Major improvements for Wyong’s McKinnon Hall

A $59,000 grant to Wyong’s Uniting Church McKinnon Hall will allow a multitude of improvements benefiting all hall users.

The grant, from the NSW Government’s Community Building Partnership Program, will go towards improvements inside the hall including painting, air conditioning, insulation and improved security which will make it inviting and pleasant for user groups, including the current users.

The hall is used for a variety of uses from programs and services for homeless and unemployed people, to space for community groups to meet, eat and celebrate, and creative projects including participation in Wyong’s annual Love Lanes Festival.

Minister for the Central Coast Member for Wyong David Harris presented the cheque inside the McKinnon Hall to Reverend John Dacey, church members and the McKinnon family.

McKinnon Hall was built in 1954 by the late Reverend Robert McKinnon, a Methodist Minister in the Wyong circuit from 1950-55.

“The intention is to put McKinnon Hall at the service of the wider community to achieve outcomes that Rev McKinnon would be very happy with, giving it a new life as a school for life, possibly seven days a week, not just on Sundays,” Rev Dacey said.

Previously the hall stood next to the Wyong Methodist Church built in 1908, which unfortunately burnt down in 2008.

Members of the McKinnon family, including 88-year-old Lachlan McKinnon and 94-year-old Helen McKinnon, Rev McKinnon’s son and daughter, travelled from Port Stephens and Brisbane to attend the presentation and reconnect with their family history in the Wyong area.

“It was a special moment for the Uniting Church and members to come together and share the profound experience of stories and history of the McKinnon Hall,” Harris said.

“The grant will have a lasting impact on the community by preserving Wyong’s rich history.”