Kapuni War Memorial Hall (1956)

The opening of the Kapuni War Memorial Hall on 16 June 1956 was the culmination of ten years of planning and fundraising. 

At a meeting on 6 May 1946, the Kapuni School Committee was asked to take the lead in raising funds for a memorial hall. By 1950, £1,600 had been raised, but plans drawn up for the hall indicated that considerably more money would be required. A Queen's Carnival (won by Miss Shirley Martin) that same year raised approximately £7,000, providing a huge boost to the memorial hall fund. 

On 29 July 1954 the Taranaki Daily News reported that amended plans (drawn by Graeme Laurenson & Associates of Hāwera) had finally been approved by the Department of Internal Affairs, a requirement for the £ for £ subsidy provided by the Government. In September 1954 tenders were called and on 1 November 1954, it was announced that the tender from Sole Bros. of Warea had been accepted. 

Construction began in January 1955 on the Joll Dairy Company's old factory site on Manaia Road. The Taranaki Daily News noted in the April 1956 that the hall was nearly complete and that it was hoped to be "finished by the end of next month". 

Finally, on the evening of 16 June, the Minister of Lands, Mr E.B. Corbett, officially opened the hall. The following day the hall was dedicated and the Roll of Honour was unveiled by the president of the Manaia RSA. On Thursday 21 June the Grand Opening Ball was held with music provided by the Ambassadors 6-piece band.

Related items:

Kapuni Memorial Hall Souvenir Programme: Page 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Plan approved for Kapuni War Mmemorial Hall (Taranaki Daily News 11 March 1953)

Misunderstandings about Kapuni War Memorial Raised (Taranaki Daily News 14 May 1953)

Kapuni Hall May be Built by Next Winter (Taranaki Daily News 10 September 1953)

Tenders to be Called Again For Kapuni Hall (Taranaki Daily News 23 April 1954)

Kapuni Hall Opening Advertisement (Taranaki Daily News 16 June 1956)