Memory boxes
The Te Rore Hall Association Incorporated Society was registered on June 22, 1934. Aubrey Butterworth, a local farmer and association secretary, lodged the declaration of incorporation, a copy of which can be found online.
The objectives of the association were to lease or purchase a block of land on which a hall could be erected. Said hall was to be ‘‘suitable for religious services, entertainments, dances, meetings and other functions’’. Membership was to be via a nomination and election process that was carefully described in the society’s rules. At a general meeting, the election of a member could be declined by two black balls in the ballot, whereas at a committee meeting just one black ball was required.
Membership was divided into two classes: senior for those over 21 and junior for those aged 15-21. Junior members could speak but not vote at meetings and were not eligible to be elected as officersThe subscription was 2/6 per annum, regardless of membership class. Of the 16 members who signed the declaration, only two were not farmers – Flora Godfrey, who gave her occupation as ‘‘domestic duties’’, and Eric Guest, the local schoolmaster. In December 1939, Guest was farewelled from Te Rore when he left the district to enter the Narrow Neck Non-Commissioned Officers’ camp in Auckland.
The hall association updated the World War II memorial across the road from the hall earlier this year. This involved the removal of the ornamental block fence, although the gate itself was included in the new entry. The Te Rore War Memorial Rose Garden was opened in July 1946 with an individual rose bed for each of the eight local men who died in the war. At the centre of the garden, an obelisk was erected; it remains, whereas the roses are long gone.
Inside the hall are three rolls of honour, including one dedicated to the war dead of World War I. The hall was in existence by April 1935, when the Te Rore Croquet Club evidently held a successful fancy dress and masquerade ball in the venue. Clayton’s Regal Orchestra provided the music on the night and the most original costume prize went to MP Mantle and Miss R Anderson, who were dressed as ‘‘Mickie and Minnie Mouse’’.
New aluminium windows have been installed in the hall in recent years, but it retains its simplified California Bungalow styling. A landmark on the road between Nga¯ hinapouri and Pirongia, the hall originally bookended the war memorial with the Te Rore School. The school (est.1880) closed in 1986.
The Bohemian Association of New Zealand has posted photographs on its website of a 1984 gathering in the hall, connecting its history to that of the German Bohemians who settled at O¯ haupo¯ in the mid-1860s. Anyone who learnt ballet will also enjoy the photos for the memories they evoke of the skirts trimmed with rickrack worn for character dances. Presumably the members of the Te Rore Table Tennis Club wear slightly less decorative attire when they meet in the hall on Monday evenings.