Southern River Saturday Night Dance

Opened in May 1955, the Southern River Hall was built by the Southern River Progress Association, formed in 1937 by Bernard Gay and six other Southern River residents, including Messrs Bellingham, Chapple and Lane. The Association worked towards getting roads made and telephone and electricity services in the district, on the south side of the Southern River. After World War Two the Association turned its attention to providing social amenities.

After much fundraising, the first Southern River Hall was built on land donated by Bernard Gay. Permission to acquire the building materials had to be obtained from the State Housing Commission as they were in short supply and under tight government control following the War. Members of the Association provided the labour for the construction. The building was clad with vertical corrugated iron above a weatherboard dado.

The hall was a major social centre for the district and was occupied by the Association continuously. In recent years, dance evenings were held every second Saturday, the Physio Rhythm exercise class utilised the hall twice weekly, and the place was hired out for private functions such as birthday parties, band practice, and meetings on a casual basis. The hall was upgraded with internal ablutions with the assistance of the Gosnells Council. On 11 August 2002, the hall was destroyed by fire set by vandals. It was rebuilt on the existing site c2004 by the City of Gosnells. The reconstruction of the hall in the form of the original is an interpretation of the earlier structure.