On the picturesque shores of the New South Wales Central Coast lies Spencer, a small village positioned at the junction of the Hawkesbury River and Mangrove Creek. Alongside a general store now called the Anchor, a Thai restaurant and a small museum, in the heart of the community - both physically and metaphorically - stands the Spencer Community Hall, a vital part of the village’s social structure.
The hall hosts a range of community and social events, from BBQs to meetings, dances with local bands, community information days and just recently wakes. More importantly, in times of crisis the Spencer Community Hall is there as a safe haven for those who have nowhere else to go as well as being a meeting point for the residents to be informed, or receive advise or help during extreme weather events.
Having survived the bushfires in December 2019 and four floods since February 2020 alone, the building was starting to display signs of wear. When local pest controller Paul de Haan of Central Pest Control learned of BASF’s Termidor® Trust Fund, he could think of no better beneficiary.
“To celebrate 20 years of Termidor® leading the way in Australian termite treatments, we established a platform called Termidor® Trust Fund, where pest controllers were invited to submit entries and nominate a community deserving of a termite treatment,” explains Andrew Glenn, National Key Account Manager with BASF Pest Control. He continues, “When we read Paul’s application, we were able to understand just how important the Spencer Community Hall is to the local populace and were delighted to be selected as one of the deserving winners of the $4,000 prize."
Prone to mould caused by poor ventilation, it was feared that the structure, which was initially built in the 80s, might be suffering from significant termite damage. Upon inspecting the building, Paul and his team found a termite mound that fortunately hadn't been disturbed. The mound and building were subsequently treated with Termidor® SC termiticide to provide termite protection for many years to come.
Following the successful treatment, the Spencer Community Hall is now ready to host the many local events Robyn is hoping to continue seeing in 2023 and beyond. “After what we had with bushfires, COVID and floods, a lot of things have changed, but we are a very resilient community living in an isolated region always helping and looking out for each other. Hopefully 2023 will be a ‘weather event free’ year for us all.
“We were overjoyed when the Spencer Community Hall was announced as one of the winners and very grateful to Paul de Haan for sending the entry on our behalf. We would like to thank Termidor® for providing this opportunity to have this treatment done; there is no way we could have afforded it. This way, we can safeguard the hall and the heart of our community life for many years to come.”
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