc. The Gully Road drainage and car parking added a further $267K, taking the whole project over $1,000,000 which was a huge amount 40 years ago.
The Berowra Community Centre was finally opened by Shire President Cr Don Evans, on the afternoon of Saturday September 6, 1980, at 3pm. It was a big day for Council as that same morning representatives were in Brooklyn to open the Brooklyn overpass which replaced the dangerous level crossing.
In his speech at the Community Centre opening, Hornsby Shire President, Councillor Don Evans, said, “Berowra is no longer out in the sticks”. Although Mayor Evans got to cut the ribbon and make the speech at the opening, it was actually local Councillor, Peter Matthews (councillor from 1971 to 1980), who was the main driving force behind seeing the Berowra Community Centre project through to fruition from start to finish.
In 1970 Hornsby Council called a public meeting to propose to take over the old Berowra School Hall (District Hall) with an eventual goal of building a new public hall on the site. However, this idea did not move forward.
In 1973 the Berowra Cabaret on the Pacific Highway was demolished and a new business centre was built in its place (including Berowra Chinese). Whilst this was a privately owned facility the Cabaret was a popular location for local parties, meetings and other events.
In 1975 gymnastics run the Berowra RSL Youth Club was becoming very popular amongst Berowra’s youth. This was being held in the old Berowra Bakery building (below where Berowra Care Car is today). The location was far from ideal and the RSL Sub-branch wrote to Council asking for a new gymnasium to be built.
At the same time the Berowra Progress Association was speaking with Council about a new public hall to replace the run-down District Hall and there was high demand from both the senior citizens of Berowra and the youth of Berowra for a new multipurpose facility.
On 19th August 1975 a well-attended public meeting was held in Berowra by Council with an aim to set up a “530A committee” to investigate a proposal for a new Community Centre in Berowra. The committee is established and made up of representatives from Council and 16 local organizations. The groups and their representatives were;
Berowra Scouts – Dr Morris Oxenburg (530A Committee Chairman)
Berowra Progress Association – Don Smith
Berowra Waters Progress Association – Mr H. Cranswick
Berowra Lions Club – Alan Spencer
Berowra Pre-School Centre – Alison Melloh
Berowra Parents & Citizens’ Association – Mrs W Adnum
Wideview School Parents & Citizens Association – Mr W. McDermott
Berowra Public School Mother’s Club – Mrs H. Lambert
Berowra Bowling Club – Mrs H. Lawrence
Berowra Junior Rugby League Club – Mr B. Tutill
Berowra RSL Youth Club – Bill Foster
Berowra Girl Guides – Mrs J. McCready
Asquith Boys High School – Mr Stephen Joyce
Asquith Girls High School – Miss Jill Batty
Senior Citizens Club – Mrs F. Boyce
Berowra Community & Health Resources – Mr G. Smith
The three A Riding Councillors (lead by Cllr Peter Matthews) and the Shire Clerk.
A considerable amount of work was put in over 12 months, with each committee member serving on at least one of the many sub-committees.
The committee wanted to recommend a facility with something for everyone in the community and therefore needed a large site. Nine sites in Berowra were inspected and considered for the new community centre. These were;
1. King Road (next to Berowra Oval but accessible from King Rd. It would have required the removal of bushland)
2. Gully Road (where it was eventually built)
3. Turner Road (the end of Turner Rd)
4. Kita Road (old IGA site)
5. Crowley Road (near where the High School was proposed)
6. Barnetts Road (near the Lookout)
7. Boundary Road (next to the Bowling Club)
8. Crowley Road (behind the District Hall)
9. Warrina Street (junior soccer field)
After 12 months (in July 1976) a detailed report was presented to Council with a site on Boundary Road recommended as the most appropriate. After conducting a detailed survey with a good number of local residents, the facilities recommended to be catered for included;
Gymnastics & associated sports
Social receptions (weddings, dances & such like, requiring kitchen facilities)
Library, including student study area
A young people’s meeting place, suggested as a coffee lounge, open after school hours
Several small meeting rooms for small club activities
Billiards, table tennis, darts
Squash
Amateur theatricals & concerts
Playground area & landscaping
Off-street parking
Proposed funding sources for the facility in the 530A report were;
State Government Grant via Sport & Recreation Service of NSW
Hornsby Shire Council grant or loan
Special rate levy on rate payers of Berowra & surrounding district
Federal Government grant directly to Council
Council adopted to put the report out to public consultation however there was still a lot of work to be done.
When grants were unsuccessful there was some concern about Council preferred funding proposal which was a special rate levy for the project, with a lot of objections from residents of Mt Kuring-gai and Cowan who were expected to contribute. After this feedback residents outside Berowra were eventually excluded from paying the levy.
There was also strong objection from some Berowra residents to the proposed levy over six years which was between $22 and $44 annually (depending on the resident’s land value). This was to fund two thirds of the cost with the remainder coming from Council general funds. At the time localized special rate levy was not an uncommon way for Council to raise funds for a large local project and a number of amenities were financed using this method in the 1960s and 70s. Of the 2,300 Berowra ratepayers written to about the levy 386 objected, and the same number wrote back in support. The Berowra Community Centre rate levy was finally adopted by Council into the 1980 budget and went on over 5 years after the community centre opened.
The next problem was a lot of negative feedback about the proposed site, particularly from the residents of Boundary Road. Their concerns around parking, traffic, noise etc. were considered valid and the site was changed to just down the hill with the vehicle access being only from Gully Road. The original reasons the 530A committee first dismissed the Gully Road site did not concern Council too much. These were that the site (part of which was a former sandstone quarry) was too low, it had dampness with constant seepage from Berowra Waters Road and the Oval embankment, and it was too isolated so at risk of vandalism.
On the original chosen location the planned gymnasium became 6 tennis courts with a clubhouse, BBQ area & separate car park, which opened n 1983.
Final plans were settled on and Council went out to tender. Work got underway in 1978 with the estimated costs of construction at $400K however, this amount would prove to be very modest. The final cost at completion hit $660K plus $95K for fit it out with furniture, carpets, curtains etc. The Gully Road drainage and car parking added a further $267K, taking the whole project over $1,000,000 which was a huge amount 40 years ago.
The Berowra Community Centre was finally opened by Shire President Cr Don Evans, on the afternoon of Saturday September 6, 1980, at 3pm. It was a big day for Council as that same morning representatives were in Brooklyn to open the Brooklyn overpass which replaced the dangerous level crossing.
In his speech at the Community Centre opening, Hornsby Shire President, Councillor Don Evans, said, “Berowra is no longer out in the sticks”. Although Mayor Evans got to cut the ribbon and make the speech at the opening, it was actually local Councillor, Peter Matthews (councillor from 1971 to 1980), who was the main driving force behind seeing the Berowra Community Centre project through to fruition from start to finish.
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Berowra Community Centre's 40th Anniversary, 2020 . Hornsby Shire, accessed 25/04/2026, https://hornsbyshire.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/5106