Goat Island Victory Hall (Demolished)

This memorial hall was demolished and no longer stands. A guided tour visiting the former location of Victory Hall on Goat Island is available with NSW National Parks.

Originally a recreation hall, after the Second World War it was renamed to Victory Hall in remembrance of the conflict. At the same time, the Goat Island Second World War Honour Roll was established, listing 23 men and women from Goat Island who served in the Second World War.

After two fires and one rebuilding of the hall, the building was demolished in the late 1960s.

History of the hall

In 1941–1942, the Maritime Services Board reported:

… Goat Island residents are deprived, to some extent, of the usual amenities available to those living on the mainland and, in order to foster the community spirit and provide for the entertainment of the residents, particularly the younger members, a recreation hall, which will accommodate 250 persons, has been erected on the Island.

The residents have formed a social club and the hall has provided a decided acquisition to the social life of the Island, as it is now possible to organize entertainments on a scale which was not practicable in the past owing to the absence of adequate facilities.

A design for the hall was prepared in May 1941. It was a handsome wooded structure with carefully detailed Doric porches and a bell-cast profile on the enlarged weatherboard building. July 1941 saw a navigational beacon tower added to the design. The hall was opened on 13 December 1941 with 2000 people in attendance.

After the Second World War, Victory Hall proved popular on Saturday nights as visitors came from the mainland to attend social activities held at the hall. In 2020, only the footings and pathways remain as evidence of celebration and a vanished life on Goat Island.