Mayor Dominic King called them “amazing custodians” who were firmly in the camp of “the doers who make things happen” rather than “the complainers who just whinge”.

Funnily enough, as their friend and fellow committee member Marco Oliver pointed out, it was whinging and complaining from himself and Mark Willis that had propelled Louise onto the volunteer hall committee in the first place.

“You may have read in the Courier-Sun about how Louise said in the early 90s she got active with Bellingen Memorial Hall, trying to improve facilities, because Mark and I often came home after a music gig at the hall, whinging and complaining about the bad sound, the crappy power, the crappy facilities,” Marco said.

“And then I remember one day she said, ‘That’s it, I’ve had enough of listening to you two complaining all the time, I’m going to do something about it’.

“And she did. She got stuck in with typical Louise gusto … and in total she raised over $400,000 which all went in to upgrading the hall facilities and infrastructure, in the process helping to create one of the best equipped halls on the North Coast.”

Marco also lauded Mark, “the nuts and bolts guy, who was just as tireless  in his dedication to making the hall a great place to perform … he conceptualised and put in place in-house PA systems, stage lighting, moveable stages and multimedia systems that enabled a great variety of performances to be staged at the hall”.

Checking the statistics, Marco found last year the hall was used for 200 days, and over 50 of those days were for major events.

“How lucky we have been to enjoy the fruits of all this effort,” he said. “I want to say thank you so much for the magnificent work you have done through these many years. Please accept our love and gratitude for all that you have created.”

He also acknowledged the contribution of Annie Arnold, who was stepping down from the committee after 12 years due to commitments in the music industry; as well as Argi Peterdi and Max and Ida Francis, who helped keep the hall going through its leaner years.

The hall committee now consists of Marco Oliver, Louise Gore, Luke Rhodes and Pingala Walsh.

The longest serving volunteer is Luke Rhodes, who has been on the committee for about a decade.

Luke said that as well as trying to recruit new volunteers, the committee had approached four people to submit an expression of interest for a three-month paid position, two days a week,  which would involve administration as well as considering how to update the record-keeping system and automate the booking system.

Council, the Memorial Hall committee and family and friends chipped in to give Louise and Mark a thank-you gift that fulfilled a long-held dream of going to the tennis: flights, tickets and accommodation for a five-day trip to Melbourne to see the Women’s Finals in the Australian Open on Saturday.

“We’re actually going to leave Bellingen,” Louise said, sounding amazed.

For the last 25 years, Louise and Mark have been on tap seven days a week, responding to enquiries, taking bookings, preparing the facilities and ensuring that hirers of the hall had everything they needed.

Daughter Narina Carter and son Rhian basically grew up in the hall.

“It feels like a second home to me,” Narina said.

Louise said she felt excited by the prospect of being able to attend events at the hall as an ordinary member of the audience.

Previously, after a full day of setting up she would be too tired to take advantage of the tickets offered, or if they did go they would find themselves in the role of support staff.

“Now I will be able to relax and enjoy it,” she said.

Anyone interested in joining the hall’s volunteer management committee should contact Anna Joy on 6655 7300.

Those wishing to book the hall should continue to use the same contact details as previously, which are 0490 418 884 or info@bellingenmemorialhall.com.au