Civic centre honours three Broome icons

Opening to the community this weekend after a glorious transformation, Broome’s civic centre has been named in honour of three local icons of culture and the arts.

Overhauled to the tune of $11 million, the new multi-purpose arts and community venue will be known as the Broome Civic Centre, but its three main areas have been named after Jimmy Chi, the Pigrams and Shinju Matsuri’s Sammy the Dragon.

Broome Shire president Graeme Campbell said it was fitting the naming honoured two highly respected names among Broome’s performing arts community.

“The main hall will be known as Jimmy Chi Hall after Broome’s best-known playwright, whose musical production Bran Nue Dae helped put Broome on the map and was recently made into a feature film,” Cr Campbell said. “The new outdoor venue will be known as the Pigram Garden Theatre in a nod to Broome’s favourite musical family, who are largely responsible for creating the style of music that has become synonymous with the town.

“The venue’s function room will be known as The Sammy Room, as it will house Sammy the Dragon, the mascot of Broome’s annual cultural festival, Shinju Matsuri.”

Jimmy Chi’s son Gabriel Chi, who attended last week’s naming ceremony, said his father had been modest and surprised to have the hall named after him, but was happy about it once he got used to the idea.

“I’m just really pleased my dad’s name was put up to be recognised, and that he’s been honoured in this way by Broome,” Gabriel said.

Alan Pigram said it was great to see the centre restored to such a fine standard, when years ago the acoustics had been terrible.

“It’s different in here…I can hear everything,” he quipped.

“It brings back a lot of memories being here – me and the boys used to spend every New Year’s Eve in this place and wouldn’t leave until six in the morning. I wish we had this kind of sound back then, we tried all sorts of things. It just shows if you wait long enough you’ll get something good.”

Almost 70 entries were received for the naming competition and were assessed by a committee of locals before council endorsed the selections. Joint winners of the competition were Keith Clinch and Klari Kadar.

A community open day will be held at the Broome Civic Centre this Saturday, from 10am to 4pm, featuring Broome performers, entertainment and family fun.