The picturesque Hunga Hunga Hall. Photo / Steve Edwards
A once thriving community hub in the Waikato, which fell into disrepair, has been re-born as a function centre.
The former Hunga Hunga Hall is the centrepiece of what is now Rosebrooke Hall and Gardens, between Matamata and Te Aroha.
It began life at a Hunga Hunga Women’s Division of Federated Farmers’ meeting in October 1954, with land gifted by local resident Neil Hight.
Matamata resident Val Williams (nee Thomas) has family ties in Hunga Hunga stretching back to the 1930s.
Her father, the late Jack Thomas, donated timber for the tongue and groove matai wall panels from his run-off at nearby Waihou.
In the days before treated pine, native timber was used throughout, with records showing the floor was intended to be “level enough for indoor bowls and springy enough for social dancing”.
Now resident in Matamata, Williams remembers that a core group of community residents – including her father – plus local contractors, progressed the construction work.
Building materials were donated, along with a hot water heater, plus glasses and cups for the hall kitchen.
The Women’s Division of Federated Farmers chipped in with £20 for stage curtains which remain in the building to this day.
Financial donations also flooded in, with every household in the district canvassed.
The hall was built in just a year and officially opened by Waikato MP Geoff Sim on November 2, 1955.
The Matamata County Mail reported that all the residents – young and old – were there, all with a keen note of excitement and a feeling of having shown the world what good fellowship, determination, generosity and hard work can do.
Sim said in the article that the hall was a magnificent example of the versatility of the workers and the unity of spirit in the district.
Williams was 13 at the time of the opening, which concluded with a community dance.
She said the hall became the centre of activities in Hunga Hunga, hosting Women’s Division of Federated Farmers meetings, indoor bowls, table tennis, Sunday School and a monthly church service, plus regular functions including school concerts, 21sts, welcome-ins, farewells and an annual cabaret.
Williams was involved with the Women’s Division of Federated Farmers and table tennis club, while her late husband Brian served on the hall society which oversaw the running of the community facility.
The hall ran in tandem with nearby Hunga Hunga Primary School, which served the small rural district from 1923 to 1984.
The school and district jubilee church service of 1973 was held in Hunga Hunga Hall.
With increasing costs and a declining local population, the hall closed in 1997 and remained empty until it was brought back to life by Eugene and Joanna O’Reilly who purchased the property in 2014.
The following year it became The Hall wedding venue and changed hands again in 2021 when it was acquired by Kristin and Evan Williams.
Kristin Williams died in December of that year, with her funeral held in the hall.
Her family developed the Alexandra Rd property into a function centre, and Rosebrooke Hall and Gardens was launched in 2023.
Kristin Williams’ sister, Alice Capper-Starr, became marketing and sales manager and says the “rustic” state of the property has been transformed into its new “loved and cared for” presentation.
“It is a special venue for special occasions,” Alice said.
Brian Williams passed away in 2023, with Val and the family deciding that the former Hunga Hunga Hall was a truly fitting venue for his funeral.
She had not been inside the building since it closed and was “absolutely blown away” by its transformation.
“It basically hasn’t changed from its heyday, but now includes such beautiful gardens.”
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