Australia Hall, the Pembroke building embroiled in political controversy, was in the news for a totally different reason last week as Europe marked the centenary of the start of World War I.

As war raged in the trenches, with an estimated 17 million soldiers and civilians killed worldwide by the end of it, the Allies in Malta were busy setting up hospitals and camps to treat wounded combatants.

But while the click of a button may be all that it takes to try and distract people from pain and suffering today, entertainment was scarce 100 years ago.

So, in 1915, the Australian branch of the British Red Cross collected enough funds to build the hall in Pembroke, a recreation centre and theatre that stood as a monument to the wounded Anzac troops that were nursed in Malta.

The BBC World Service has been exploring different aspects of the Great War in a series of special programmes and one of them dealt with Malta’s role as the Nurse of the Mediterranean – with Australia Hall getting a substantial mention. It made a change from the recent headlines featuring the now dilapidated hall, owned by the Labour party, in the centre of a dispute between the government and Opposition.

The chairman of cultural heritage NGO Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, Mario Farrugia, told Times of Malta: “This large hall could cater for about 2,000 men, and stage productions, bingo, dances and other entertainment were held.

“A library and reading room were later included and it was the building where the Navy, Army and Air Force Institute (NAAFI) was first established in 1921.

“About this time, a projection room was added for the hall to double as a cinema.”