General News
4 August, 2026
Talbot hall’s restumping draws large crowd
The historic Talbot ANA Hall will open its doors for years to come following the completion of repairs funded by Tiny Towns and committee efforts.
Nearly 50 community members queued outside Talbot ANA Hall on Friday morning waiting to see the newly refurbished space.
Funding for the repairs was announced in June 2024, in a Tiny Towns round that saw several communities in the region successful in major investments.
The project’s funding saw $25,000 allocated from Central Goldfields Shire council and $50,000 from the State Government.
However, what impressed locals was the $25,000 raised by the Talbot Hall Committee of Management which also funded the project.
These efforts saw Talbot Town Hall Committee’s Rob Sampson regard community members as “bloody good out here” when he addressed the crowd.
“I’m not being modest or anything. We have got an excellent group. We look after each other,” he said.
“To the stall holders that come here, to the community groups that use these halls, without you, we can’t keep up the maintenence. As a committee, we put everything back into the community.”
The 164-year-old building, which was originally Talbot’s town hall, has undergone various repairs over its lifetime.
But in recent years, the hall has been in need of re-stumping, structural repairs and paint work.
Inside, the flooring was re-laid.
The roof was also in need of repair.
The hall is now a venue for weddings, wakes and community meetings, with the committee hoping recent restoration will preserve it for future Talbot residents.
“To have the younger generation come in and to have these halls still standing, to have them come through will be a mighty achievement,” Mr Sampson said.
“We have done the floors, done the re-stumping, put some fresh paint inside, we still have a lot to go, but today is about opening it up so we can actually reuse the hall again and get it happening.
“Thank you very much to all of the community who have helped us to improve what we do here.”
Also addressing the crowd, councillor Geoff Bartlett praised the fundraising work of committee members that supported the repairs.
“The amount of money the committee raised, that is the impressive part, that is what stands out to me,” he said.
Member for Ripon Martha Haylett said the completed works marked a win for the shire’s smaller communities.
“I really want to say a big thank you to Rob and the committee here ... a lot of our smaller communities in the Central Goldfields shire feel that [funding] just all goes to the biggest population space. That is why projects like this are so important,” she said.
“[The Tiny Towns fund] makes sure that our smallest communities actually get the projects they really want and need. It looks fantastic, Rob did a lot of good work himself which is fantastic.
“Thank you to the committee for making it happen because $25,000 of their money has gone into this. That’s a significant amount. Thank you for everything you have done for this beautiful hall over the years.”