Over the past 20 years, while traversing WA’s once-thriving agricultural region, photographer Brad Rimmer noticed how many of its small halls had disappeared. In their heyday, these buildings were vital social hubs for isolated farming communities; places to gather, celebrate and mourn. In 1954, Rimmer’s parents had their first dance and fell in love in one of these halls.‘Today most of these towns have either disappeared or become desperately depleted of youth and opportunity,’ Rimmer says. Of the halls that survived, ‘few are still used for their original intent. Some have been repurposed, others abandoned and left as decaying monuments of a colonial past’Brad Rimmer: Loom of the Land is at Fremantle Arts Centre until 19 April as part of Perth festivalAustralia’s best photos of the month – February 2026 Continue reading...
Brad Rimmer photographs the faded glory of Western Australia’s wheatbelt halls – in pictures
