The small town of Yaninee is preparing for a momentous day in 2025 when its beloved Yaninee Institute turns 100.
A special centenary will be celebrated in 2025 and locals are working to mark the occasion in the best manner possible.
The Yaninee Institute will turn 100 next March and those involved with the historic structure are looking ‘Toward the Ton’.
The institute is governed by a committee of volunteers via monthly meetings and an annual general meeting – the monthly gatherings can encompass a range of ages, from newborns to those older than 90.
Secretary Jaelene Burns said the group’s focus was on maintaining the institute for future generations to enjoy.
“Our group’s mission is to preserve the Institute structure for many future generations, so it can continue to be used as a meeting place, a place for discussion or a venue for local celebrations,” she said.
“The institute has heritage and a legacy stemming from intimate social experience enjoyed at this location since before the time of the First World War.”
The Yaninee Institute site comprises the main hall – with the building completed in 1925 – a supper room and a toilet block, built in the 1960s.
It has been the site of birthdays, dances, marriages, playgroups, community meetings and a place to say goodbye to loved ones.
A resident of Yaninee for 20 years, Jaelene has been involved with the institute for as long as she has lived nearby.
As she saw it, having a connection to local history was pivotal.
“This building is testament to the settlers, it is our history and a reminder of their ability to do so much with not a lot,” Jaelene said.
“Having connections with history is important to people’s wellbeing.
“A connection to heritage improves wellbeing and should be celebrated, not seen as a burden.”
Once upon a time the township had three blacksmiths, a boarding house, salt mine and two shops.
Today, with a population of 79, its silos, the post office and the institute are reminders of a bygone era.
Yet the community’s attachment to the building is strong – in 2021 a petition was conducted seeking a show of support for it to remain a community asset.
Coming during the height of Covid restrictions, a total of 14 pages of signatures were collected and presented to the Wudinna District Council, showing support stretched well beyond the 79 residents.
Come March 2025, the committee and community members want the spotlight to fall on the building itself.
On March 12, 1925, a bazaar was held during the day to mark the opening of the stone institute and a dance during the night.
Almost 100 years to the day – the weekend of March 8 to 10, 2025, the party will return.
That weekend will be the culmination of an inaugural project to invest in dialogue, establish and reinforce relationships and connect the local community in a way to improve the wellbeing of all using the building.
“We have reach and an intimate connection with a wide community with a specific chosen purpose to unite them all with stronger bonds,” Jaelene said.
Project ‘Toward the Ton’ has been broken down in stages to help with the planning.
When completed, upgrade work will help to transform the building into one for future generations to enjoy, while maintaining its historic look and feel.
The current project stage to be completed is the ‘Resealing the Ceiling’ project.
This includes assessing and bracing the existing Supper Room roof structure, installing ceiling and cornices; completing electrical work; repainting the ceiling, window frames, doors and walls; and the replacement of external building doors.
This has partially been funded with a $2000 Bendigo Bank community grant and a Social Impact Funding grant received from the state Human Services Department.
A project to upgrade the toilets was completed in 2023, while there will be a ‘Turner of Toilets’ competition – an art sculpture competition for toilet block signage.
Project ‘Dear Yaninee…’ is a chance to collect stories and tales for a future collection, while ‘Hanging our History’ is a display to hang on the main hall walls recording the history of Yaninee.
Project ‘Commemorating the Chrysanthemums’ will mark the Chrysanthemum Show – an annual main event held at the institute in years gone past whilst improving the gardens for the community and for the institute.
Project ‘99 down 1 to go’ was a smaller 99-year celebration and also a chance to assess what was needed to organise the centenary event, while ‘Saluting their Service’ will give the institute’s honour roll a restoration and bring it back to how it would have looked when created in the late 1940s.
It all leads up to the main event – ‘Happy birthday to you’ – with the committee encouraging reunions by families, clubs and expats for the celebration.
The committee has engaged with other local groups – Yaninee Tennis Club, Yaninee Lutheran Church and more broadly with the local Suicide Prevention Network Centrally Connected, Wudinna Lions Club, Second-Hand Rose, Eyre Peninsula car clubs, Black Dog Ride, Country Fire Service, and RSL for their input and assistance to help make the birthday celebrations a catalyst to bring more people together.
Ideas suggested for the weekend include a market, a bush dance with live band, birthday cake cutting ceremony, car club Show and Shine and Black Dog Ride, sports club cow pat lottery and Sunday service at the Lutheran Church.
Upgrades have been a long-time proposition at the Yaninee Institute.
In 2009 the main hall had its guttering and rainwater tanks replaced with the help of a grant from the EP Natural Resource Management Board, but during that time a major electrical fault was discovered in the supper room.
Jaelene said thousands were spent to try to fix the issue over several years with no luck, leading the committee to decide to “start from scratch”.
That led to work on removing the ceiling and rewiring the supper room.
When the ceiling was removed two new issues were discovered – the roof was rusting through and had to be replaced, while the main hall’s electrics were dangerous and speaker wire was being used to power the suspended lights.
Through donations from Wudinna Lions Club, Second Hand Rose and Yaninee Sports Club the supper room was upgraded, while an Eyre Peninsula Community Foundation grant ensured rewiring in the main hall was completed in 2022.
A $5000 grant from SA Power Networks in 2023 allowed for an upgrade of the oven and fridge, as well as getting a barbecue.
The committee is hard at work raising money so it can complete all the proposed projects – including a meat raffle last December netting $950, with more planned this year.
It is all part of a strong community spirit that is encapsulated in a building which has stood the test of time for almost a century.
