The Cascade Hall
Behind an arching, scented tacoma hedge on Cascade Road sits one of the sweetest little wooden buildings on Norfolk Island – decoratively arched windows, a red corrugated tin roof and a modest entryway. Rose bushes and fruit trees dot the grounds, and inside the well-trod and broadly hewn floorboards lead into a light and airy room, well-proportioned and calming. This building holds a surprise though, only discovered by the new owners when clambering underneath the building to check on the wiring. But more on that later, let’s first spin the clock back over a century.
Back in 1863 the Seventh Day Adventist movement had formally established itself in America, observing a Saturday Sabbath and advocating a healthy lifestyle of vegetarianism and abstinence from alcohol. As an evangelical Christian movement, missionaries were sent all over the world to spread the word, including in 1891 the tiny outpost of Norfolk Island. Initially the newly-minted island congregation shared the use of the convict-built chapel in the corner of the Kingston compound (which now houses the Sirius Museum) but by 1914 this chapel was in disrepair, the roof was leaking badly and more than once the parishioners had to huddle in a corner to escape the rain. When the lease was due for renewal in 1914 the congregation decided it was time for their own place of worship with an intact roof!
Luckily, by this point, the Pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church on the island was Arthur Ferris, described in church records as ‘a man of strong purpose’ who had arrived in 1911 with his wife Jessie and their children. But where to build their new place of worship? Help came in the form of a generous offer of land on Cascade Road land from Aunt Diana Adams, who was not herself a member of the church, and an offer of trees to fell from Uncle Joe and Aunt Emily Quintal.
With everything they needed now in place, Arthus Ferris, his sons, and church members all set to work on the strenuous job of sawing the trees into planks for construction. In those days planks were pit-sawn with a pit dug into the ground, a tree laid across the top of the pit, and planks cut using a 2 handled saw with one person on top guiding and pulling the saw upwards and the second person standing in the pit, who pulled the saw downwards in a shower of sawdust and debris.
The laborious, dirty, and time-consuming work (the hall took 5 years to build!) also allowed time for camaraderie and community. The church history recalls much good-natured joshing, including bantering about whose team of horses with their log sledges could make it into town first – the vegetarian Pastor Ferris or the meat-eating Cobby Robinson? Who had more vigour? Of course, there was much laughter when it was concluded that even though the meat-eating team came first, their horses were vegetarian; so, who really won the day?
Consecrated on May 3rd, 1919, the little church was an anchor for it’s congregation through over 50 years of births and deaths, church services and christenings, sad times and happy ones.
In time they began to outgrow their modest hall and in 1975 a new complex for the expanding congregation was completed on New Cascade Road; parishioners John and Florence Anderson purchased the building, renamed it as the ‘Cascade Hall’ and moved into the residence at the rear. John was a film buff and an electronics whizz who had travelled to Pitcairn Island twice, both times taking his large film camera with him and filming the island and interviewing the locals.
John and Florence screened these, and other local interest films, in the hall during evenings called ‘The Norfolk Experience’, advertised with beautifully hand-painted signage hung out on the gate. Florence was a passionate gardener, filling the grounds with fruit trees and different varieties of roses, which she and Dot Nobbs would take cuttings of from island gardens. Some of these roses date back to convict times and still flourish today.
After retiring from his work and film screenings, John filled the hall with historical items including telephone switchboards, artworks, model airplanes and archives from his many diverse interests including the Flora and Fauna Society and Historical Society. As a ham radio operator, John used to send and receive ham radio cards from all over the world – these were simple printed postcards with an image of their home region, their call sign and some words of greetings. To rifle through the box now is to summon up a world of crackling airwaves and late night chats with friends in distant places.
In 2020 John and Florence decided it was time to sort through their collections and retire from the hall.
The third chapter in the story of the Cascade Hall brings us to the present owners, Tracey Yager and Sue Draper. Growing up on Norfolk, Tracey would visit the hall as a child with the Weslake family, who were members of the church. She remembers it fondly and always dreamt of one day being lucky enough to own it. Happily, when John and Florence were ready to sell, Tracey and Sue were able to purchase the building and then give John time to sort through his collections and gift them to institutions including the Bounty Folk Museum and the RSL. As the owners of Gallery Guava and Fletcher’s Mutiny Cyclorama, and active in the Norfolk Island arts community for over 20 years, Sue and Tracey were always aware of the need on Norfolk Island for a community arts space. After lots of garden work, a new roof, a spring-clean and a coat of paint, The Cascade Hall was ready for its new life as an artist’s studio, an extension of Gallery Guava and a cultural space for exhibitions and events, including screening some of John’s movies again.
In this last year the hall has housed a film set, hosted community arts projects, a recycled clothing event, a fundraiser for the Council of Elders and an exhibition of local artists. The lovely old building, constructed carefully by hand, is once again an anchor in the community, bringing people together and filling the space with laughter, joy and conversation.
Oh, did you think I’d forgotten about the surprise? When Tracey was clambering under the building, following electrical leads, she found a sturdy square concrete structure which no-one had mentioned to her in the handover. What on earth could this be? Mystified, she came back inside to investigate the still existing pulpit and dais. Lifting the carpet she found loose boards underneath, and under those a dark cavity reaching downwards. Further investigation revealed steps down to a full immersion baptismal pool. Today the pool is still sitting snugly tucked away just as it was all those years ago, a reminder of the Hall’s early days of faith, and the firm resolve of that first congregation.
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Image Credit: Robin Nisbet
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Article content disclaimer: Article first published in Discover Norfolk, Volume 08 Issue 01, 2025. Please note that details of specific travel, accommodation and touring options may be outdated. References to people, places and businesses, including operating days and times may be have changed. References to Government structure and Government businesses/entities may no longer be applicable. Please check directly with businesses and/or Government websites directly rather than relying on any information contained in this article before you make travel arrangements.
