My Account
The audience at the Warkworth Town Hall Talk last month on urban design and the Warkworth Structure Plan were the first to benefit from the Town Hall’s latest improvements.
Oaks on Neville resident Barry Ferguson, 87, donated more than $11,700 for a state-of-the-art projector and motorised screen for the hall.
Barry arrived in Warkworth as a “refugee” in 2006, after living in New York for the previous 40 years.
He says he immediately fell in love with the town’s “unique charm”, quickly developed friends and longed to support Warkworth’s cultural life. When he heard the hall desperately needed a new projector he did not hesitate.
“It didn’t cause me any pain writing the cheque, it was just loose change. I did not hang around thinking about it, I knew what needed to be done and just did it,” he says.
Barry anticipates the screen will be put to many diverse uses by those using the hall, and his personal hope is that a film society will spring up that screens movies the whole family can enjoy.
His personal favourites are those starring Laurel and Hardy, Betty Grable and Fred Astaire.
Town hall facility coordinator Adrian Hayward says the new screen and projector are the “icing on the cake” for the town hall.
He says historically, movie nights were a big thing for the hall and the new equipment offers the chance to revive them. In addition, the screen and projector will be perfect for business presentations and conferences.
“It’s absolutely fantastic,” he says.
