Right in the centre of town is Rawson Hall. Constructed of Norfolk pine in 1947, it was for many years known as the ‘new’ Rawson Hall; the original Rawson Hall being located at the Longridge convict settlement, built of stone and used to store wool during the second settlement. Probably simply referred to  as the ‘wool store’ by the convicts, the building was renamed Rawson Hall after Harry Rawson, Governor of NSW; the same Governor that evicted the Pitcairners from their homes in Quality Row when they refused to sign crown lease agreements. Rawson Hall was used by the islanders for many years and remained for a period after the building of the airstrip, however when realigning the runway and the potential danger to aircraft by the location of ‘old’ Rawson Hall, the building was demolished  with stone from the site was available for purchase by the islanders.

 The new Rawson Hall could not have been built of anything but solid Norfolk pine. The Administrator at the time, Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal KCB, CMG, DSO, VD (1875 –1954) being very keen to see renovations to the hospital and the construction of a large community hall in case of an air disaster. (One could wonder whether his enthusiasm for response preparedness  was due to his military background and his familiarity with the horrors of war. To this day, Rawson Hall thankfully hasn’t been needed for that purpose but it has been used for just about everything else. This is where the community holds its larger events including sports, cinema, public meetings, weddings, the annual Bounty Ball and as a polling station for the island’s elections.