Over 100 Council sites were affected by the February and March 2022 flooding events, including buildings, parks, public toilets and facilities.

With further assessments of Council's assets ongoing, the number of sites damaged by flood or storm water becomes clearer. This story focuses on three major Council buildings: the Memorial Baths, Town Hall and the Library.

With summer in full swing locals are wanting to head to the beach or the closest pool or waterhole for dip. This is particularly important to parents during the lengthy Christmas school holiday period. Instead, Lismore residents have been relying on Goonellabah Sport & Aquatic Centre (GSAC) as the ‘main sun-safe’ place for their kids to swim for recreation or upskill in their strokes over summer along with Summit Swim and Aquatic in Goonellabah.

Council have focussed on assessing larger built assets in the CBD. A walk downtown reveals there has been much development removing flood debris, repairing electrical and structural components of these facilities. Public Toilets and parklands were less damaged and by now most restoration is complete.

A lot of people are keen for Council to reveal a timeline of these main restoration works and their completion. Although without a managing Contractor appointed these Essential Public Asset Restoration (EPAR) works are still in the pipeline.

The Lismore Memorial Baths are on the long list of sites awaiting restoration. Local architect, F. J. Board designed the Baths based upon the Menin Gates at Ypres in Belgium. The baths were opened in 1928 as a memorial to those who died in the First World War.

According to Council, an Aquatic Engineer has visited the site and currently Council are “awaiting the final report on water treatment. This report will be submitted to the Public Works Advisory (PWA) after the Essential Public Asset Restoration (EPAR) assessment is made.”

The City Hall is Lismore’s cultural hub. Built in 1965 by Bennett Constructions, Architect Dominic Finlay Jones. The City Hall hosts a diverse range of touring shows and is home to Australia’s leading regional theatre company, NORPA (Northern Rivers Performing Arts).

(Photo: Kurt Petersen) 

Due to the loss of their home base at Lismore City Hall, NORPA do not have a physical location (for the time being). The best way to contact them is via telephone or email.

Lismore’s City Hall is “awaiting hygienist validation results and reports. After that the scope of works and estimated costs can be submitted to EPAR for approval.”

Originally a tent school, the Library and surrounding Quad architecture have been in educational use since the late 1800s.

"It's been Lismore primary, the high school, part of the TAFE, the university. It's had a long educational history." Anita Bellman

(Dryng the Lismore Library interior)

Lismore Library is currently CLOSED due to the impact of the flood. Council are “awaiting validation sampling and the certificate of validation. Experts are also monitoring moisture levels” due to the specific usage of the building – a house for books. Similarly, the library is “pending EPAR assessment.”

However, a pop-up library was established in December 2022 in a shopfront location at 146 Molesworth Street, in Lismore's CBD. Lismore Library's regular opening hours have been adopted at this location.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday

9.30am-5pm

Thursday

9.30am-7pm

Saturday

9am-1pm

Sunday

1pm-4pm

CLOSED PUBLIC HOLIDAYS