Who doesn’t love a country hall?
This photograph, featured in the South Canterbury Museum’s new Live ‘n Loud exhibition, is of band Jed Zephyr, taken for publicity purposes by a Timaru Herald photographer in 1988.
Band members were Peter Heveldt, Rob Seeler, Steve Deans, Alice Sollis and Paul Hanifin. Like several local bands, there were occasional changes, with the band breaking into other bands by 1990.
There was no shortage of venues for bands to play in during the 1980s, with many pubs wanting live music, along with nightclubs such as the Old Mill and Staffords providing later night venues.
Nearly all of the popular public venues where Jed Zephyr and other bands played are now closed.
These include the two nightclubs mentioned, and pubs such as the Hydro Grand, the Terminus and the Lion Tavern in Gleniti.
The establishment of a settlement at Woodbury was well under way by 1880, most of the farmland around the area had been taken up and was being developed.
The population of the district was greater than it is today and the needs of the growing community needed to be acted upon.
There is no record of the election of the first Domain Board but minutes show its first meeting was on March 2, 1880, at the Woodbury Hotel.
At this meeting it was proposed that a generous amount of land be set aside to be used as an education reserve and recreational area for the community.
In total, 55 hectares of unfenced, treeless tussock land was earmarked for the project. To raise money for development, much of the land was leased out, with some of it planted in trees.
During the following years, the board judiciously used the income from rents to carry out planned improvements and help with ongoing maintenance. Although this was a slow process, in the long run it has proved a sustainable one and in recent years the board has had sufficient income from these farm rentals and the sale of matured timber to carry out the necessary work renewing fences, piping a water supply, replanting trees and upgrading its buildings as well as its sports facilities.
The charming tin-clad Woodbury Hall we see today was built as a Coronation Library Hall in 1911.
Trees were felled and the timber cut for use in building the hall with the surplus wood being sold.
The official opening was on December 14 the same year. One of the first major items bought was a grand piano, which lasted until it was replaced with a more robust upright piano in 1963.
This rustic country hall has been enjoyed by many users and has had many additions approved and instigated by the board as ongoing improvements over the years. Power and lighting were installed in 1925 and a ball was held to celebrate the switching on of the electricity.
It remains well-used by the local community and is available to be hired out for functions.
- Karen Rolleston