Brother Maxwell Lloyd (Zone Overseer) told this story about the Kingdom Hall in Cook Town, Northern Australia at morning worship in Bethel:
There is a small congregation in Cook Town which needed a Kingdom Hall. But financing the hall was a problem. The towns council arranged for a plot of land, but where would they get the needed materials for the construction?
During the same time a new hospital was build in Cook Town to replace an old one that originated from 1879. The brothers contacted the contractor to find out under which terms they might obtain the lumber of the old building to use it for the Kingdom Hall. They told him they had no money, but the contractor insisted that they had to pay at least something. Finally they agreed on a price of two cases of beer which fact got wide publicity in the press!
When the brothers started preparations to tear the building down a new law became effective that forbade the tearing down of buildings considered historic. And this also applied to the old hospital. Now the brothers had a building at one site and a plot of land at another.
A neighbour congregation (200 or 300 km south of Cook Town) came to their aid. They came with a vehicle equipped to move buildings and succeeded to move the building to the plot of land the brothers own. In the meantime the hospital has been converted into a fine Kingdom Hall.
Many tourists visit the area and enjoy seeing historic sites. The Kingdom Hall has thus become one of the most popular spots in town. Some people even sell postcards and t-shirts with pictures of the Kingdom Hall. A while ago the branch office in Australia received a letter from brothers in England. They wrote that they met in service people who had recently visited Australia. Those people invited them in to show them a postcard of the Kingdom Hall in Cook Town that they had brought from their trip. Because of the nice conversation that ensued the brothers could start a Bible study and wrote the letter to thank the brothers in Cook Town for that.
The old hospital is a three story building. The Kingdom Hall is located on the first floor. On the second floor the original pattern of rooms has been kept. These rooms now serve the brothers very well. The hall is also used by a congregation of Aborigines. Many of them have to walk more than 10 km to get to the meetings. For this reason all 5 meetings are held on the weekends and the brothers can use the rooms of the second floor to stay over night.
