A New Look for our Hall

The Turner Scout Hall in Haig Park is undergoing a transformation. As the home of the German Australian Pfadfinder Scout group and the German Australian Playschool and playgroups, it is only fitting that the building’s new paint job gives the hall a European look.

Our Fachwerkhaus (half-timbered house) with shutters and stone foundations is also home to a bunch of Australian and European birds and animals, hiding and waiting to be discovered. Visit our hall and see if you can find them all!

This amazing mural is the work of local muralists and artists, Byrd and Hanna Hoyne.

The reaction from the public has been very positive. We’ve even had emails from complete strangers saying they bike past the hall each morning and are loving the new look! We hope our Fachwerkhaus nestles nicely in amongst the “Black Forest-like” coniferous trees and is a nice addition to the renewal of Haig Park.

Here’s the “before” photo, below:

And the “after” photo:

Here are some of the little animals you might hope to find. There are lots more!

Here are some photos of the transformation happening, including Byrd in a “nest” up in the air:

Below is our rainbow rain worm and stone wishing well rain tank. The red text in old Germanic script on the wall is an old German tradition: carpenters would carve sayings into the wooden beams of the Fachwerkhaus (half-timbered house). These carved sayings are called Giebelsprüche.

Our text reads “Der Regenbogen Regenwurm spricht: Wir spielen auf Ngunnawal Land”. It is our Australian acknowledgement of country, and translates as “The rainbow rain worm speaks [and says] we are playing on Ngunnawal country.”

Der Regenbogen Regenwurm spricht: Wir spielen auf Ngunnawal Land.

Come back again at the end of the 2021, and see if you can find more, as there are wonderful plans for the east wall too! Here is the east wall “before”. It will be different to the west and south walls. Can you imagine what it will look like?

East wall: before the mural