A community hall that has served as Te Puna's focal point for 94 years was given a final farewell on Saturday by those who had loved it the most.
A community hall that has served as Te Puna's focal point for 94 years was given a final farewell on Saturday by those who had loved it the most.
More than 60 people with close links to the district's Memorial Hall swapped stories over a cup of tea before the keys were handed to the New Zealand Transport Agency.
George Butler and John Butt had the solemn task of taking down the plaques that listed the names of the Te Puna men who served and died in World War I and World War II.
''It was a big moment in the afternoon, it was a poignant time,'' life-long resident Beth Bowden said.
The hall is being demolished to make way for the agency's intersection upgrade, with a new hall planned to be built in the neighbouring paddock.
Te Puna's hazardous main intersection and the community hall which stands in the way of the construction of a new roundabout. Photo/file
Ms Bowden said the get-together was the culmination of tracking down past committee members, with numbers boosted by people like Karena Borell-Shea whose grandfather James was one of the lucky ones who returned from World War I.
Tommy Kuka spoke about the impact on Te Puna of those who never came home, saying they would have made fine fathers, farmers and lawyers.
Ms Bowden said it reminded everyone about the decision made in Te Puna's schoolroom in 1920 to start fundraising for a hall.
''We are all sad to see the old hall go. There were a lot of happy memories.''
People talked about the weddings, birthdays, community dances and sometimes fiery meetings that had been held in the hall, together with the ''grand tradition'' of fancy dress parties for Te Puna children that Ms Bowden vividly remembered.
The reminiscing took place once the official part of the last committee meeting had finished and a classic country afternoon tea was laid out by the ladies of the committee.
She said there was also a lot of excitement about the planned new hall that the agency would fund on a like-for-like basis, leaving some fundraising to secure a slightly bigger hall that would be future-proofed to take the community into the 22nd century.
Saturday's function followed the last big community celebration held on August 12 when about 175 people gathered to tell their stories about the district in the familiar surroundings of the hall. ''It went very, very well, People came and went. It ran through the afternoon and into the evening,'' Ms Bowden said.
A video of Te Puna Talks has been made, with out-takes ready to be loaded on to the Facebook page. Transcripts of what people said, together with the video, out-takes and sound file would be stored in the new hall's archive room.
Te Puna's Memorial Hall - Fundraising started 1920 - Opened 1922 - Key handed over to NZ Transport Agency today [Sept 19]
