Dick Annear joined the Communist Party of Australia in Oct 1939 at the age of 19.

Douglas Annand was born in Toowoomba, Queensland in 1903 and died Sydney 1976. He was a painter, muralist, illustrator and graphic designer. In 1932 he won a poster competition to celebrate the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He was awarded the Sulman Prize for murals in 1941, 1947 and 1951. During World War II, he travelled Australia as part of a camouflage unit and recorded what he saw in watercolours and pen drawings. He is best remembered for his many mural commissions.

The hall was located next to one of the oldest churches in Brisbane, the Ann Street Presbyterian Church, which was originally built in 1858 and reconstructed in 1872 following a fire. The hall was built in 1936 on the site of the former manse. It was designed by architect DFW Roberts in a style intended to blend with the 1872 church. The hall was demolished circa 2010 for construction of the 145 Ann Street commercial tower.