By Marcus Uhe
A range of emotions swilled at the Balla Balla Community Centre on Tuesday morning, 13 December, ranging from sadness, to nostalgia, and excitement at what lies ahead.
The centre’s volunteers, staff and contributors were invited to a morning tea that would double as both a Christmas party and a farewell to the facility, ahead of the move to Selandra Community Hub in 2023.
As the crowd grazed on sandwiches, cakes, sweet treats, croissants and many more delectable snacks, centre manager Maree Cullinan led tributes to all that had made the facility the community hub that it has developed into over the years, including former Casey mayors Colin Butler and the late Amanda Stapleton, manager of active communities at Casey, Angie Peresso, and more.
For Ms Cullinan, who has seen the facility from its very beginning back in April 2007 when it was known as the Cranbourne East Community Centre, the move to Clyde will be a significant shift.
“I know this building better than I know my own home,” Ms Cullinan said.
“I know any noise, and if I hear a certain noise, I know that the solar panels are broken on the roof.
“This is my other home. It’s grown around me and I’ve grown around it.
“There is some sadness there because it has been 16 years, but added to that is the excitement of something new. Change can be a really good thing and I’ve never shied away from change because I think that’s what keeps us engaged.”
In recent years the reliance on the facility has come into sharp focus, as the pandemic did it’s best to separate and disrupt communities at every turn.
It’s something Ms Cullinan sees as one of the centre’s main achievements, and it’s been reflected in their membership numbers, swelling at more than 600.
“As a manager, trying to keep a team together but only contacting via Zoom, (the challenge) was, how do you stay innovative, fun and spontaneous over Zoom?
“I would mail them stuff, for example, a block of chocolate called Bear Hugs and a moisturising facemask. The idea was to open the package, to have a hug from the chocolate and then do facemasks on Zoom together to pamper ourselves.
“Watching six people trying to put them on was just crazy and towards the end it became even tougher, but what happened was we came out much stronger than when we went in. We came out very strong as a team.”
It’s a long way from when she would sit in the dormant office back in 2007 awaiting a visitor or for someone to engage with them as they attempted to embed themselves into the community.
Colin Bulter was mayor of the City of Casey when the facility opened and remains involved as a member of the board in the role of treasurer.
Of all the projects he oversaw during his stint on the council, it’s Balla Balla, named after his council ward, that he remains invested in.
He said the centre’s current output has exceeded his expectations.
“You could certainly not (see it becoming what it is today) but back in 2007 there wasn’t the houses around here that there is now,” he said.
“We stuck it here and thought, ‘How’s it going to go? Will it go alright?’
“And it’s grown to magnificent community centre now and Maree’s been part of it the whole way.”
As she scanned the room on Tuesday looking for people to say hello to, Ms Cullinan made a bee-line for Jo Hall, who she considered to be a “founder” of the centre.
Ms Hall was a regular at the centre in multiple capacities, as a volunteer running personal development workshops and a class attendee in more recent years.
“It was good because it gave me a place to run some workshops of my own but also to be a volunteer and give to the community,” she said.
“I wasn’t working at the time so I had the time to come and do that.
“You get to know a lot of people and I’m the kind of person who likes to do things for others. That fuelled something for me.”
Despite the relocation, she is confident the centre’s reputation will follow them into the new year and all that lies ahead.
“This is the best neighbourhood house that I’ve even been to. I have been to couple of others since this has been built but it doesn’t quite have the same kind of vibes, same freshness.
“Maree’s really devoted to the people who come here, not to say that the people who work in the other community houses weren’t but it seemed a little bit more clinical in those places.
“I just love Maree and she’s such a lovely person. She’s put in so many years here.”
Rod Grigson, who runs the Scribe Tribe and creative writing classes at Balla Balla, agreed with Ms Hall.
“I work in a lot of community centres and this is the best organised one,” Mr Grigson said.
“There’s strong community support as you can see here today, for the Christmas party. The people who run the place, Maree and her team, are very efficient, so when I come as a teacher, everything is easy for me.”
Towards the end of the morning tea, attendees were handed a survey and asked to respond with what their most significant memories of the Cranbourne facility will be, to be placed into a memories box.
When asked what she’ll remember most about her years there, Ms Cullinan came back to three key themes: Friendship, fun and tough times.
“For me it really is that I’m grateful that I took on this challenge. At the beginning it was very much a challenge to build when there was no community. I’m very blessed and grateful to have been given this opportunity.”
As they embark on a new era, Ms Cullinan said her and her team were full of excitement for the future of Balla Balla.
“There’s lots of young families in that community and it’s very multicultural,” she said.
“That’s exciting because it adds to what we’re already doing. Everyone will benefit.
“It’s right for Balla Balla and right for Selandra. It’s the right thing for the community next year.”
The new Balla Balla Community Centre will open to the public on Monday 16 January before a grand opening on Saturday 25 March.
