Friends of the OBH Community Cultural Centre 

The OBH Regional Community Cultural Centre is a place where we celebrate our past, nurture our community and dream about our future.

3 Corkhill Place, Bega NSW 2550 – message Secretary Kay Dowman on 0437 101 625 - www.obh.org.au

Three items in this newsletter:

The 2026 Spring Fair

The Friends of the Old Bega Hospital are hard at work getting things in order for the annual OBH Spring Fair (formerly Raise the Roof). The Fair is held on the last Sunday in October. This year, 2026, the date is Sunday 25 October.

The action, exhibits, artisan displays, workshops, market stalls (for profit and not for profit), entertainment, local musicians, literally all the fun of the Fair, will be happening between 10am and 2pm.

Lots of activities and displays will be set up in the restored OBH rooms and verandahs and the last of the award winning Leser Build restoration, the ‘East Wing’, will finally be open for the community to visit.

Volunteers will be needed to help on the day of the Spring Fair. If you are expecting to be around on Sunday 25 October and can offer a couple of hours of your time to help out could you please let Secretary Kay know now, on 0437 101 625. We do understand your circumstances may change between now and then, but they may not. No training needed - just love of community, enthusiasm and sense of humour! Young people welcome! Your name and times you are available is all we need now.

Landscaping

How exciting, after 22 years, the building restoration is finally complete and the community is making even more creative use of the precinct. Now the attention of the Friends is on the landscaping, including a tree and shrub boundary to hide the light industry on three sides of the precinct. A small group of volunteer Garden Buddies meets for a couple of hours on the last Saturday of each month (from 9am) and also sometimes on a Wednesday morning, working hard digging, weeding, planting, mulching and watering to progress the landscaping plans.

The next working bee is on Saturday 27 June at 9.30, followed by morning tea. We will be spreading bark mulch around the plantings on the northern boundary - a big and physical job, so extra hands and rakes would be most welcome.

Reserve Land Manager Update

A Quarter of Progress, Challenges and Community

As winter settles over the valley, there is a real sense that another chapter in the Old Bega Hospital story is drawing to a close - and a new one is about to begin.

The East Wing restoration is nearing completion, the Australian Heritage Festival welcomed many visitors through our doors, the Friends of the OBH have donated new picnic tables for the precinct, and plans are underway to strengthen security following a recent break-in.

Together, these stories remind us that Old Bega Hospital is much more than a collection of historic buildings. It is a living community precinct, shaped by the people who use it, care for it and continue to add to its story.

The Finish Line is in Sight

After many months of work, the restoration of the East Wing is entering its final stage, with completion expected in early July.

Like all heritage projects, the journey has not been without surprises. The discovery of asbestos-containing materials temporarily halted works and required Crown Lands, contractors and project partners to work through a complex remediation process. While challenging at times, Crown Lands ultimately accepted responsibility for the remediation works, removing a significant obstacle and allowing the project to move forward.

A special thank you goes to Leser Build and their team, whose patience, flexibility and professionalism have been instrumental throughout the restoration.

Soon, for the first time in many years, the entire Old Bega Hospital building will once again be available for community use. We look forward to welcoming tenants, visitors and the wider community back into a fully restored facility that honours its past while embracing its future.

If These Walls Could Speak …

The Australian Heritage Festival theme for 2026 was Change, and few places tell a story of change quite like Old Bega Hospital.

Across five open days, visitors explored a site that has served the Bega Valley community for almost 140 years - first as a hospital, then a boys’ home, later government storage facilities, and today as a regional community cultural centre.

One question kept returning throughout the festival:

“If these walls could speak, what stories would they tell?”

The restored Main Building offers plenty of clues. Exposed brickwork, layers of old walls and the shadow lines of former fixtures reveal traces of earlier lives and invite visitors to imagine the generations of people who have passed through these spaces.

The festival weekends themselves demonstrated that evolution in action. One open day coincided with the Potters’ Mother’s Day Market, bringing the precinct alive with visitors, makers and local creativity. Another fell on ANZAC Day, providing an opportunity to reflect on the many ways the site has served the community over generations.

Perhaps most encouraging was the excitement about what comes next. Visitors could immediately see the possibilities for meetings, workshops, exhibitions, performances and community gatherings. The conversation was no longer just about restoring a building - it was about bringing it to life.

As we approach the first anniversary of the reopening of the Main Building, the Heritage Festival reinforced the enduring vision for the site: a place where heritage is valued, community is welcomed, and new chapters continue to be written. The stories contained within these walls continue to shape the present, while leaving room for future generations to add their own.

Looking After Our Shared Precinct

Unfortunately, the quarter also saw a break-in at the precinct, with kitchen equipment and maintenance tools stolen, including the garden blower used to maintain the grounds. Replacing the blower has now become an urgent priority.

The incident has reinforced the need for improved security. The installation of additional video surveillance and other security measures is now a priority for the Board as we work to better protect the site, its tenants, volunteers and community assets. While some surveillance infrastructure already exists, greater coverage is needed across the precinct, and securing funding for these improvements will be an important focus in the months ahead.

Yet security is about more than cameras and locks. Every tenant, volunteer, visitor and workshop participant has a role to play in caring for this place. A watchful eye, a secured door, and respect for the precinct and the people who use it all help keep the hospital safe.

Old Bega Hospital has stood watch over this community for generations. Now it falls to us to stand watch over it.

A Gift for the Whole Precinct

One of the highlights of the quarter has been the Friends of the Old Bega Hospital’s donation of four new picnic tables for the precinct.

Handcrafted in Bemboka by local artisan Alan Walker from Stringybark timber, the tables provide welcoming outdoor spaces where people can gather, share a conversation, enjoy lunch or simply take a moment to appreciate the surroundings. They are another example of the Friends’ ongoing commitment to improving the precinct while supporting local makers and craftspeople.

Located throughout the grounds, the tables will create new places for tenants, volunteers, visitors and community groups to meet, connect and enjoy the unique setting of Old Bega Hospital.

Community spaces are built not only through major restoration projects, but also through the many thoughtful additions that make a place more welcoming, comfortable and connected. We thank the Friends of the Old Bega Hospital for their generosity and ongoing commitment to the precinct.

Like the buildings that surround them, these tables are ultimately about bringing people together. They create opportunities for conversations to begin, ideas to be shared and the life of the precinct to unfold. The next time you visit, take a seat, enjoy the surroundings and imagine the many conversations yet to come.

Thank you for being part of the Old Bega Hospital story. Your energy, ideas, creativity and support help keep the precinct active, welcoming and full of life. Quite simply, your involvement is what makes this place happen.

The OBH Land Manager

If you have not been, do come and visit the Old Bega Hospital at 3 Corkhill Place, Bega