Maitland City Hall of Fame set for permanent display at Maitland Park Rotunda

In a move designed to make use of the rotunda for the community, Maitland City Council will utilise the floor to display the inductees of the Maitland City Hall of Fame.

At a Maitland City Council meeting on Tuesday, June 27 the council approved a plan to engrave the names into the rotunda's octagonal-shaped floor.

The move comes after the rotunda was refurbished in 2020 including new paint work and repairs to the roof.

The council has been investigating ways in which the structure can be best utilised for the public.

Councillor Sally Halliday said this was a great way to make use of the rotunda after years of deterioration.

"It actually serves two purposes, one it supports the rotunda and enables it to be re-utilised," she said. "It also gives us the hall of fame for people to go and have a peak and actually have a look at some of our very, very, very famous people that we have."

The hall of fame opened in 2016 and was the brain child of former Maitland councillor Brian Burke, a plan he instigated during his first term on the council in 1999.

Mr Burke likes the idea of the permanent display but said the idea should be taken further.

The Maitland Pickers legend said the creation of a museum to house the hall of fame could attract visitors to the city in the same way the Sporting Hall of Fame operates in Wagga Wagga.

"When I came here there was about 12 thousand people, now we've got about 100 thousand," he said.

"There's no other city that doesn't have not only an acknowledgement but doesn't have a home for some of the history.

"People wouldn't have heard of the Flying Gollans, these equestrian acrobats that travelled all over Australia.

"You've got all the great players and all the great businesses like Ian Cameron, there's so much out there."

The hall of fame has 48 members and is displayed on the council's website featuring a short biography and photo.

Local heroes including Athel D'Ombrain, Ruth Cracknell, Cheryl Kernot, Garry Barton and Ken Tubman were inaugural inductees in 2016.

The hall of fame allows for a maximum of five inductees every two years and celebrates outstanding achievement in the arts, business, military service, education, science and sport.

The rotunda was built in 1908 and has been used as a band stand, a fernery and a fishpond.

The display will also include a sign containing a QR code linking to the online hall of fame.

"Maitland Park can be accessed at all hours, it's not in some council building locked away somewhere that you can only access Monday to Friday, you can go there anytime," Councillor Mike Yarrington said.

"Having the QR codes so you can call up who these people were and what they've done to enter the hall of fame - it's a great idea, I like it."

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