Almost 70 years have passed since the official opening of the Hatherleigh Hall took place and hundreds marked the milestone occasion on Saturday.


The celebrations were brought forward a few weeks to coincide with the annual visit to Hatherleigh by Kalangadoo footballers and netballers.


Leading the celebrations was Adelaide resident Alan Sanford who picked up the microphone over afternoon tea and told tales from 1954.


Now aged in his 90s, Mr Sanford worked as a carpenter on the stone structure and made a special trip from his home in Adelaide for the 70th anniversary.


Other well-wishers were Wattle Range Mayor Des Noll and Member for MacKillop Nick McBride.


The stonework was undertaken by two post-war European migrants, Tony Buffon and Ralph Zanello and their building partnership eventually became a household name in Millicent.


Mr Buffon lives in retirement in Millicent while Mr Zanello died in 2022 at the age of 93.


To celebrate the hall’s 70th anniversary local residents and members of the hall committee put on an afternoon tea.


Long term hall tenants, the Hatherleigh Craft Group had a display of quilts and a farm gate stall featured local treats for sale.


The Hatherleigh Craft Group has used the hall for the past 32 years while two newly-formed community groups are also based there.


They are the Have a Chat group which meets monthly for afternoon tea and meet up.


There is a garden and growers’ group which also meets monthly with a guest speaker.


An iron plaque on its interior northern wall states the hall was opened by former Hatherleigh resident Mr F T Clifford on Friday, July 30, 1954.


The occasion was marked by a ball which reportedly attracted a crowd of almost 500 people.


Frank Skeer generously donated the land on which the hall stands and the construction costs of 2400 pounds ($4800) were met by donations from locals.


The wartime honour boards were displayed in the hall.


The 50 x 28 ft stone hall features a jarrah floor for dancing and was built with two adjacent rooms for use as a kitchen and changerooms for Hatherleigh footballers.