No strings attached as
Council bands together

By DANIEL CLARKE
10/06/26​

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Kangaroo Island Council has voted unanimously to host a popular twice-weekly youth music program inside the underused Kingscote Town Hall.

 

The sponsorship agreement with community service provider Junction means Council will waive over $15,000 in hire fees to accommodate the young musicians for at least the next 12 months.

 

There were fears the three-year-old Youth Music Program would be forced to cancel if it could not find a suitable new home after Junction decided not to renew a lease on its Telegraph Road premises last month.

 

KI Youth Band Program director Tristan Simon and Junction’s Community Development Officer Maree Baldwin presented their case for the Hall’s use at yesterday’s Council meeting, supported by three local teenage musicians.

 

“Standing here in this very building is a stage that has huge potential,” Simon told the sitting Councillors.

 

“This proposal is an opportunity for it be used, cared for, and utilised twice a week, every week. This would be a strong foundation for community-based performing arts and a healthy addition to the live entertainment scene on Kangaroo Island, all on Council’s doorstep. 

 

“I truly believe the Town Hall can be the level up these committed young people deserve.”

 

Simon said that on top of the Monday and Wednesday after-school timeslots for the program, the Hall would also host live music performances for the public. He said he trusted the 15 enrolled young musicians “and I know they are capable of great things”. 

 

“Council’s support would not only benefit young people in their creative pursuits but also activate an underutilised community asset through regular, professionally facilitated programming,” he said.

 

“This is not simply a request for a room, or a stage. It is an opportunity to form a partnership that invests in young people and contributes to the cultural life of Kangaroo Island for years to come. 

 

“Opportunities will also ripple out to the wider community. Seasonal performances, volunteer roles and the ability to host and collaborate with touring artists. 

 

“The Town Hall has the potential to become much more than a venue for hire. It can be Kangaroo Island’s centre stage.” 

 

Council agreed broadly with Simon’s sentiments, commenting that the music program was important for many of the island’s young people who weren’t involved with sport. It voted in favour of the proposal on the proviso that the agreement be reviewed in 12 months time. 

 

“We’re often seen not to do enough for youth and I think this is an expression of the fact we do in fact do things if we can and if we’re asked,” Mayor Michael Pengilly said.

 

“If we can get the kids away from looking at phones and doing something interesting a couple of nights of the week that gives them a chance to get together and bang around, I think it’s good for them and I hope they appreciate it. It shows that we’re not a mob of old fuddy-duddies. 

 

“It is good for the Hall because it doesn’t get anywhere near the use that it used to get but times have changed. I’m pleased to see it being used because it’s a historic old building.”

 

The members of three-piece band East Coast Pioneers who attended the meeting said the new venue would be “a great change to our environment”.

 

“I really love the program, it has supported us for what we love to do. We wouldn’t be here right now without it,” Harmony Mauheni, 17, said.

 

“It will be great to practice and perform here to spread our love, to share who we are and to enjoy what we love. And hopefully everyone else will understand what we’re trying to do.”

 

Hunter O’Brien, 16, paid tribute to the influence of Simon on all the musicians in the program. 

 

“Without Tristan there is nothing,” Hunter said. “I think Tristan is responsible for everything – he is the reason we are doing what we’re doing.”

 

The Youth Music Program is funded through the Kangaroo Island Our Town initiative, enabling free access for all participants regardless of financial circumstances. Junction currently contributes significant in-kind support including all music equipment, insurance coverage and transport for young people from Parndana and Penneshaw. 

 

Junction’s services will now be spread across four different locations in Kingscote, with its service delivery operated out of 13 Osmond Street, its socially connected programs and after school youth hangout at Carnarvon House, and its student community volunteering and Thursday lunch time check-ins at Kingscote Campus. 

 

It is hoped that the services can be reunited in future with the building of a central community centre and garden.