History
Fundraising had begun in 1943, while the world was still at war. A committee was formed in Te Puke to erect a war memorial hall which would include a room for the Returned Services Association.
A hall was decided on because:
1/ it would be a tangible memorial to the South African, 1914-1918 and present war.
2/ a district hall had long been required.
3/ it would foster and maintain that ‘desirable comradeship through the services and to stimulate a healthy social life which has been made war weary’.
The committee chairman was John A (Jack) Pattie; W O Knight was secretary, and C H Montgomery, treasurer. The committee was: A J Collins, Jonathan Brown, Thomas E Palmer, C H Whitehead, L W Milsom, H J Thomas, J H Evans, A Snodgrass, A Forrester, T O’Callaghan, A E Stratton, T Thompson, M Clark, B E Twigg, W A Bennett (Jnr), M A Wilkins, A Rogers, W H Seal, J M Hodges, A V Bayliss, J Frost, K Tapsell, J Horne, D M Steel, S W Gunton, B Hosking, A C Wright, J I Vercoe, G Barrow, H F Wickham, D Wickham, J C Hammond, and B Robertson.
Fundraising began immediately with a baby contest with votes at one shilling each. The chosen babies (obviously born without the help of a mother) were:
West – Janet Ronald – daughter of Robert A (Roy) Ronald
East – Glynnis Mirriam Baker, daughter of Phillip Baker
Maori – Andy August Clark, adopted son of Moses Clark.
Central – bonny, chubby John Veitch, son of David Veitch
After twelve years of solid committee work and fundraising the foundation stone for the Te Puke War Memorial Hall was laid on 2 June 1953, Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation Day.
Fundraising continued and in 1955 another Queen Carnival was held. The Queens and their teams were:
Blue Queen, Miss Anne Malcolm, representing the Sports and the Maori people. (Chairman Mr E J Bowen. Maids of Honour – Misses Jocelyn Young, Lindsay Collins, Mary Martelletti and Rangi Richmond. Flower Girls – Mary Alice Gemming and Robin Freeman.)
White Queen, Miss Barbara Ross, representing the eastern side of Kaituna. (Chairman Mr O E Webber. Maids of Honour – Misses Maureen Oxenham, Patricia Evans, Betty McKenzie and Mara Anderson. Flower Girls – Sheryl Marsh and Judith Martin.)
Red Queen, Miss Nancy Robertson, representing the western side of Kaituna. (Chairman Mr P N Verschaffelt. Maids of Honour – Misses Jessie Mark, Angela Strachan, Gail Butler and Judith Hopkins. Flower Girls – Pamela Hayes and Christine Godinagh.)
The War Memorial Hall, including the RSA Lounge and public restrooms was officially opened on the 9 March 1955. The first function held in the hall was the crowning of the Queen – around 1500 people crammed the hall and the streets outside awaiting the results. The Blue Queen, Anne Malcolm won, and £15,308 had been raised. For eight weeks each Queen and her team had fundraised frantically, and the functions always attract much hilarity and good-natured rivalry.
The hall and adjoining RSA Lounge had cost £35,000 of which over half had been raised by appeals and organised efforts of the town and district people. The balance was received by way of Government subsidy of £1 for £1. The Labour Government of the time had introduced a policy that unlike other wars, memorials constructed to commemorate the Second World War would be utilitarian buildings, not statues, cenotaphs or arches. What’s more they would be community centres rather than sports or other facilities. The public response was enthusiastic, partially because of the government subsidy, and over 700 applications were received for funding from all over New Zealand.
The hall had been built on the site of the original Mission Hall, which had been moved to become the Methodist Church. Land beside the hall had been given to the building fund by Mr and Mrs W E Singleton and the Homewood Trust donated £1000 to complete and equip the RSA Lounge.
The hall was used for the ANZAC Day for the first time on the 25 April 1955. The parade was assembled by Clive Hulme VC, and about one 100 returned servicemen assembled wearing their medals, and followed the Te Puke Pipe Band into the hall. They were followed by St John Ambulance Brigade junior members in uniforms, cadets and nursing division, then pupils of Te Puke High School in their new winter uniforms of maroon and grey. The one surviving South African Veteran, Mr Harold Cuff carried the Boer War wreath.
That evening the Annual RSA Debutante Ball was held in the hall and 28 young women “…superbly attired, promenaded the length of the new War Memorial and curtsied before Lieutenant-Colonel K W Fraser.” The girls were Miss Judith Anderson, Miss Yvonne Boyd, Miss Edna Barnett, Miss Gail Butler, Miss Colleen Baird, Miss Lindsay Collins, Miss Maureen Cheetham, Miss Elsie Coleman, Miss Bessie Clark, Miss Merle Foreman, Miss Margaret Fletcher, Miss Maureen Gasson, Miss Lois Gemming, Miss Royce Hintz, Miss Avon Joyce, Miss Janice Jury, Miss Dawn Kensington, Miss Colleen Lang, Miss Anne Malcolm, Miss Rhonda Morgan, Miss Joan Mollier, Miss Greeta Main, Miss Jean McLeod, Miss Colleen Mitchell, Miss Maureen Oxenham, Miss Barbara Robertson, Miss Rangi Richmond and Miss Betsy Shearer.
A wooden carved Roll of Honour was unveiled in the foyer and listed the names of men from the district who gave their lives during the Second World War. A name from the Korean War was later added. On Anzac Day 1963 polished grey granite Rolls of Honour for both world wars were installed on either side of the hall’s main doors.
In 1977 the RSA moved to premises in Oxford Street, and later amalgamated with the Te Puke Citizens Club to become the Te Puke Citizens RSA Club. The Settlers Room opened in the original RSA Lounge.
On 23 March 2003 a ‘Remembrance Courtyard’ was dedicated. This incorporated a cenotaph supporting polished black granite slabs engraved with both the First and Second World War rolls of honour .
In 2012 Ernie Dix and Christine Clement began researching names that had been omitted from the First World War roll of honour. They were instrumental in developing the new ‘Te Puke and District World War One Memorial’ which was unveiled on 25 April 2012. The polished black granite slab is attached to one wall of the memorial hall.
On April 2014 a large poppy, made by Gerbrig and Gerben Mutendam was added to the side of the hall building in time for ANZAC Day. The couple also made numerous smaller poppies which are placed in the garden each ANZAC Day.
In 1995 the Western Bay of Plenty District Council had handed the hall over to a voluntary committee to run and maintain the building. The Memorial Hall was upgraded in 1996 and again in 2009/10.
On 1 July 2017 a nationally consistent system for managing earthquake-prone buildings came into effect. It changed the way earthquake-prone buildings are identified, assessed and managed. Earthquake strengthening of the Te Puke War Memorial Hall began in middle of October 2017. The current War Memorial Committee have raised well over $250,000 towards improvements to the hall to take it into its next sixty years.
Sources: ‘Foundation Stone Laid for Memorial Hall’, Te Puke Times, 5/6/1953, p. 2; ‘Minister Opens Te Puke War Memorial Hall’, Bay of Plenty Times, 9/3/1955, p. 3; ‘AVision Has Become a Reality’, Te Puke Times, 11/3/1955, p. 2; Selwyn G. Taylor, The Story of Te Puke, Te Puke, 1969, pp. 232; Te Puke: Nga Tangata Me Nga Wahi, People and Places, ed. Christine Clement, Lynne Robertson, Maree Lewis, Te Puke, 2007, pp. 189-90, 260-1, 273-4, 278-9; Christine Clement, ‘Finishing the History’, NZ Genealogist, vol. 44, no. 340, April 2013, p. 86; Christine Clement, Te Puke and District World War One Memorial, Te Puke, 2013.