From formal balls, to silent movies, to farewell functions for soldiers serving overseas, to modern fashion shows, the Waihou Hall has been the hub of community events for 100 years.

Image from the past – the billboard marking the Waihou Hall’s centenary has a distinctively historical flavour.

The grand old lady of Waihou marked her 100th ‘birthday’ on June 15, with more than 160 people with close links to its past attending the celebration.

The hall in the small rural settlement near Te Aroha was built in 1914 and during the following 10 decades has been at the heart of the community.

Ernie Bygrave, chairman of the centennial committee and chairman of the hall committee from 1990 to 2007, says guests came to the celebrations from Perth and throughout New Zealand and most of the district’s early families were represented.

Ernie says it was appropriate the celebrations began with a service at the church because the church and hall are closely linked, with many weddings held at the church followed by a reception in the hall.

Ball
In fact it was a ball at the hall in 1926 that helped raise funds to move the church building from Te Aroha to its current location.

The hall was built for 230 pounds and on July 1, 1914, the Morrinsville Sutherlands Orchestra played while guests danced the night away at the first ball held in the Waihou Hall.

Initially the hall was lacking a ceiling and dancers were often distracted by flying insects, much to the disgust of the ladies, say early reports of the hall’s history.

Ernie says the hall was always used for school functions, as the school didn’t have a hall.

“Many young women celebrated their 21st birthdays in the hall, but not many young men did, as nearly all where serving overseas during World War I.”

Kitchen evenings were held for those to be married, and corn beef sandwiches and large slab cakes with pink and white icing were served for supper.

During World War II, enlisted men from the district were farewelled at functions in the hall and each was presented with a watch by the hall committee.

Those who returned were given a rousing welcome home at the same venue and presented with a wallet. Those who didn’t return are named on plaques in the church across the road.

Silent movies
In the 1940s silent movies were screened in the hall – and during more recent years the hall is a venue for indoor sports including bowls, badminton, table tennis, gymnastics and martial arts.

The Piako Brass Band use the hall for practices and since 1929 the Te Aroha Waihou Women’s Division, now the Te Aroha-Waihou Branch of Rural Women, has met at the hall. The hall has hosted the Te Aroha Country Music Club, housie evenings, antiques road shows, the Orphans Club, rugby functions and square dancing.

To raise funds to re-roof the hall, the highly successful Stretton at Waihou fashion and design creations shows, sponsored by designer Anna Stretton, were held for four years from 2009.

The hall is not the first in the district. The original hall was built in 1880 by the Waihou Hall Company for 135 pounds, raised largely from one pound share certificates purchased by local settlers.

The hall wasn’t used until every nail was paid for, and was constructed on land donated for the purpose by Campbell Bros, the company which surveyed the township of Waihou. Reports say 500 people attended the opening of the hall.

The hall doubled as a school and was central to nearly all community events in the district. At the time Te Aroha was a very small village and Waihou was the hub of the district.

Descendants of early settlers were among those who attended the 100th anniversary of the Waihou Hall. Photo by Clarrie Jensen Morrinsiville.