CAMPERDOWN:
ODD FELLOWS HALL (IOOF)

In the late 1950's and into the 1960's, The Camperdown IOOF Hall was the most frequently used space for dancing and musical events in Camperdown. Music heard here would have included Rock 'n' Roll Concerts, Old-time dances, Cabarets, Irish Dancing competitions and more.

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Below is an excerpt written by Maree Belyea, Secretary of the Camperdown & District Historical Society from a display on Odd Fellows Hall (current home of the CDHS Heritage Centre). It is included with permission.​

The Centre is located at 241 Manifold Street, Camperdown.

It is open to the public every Tuesday and the first Sunday of each month from 10am - 3pm.

 

CAMPERDOWN'S ODD FELLOWS HALL (IOOF HALL)
 

WHAT WAS THIS BUILDING?

It was erected as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Hall and completed in August 1896.

 

The Camperdown Lodge No. 26 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was established in 1863. Their first meetings were held in a purpose-built assembly room at George Illidge's Camperdown Hotel in Manifold Street, with work commencing on 19 November 1863. When Illidge sold his hotel in 1870, the IOOF Lodge purchased the building and continued to meet in those timber premises until it and the adjacent hotel building were destroyed by fire on 13th December 1894.

 

A new hall and meeting room was mooted early in 1895 and a new site in Manifold Street was purchased in January of that year. The site was subsequently extended with the purchase of an adjacent block in July 1895. Donald Campbell Dunoon, a member of the lodge, and partner in the architectural firm of Alexander Hamilton & Co. of Colac, was entrusted with the design of the new brick hall. Tenders were called in October 1895 and the Camperdown builders McCrae & Fullarton were engaged to build the late Victorian Mannerist style building for the IOOF Hall Company. 

The foundation stone of the new hall was laid by Miss Alice Barlow, daughter of the secretary of the Camperdown Lodge, on 23 April 1896 amidst extensive celebrations.

 

The lOOF building, consisting of a brick auditorium fronted by two ante rooms on either side of the entrance porch and a small stage with supper rooms below, was built of red bricks. The facade was enhanced with elaborate Italian Mannerist details in pressed cement, with four fluted flat Corinthian pilasters supporting a prominent entablature, balustraded parapet and central triangulated pediment. Classical urns surmount the parapet and the two windows and the central door in the principal facade are defined by Classical aedicules. 

 

Description of the interior - Camperdown Chronicle 15th Aug 1896

 

The promise given by the handsome exterior is amply fulfilled when the portals are passed and the interior is seen. 

The body of the hall is 60 feet long and 32 feet wide, the auditorium being 45 feet long, thus leaving 15 feet as the length of the stage. The ceiling is 18 feet from the floor, and along the centre are a number of skylights by means of which the hall is lighted. 

Ample provision is also made for ventilation, an important element in securing the comfort and convenience of the public. There are also two fireplaces at the back of the hall that may be utilised in adding still further to its cosiness in the winter months.

Beneath the stage is the supper room, which has an area of 30 feet by 15 feet, the floor being asphalted. There is a fireplace for cooking purposes and the water is laid on so that nothing has been forgotten to ensure completeness in every respect. 

On either side of the portico leading into the main hall is an ante-room 10 feet 6 inches by 14 feet 6 inches. One of these will be used conjointly as the office of the company and of the lodge, while the other will serve as a ticket office and ante-room when the meetings of the lodge are being held. 

The official dedication was a grand event attended by many visiting lodges and invited guests. A banquet followed the ceremony and the ball held in the evening saw an attendance of around 200, with dancing continuing until 6 am.

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ABOUT THE ODD FELLOWS 

 

The Independent Order of Oddfellows (IOOF) was established in NSW in 1836 and Melbourne in 1846. It was originally a mutual benefit society that provided aid to members in times of sickness and unemployment; these benefits were obtained through joining fees and ongoing subscriptions. Upon joining, prospective members had to sign a form stating they and their wife were of sound health, and pass means, religious and moral tests. Local lodge members then voted on the suitability of the prospective member.

 

Like many other friendly societies, the IOOF had initiation ceremonies, rituals for meetings, and regalia and jewels, which became increasingly elaborate as a member moved through the levels (degrees) of membership or attained offices.

 

The IOOF was one of the few friendly societies that admitted female members - through the Rebekah degree, allowing single women to have access to health cover.

 

Camperdown IOOF was officially formed in 1864 and the newly constituted Lodge of Rebekah was added in 1896.

 

Members had to pay a continuing subscription to ensure they received benefits in the result of illness, unemployment or death.  This meant that most members of the society earned at least an average wage.

 

Although friendly societies remain active in Australia today as private health funds and funds management companies, their popularity and membership was severely affected by the Great Depression of the late 1920s and introduction of the welfare state (the provision of basic benefits for all) following World War Two.

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MANY USES OF THE HALL

 

Funds had to be raised to build the hall as a principle of the Order is to devote money raised by members contributions directly to the purpose for which they are levied.

 

The company formed to sell shares in the hall quickly raised sufficient funds to commence building. Hiring to other groups would also assist financially.

 

Newspaper advertisements indicate many uses of the facility, other than for IOOF meetings, social nights and dinners:

 

• Fellow Friendly Societies and Lodges events

• Wedding Breakfasts 

• Band Concerts 

• Balls and Dances

• Cabarets

• Kitchen Teas

• Reunions

• Card competitions e.g. 45’s

• Social evenings

• Lectures

 

Local residents recall the hall having the best dance floor’ in town, playing badminton in the hall and the slot cars set up in the old supper room down the back.

 

The order is also known as the Triple Link Fraternity, referring to the order's "Triple Links" symbol, alluding to its motto:

 

 "Friendship, Love and Truth"

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CURRENT DAY

 

The introduction of welfare benefits resulted in IOOF selling health insurance locally through an agent but localised fraternal lodges were no longer needed. The advent of television resulted in less demand for the hall as dances and other social outlets decreased.

 

A proposal to sell the IOOF Hall was first mooted in December 1966 and the building was offered for sale by tender. No offers were received and the hall was subsequently leased to the A.P.1. (Australian Post-Tel Institute) as a recreation centre. 

 

The sale of the hall was again proposed in 1981 and in October 1982 the IOOF trustees accepted the offer of the Town of Camperdown to purchase the building on behalf of the Camperdown and District Historical Society.

 

In 1984 the Historical Society moved into the hall having previously had one front room in the Mechanics Institute building.

The extra space resulted in a large quantity of artifacts being donated and a comprehensive museum set up.

 

From the early 2000’s visitors and enquiries mainly centred around family and social history. To better service current needs the Museum has developed into a Heritage Centre.

 

The facade of the hall has not been altered, nor has the interior, other than cosmetic changes. Improvements include an all-access toilet at floor level, in lieu of the aged block down the back; the stage has been built in for storage; the kitchen renovated; the 1930’s super room had a major renovation and a native garden/outdoor area has been added.

 

The much-loved hall still stands proudly, just as it did in 1896.