Centenary celebrations at Pompoota

Nestled on the banks of the Murray, half way between Murray Bridge and Mannum, the Pompoota Hall was built in 1917 as part of a training farm at the site, which helped in the recovery and reintegration of service men to society when they returned from World War One.

Pompoota Community Hall Committee president Trevor Twigden said the Soldier Settlement Land Scheme set much of the state up and the training farm was the foundation for these new settlements.

“While everyone remembers the horrific battles and tremendous bravery of our soldiers, it was good to know that SA led the way in trying to help and reward these men for their contribution,” he said.

“SA led the nation in enacting the Returned Soldiers Settlement Act 1915. 

“The parliament endeavoured to create employment opportunities for the returned servicemen and to open up new land to agriculture to grow the economic wealth of Australia.

“But many of the returned soldiers had originated in very urban environments and did not have the skills to make a land allocation prosperous.

“So they argued for a Soldier Settlement Training Farm to help train these men and their families for their future endeavours and the Pompoota Soldier Settlement Training Farm was born.”

Now in its centenary year, Mr Twigden said the committee wanted to formally acknowledge the courage and endurance of the families that came through the training farm.

Using an ANZAC Day Commemoration Grant, the committee designed 13 display panels detailing the history of the training farm, the people who lived there and the impact the farm had on the growth of SA.

They will be on display during the centenary celebrations, which will be held this Sunday, January 22.

“100 years ago, former SA Premier Crawford Vaughan boarded a launch in Murray Bridge and travelled up the river to the Pompoota Soldier Settler Training Farm where he opened the hall before journeying on to the eastern states where he had a somewhat heated debate with his interstate counterparts over water use as the river had been reduced to a trickle the year before,” Mr Twigden said.

“This year, we are very excited to announce that SA Premier Jay Weatherall will re-enact part of that journey by travelling on the PV Mayflower to Pompoota, where he will unveil a plaque to remember the men and women who lived, learned and toiled at the training farm, and then open the exhibition on the training farm for all to see.”