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PAPANUI’S
TOWN
HALLS
1881—1978
and
LIBRARIES
“First” Town Hall—from “SAIL’S LAND sale of freehold sections, December 1880”
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Papanui Town Hall.
The first Papanui Town hall was a wooden structure built
in1880 on the corner of what is now Bellvue Avenue and Papanui
Road.
The opening took place on New Year‟s Day, 1881, in conjunc-
tion with a Sports Meeting held on the Cricket Ground (now St.
James Park.) to raise funds. This was followed by „tea‟ provided in
the old school room (St. Paul‟s) between 5 and 7pm.
The “Grand Dramatic Entertainment” started in the hall at 8pm.
The programme as printed in the Press, 31 December 1880, is on
page 4.
A description of the building was given in the Press on the 30th
December 1880: - “The hall, with which it may be stated is also
combined two very handsome shops, with living rooms, &c, per-
fectly disconnected (though under the same roof) from the hall,
fronts on the North road, and has a very pretty elevation, being 33 ft.
from base to parapet. Taking the hall proper first, entrance is gained
by a pair of doors leading into a passage 8ft. 6in. wide and 27ft.
long. On the right hand side is a ladies‟ cloak room 7ft. 6in. by 11ft.,
and on the left the stairs by which access is gained to the gallery. At
the end of the entrance passage is the door to the hall proper, which
will be half glass, frosted, having a ticket office on the left hand side.
The gallery itself is 33ft. by 9ft., and the height from the floor of the
hall to the top of the balcony rail is 13ft. It is supported by iron pil-
lars, and the floor is raised in three steps. The front is ornamented
with circles having scarlet cloth under. The hall itself is 60ft. by
32ft. in the clear, the height being 22ft. 6in. from the floor to ceiling.
The ceiling is curved, and has two ventilating trunks running through
from front to back, with ornamental apertures the length of the hall.
The ceiling is supported by bold pilasters, relieved above by a heavy
cornice. The room is lighted by a very pretty sunlight with enam-
elled surface, the colours being lavender and white, and on each side
of the sunlight are ornamental flower centres; a dado stained and var-
nished 4ft. high runs round the room. The stage, which is at the
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south end of the hall, is 4ft. high from the floor of the building,
20ft. 6in. deep, and 32ft. wide. It is well fitted with scenery, &c,
has patent float footlights, and generally has been carefully
planned. On the eastern side are two entrances, one with double
doors, being the entrance to the stalls, and also communicating
with the stage, by means of a small staircase. The other leads into
the supper room at the back, which is 36 x 14 and 13ft. high in the
clear. At this entrance is also a small ante-room. On the western
side is another entrance communicating by a side door with the
hall, and also leading by a 4ft. passage into the supper room. On
the stage are two commodious dressing-rooms. The proscenium
front is plastered, and is 16ft. 6in. wide and 12ft. high. The light-
ing on the stage, exclusive of the floodlights is by two rows of
border lights, and the whole of the gas arrangements of the build-
ing, exclusive of the shops, are controlled by taps in the prompt
entrance. The shops in the front are each 14 x 17 and 13ft. high.
At the back of each is a kitchen 10ft. 6in. x 12ft. 6in., with stair-
cases communicating with the upper floor, on which there are a
parlour and two bedrooms attached to each shop. The parlors are
14 x 17 each, and the bedrooms nice handy-sized rooms. The
ventilating arrangements throughout are very complete, as, in ad-
dition to the ventilating trunks already spoken of, there are side-
wall ventilators all round the building. Taken as a whole, the
building is a credit to the district, and the work has been carried
out in a thoroughly substantial manner. It may be noted here that
it is plastered throughout.
The architect is Mr AW. Simpson, the contractor being Mr
Jamieson.”
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“The Press” 1st January, 1881 “The Press” 31st December, 1880
“The Press” 31 December, 1880
“The Press” 1 January, 1881
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A newspaper reported on the 9th December 1899:- “At one of
Mr Tanner‟s meetings in the Papanui Town Hall three fat geese
entered the side door, filed past the candidate and his chairman,
wheeled round, and proceeded in the direction of the gallery set
apart for ladies.”
So says the Christchurch Press.
In the early hours of the morning of the 5th October 1900 the
hall was destroyed by fire, along with three neighbouring shops.
The shops were occupied by Lake the boot maker, Hopkins‟
grocery and Roberts the hairdresser and tobacconist.
In an article in the „New Zealand Tablet‟ in December 1881,
the writer states: “The Papanui Town Hall is a structure really
worthy of a town in the Old Country, though its enterprising
shareholders can scarcely as yet have found their investment a
mine of inexhaustible wealth.”
On the 21st May 1883 news papers around the country
reported that the Papanui Town Hall, “built a couple of years ago,
sold for £1075 - not half the cost.”
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This is a transcript of an article from “The Papanui Herald” February 6th, 1968
One of Papanui‟s oldest shops is being demolished this week.
Historic building
to be rebuilt
Jim Taylor‟s Shoe Bar was built
almost 70 years ago of kauri timbers
salvaged from the old Papanui town
hall burnt down at the turn of the cen-
tury.
The town hall was sited where Ford
and MacDougalls Service Station
now is on rhe corner of Papanui Road
and Bellvue Avenue.
The Shoe Bar building was origi-
nally the office for the coal yard be-
longing to the Papanui Trading Com-
pany.
This is now Dales building occu-
pied by Dales the chemists and Don
Smith the draper.
John Roberts, a barber was its next
occupant.
„He used to cut your hair for six-
pence and shave you for threepence,‟
remembered Stan Kruse, a Papanui
resident for 60 years.
Jim Taylor of the Shoe Bar found
that the floor had been packed up in a
circle where the barber had had
walked around the chair for so many
years.
For a few years in the late thirties it
was occupied by Willburgs Cycle
Shop [a picture was shown above]
Charlie Plows, a boot repairer,
moved in.
He was in the shop for 17 years
before Jim Taylor took over in 1950.
He also began as a boot and shoe
repairer. Later he began a complete
footwear retailing service.
Now, after 18years, Jim is moving to
temporary premises down the road
whilst the old shop is rebuilt.
After the fire some of the kauri timber was salvaged and may
have been used in several buildings in the Papanui area. One of
these buildings was an office for the Papanui Trading Company‟s
coal yard. The building lasted some 70 years before being demol-
ished.
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Papanui Memorial Hall.
It wasn‟t until 1923 that Papanui got its sturdy-looking con-
crete Memorial Hall and new library on the corner of Horner
Street and Papanui Road. Prior to this, on the site there had been
a blacksmith for many years; the original building being the old
St. Paul‟s property that William Horner had purchased and shifted
across the road. It had seen a number of occupants over the years.
The Hall was built by the Papanui community in memory of
the men from the district who lost their lives in the 1914 - 1918
War. This was before Papanui amalgamated with the City, and in
order to raise the necessary funds for the building, committees
were formed and collections started.
Many concerts were held, and it was said that one group
even travelled as far as Tai Tapu on bikes to put on a concert.
There were dances and a Carnival Week when a “Queen of the
Carnival” was crowned. The money rolled in.
An article in “The Press” in February 1922 stated that “The
excavations have been made, and the foundations laid.
The section was purchased for £800…..
The sum of £6000 had been raised and out of that amount the sec-
tion had to be bought, leaving the balance for the building…..
The tender which had been accepted was about £400 in excess of
the amount of money in hand, and in order to cover the
deficiency, it had been arranged to hold a fete in the Papanui
Domain on Easter Monday and have a Queen Carnival…..”
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On the 10th April 1922 “The Press” reported: “…..The plans
were prepared by Messrs Guthrie Bros. and Mr J. Smith‟s tender
for £5950 had been accepted. The memorial would include a
library, a reading room, and a hall capable of holding 400 people.
Unfortunately there was no allowance made for a supper-room,
but the speaker hoped that one would be erected at the back.”
The foundation stone was laid by Mr. W.J. Walter, chairman
of the Waimairi County Council, on the 8th June 1922. He com-
mented that he thought this was one of the most important days in
the history of Papanui.
The piece from the paper starts: “An impressive ceremony
was held at Papanui on Saturday afternoon, when the foundation
stone of the war memorial Town Hall and Library was laid. The
walls of the building, which is situated nearly opposite the Post
Office, have already been erected, and they were decorated with
flags…..Mr Hart stated that in an opening under the stone, would
be placed coins of the realm, and the newspapers containing the
reports of the proceedings. This would be for the edification of
the people of a thousand years hence.”
(The building survived for only 65 years.)
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PAPANUI WAR MEMORIAL.
Unveiling ceremony.
From “The Press” Monday 2 April 1923: “Many hundreds of
people were present yesterday afternoon at the unveiling cere-
mony of the tablet in front of the newly erected Memorial Town
Hall and Library at Papanui. The Memorial Tablet, which is of
granite, bears the following inscription: “In memory of the men of
this district who gave their lives in the Great War, 1914 - 18.”
(A full report followed.)
Across the corner of the building, the Roll of Honour was
set into the wall for all to see.
There were 38 names on this Roll.
(Other memorials for the Papanui area are: St. Paul‟s, Papanui
High School, Belfast, Harewood School, and Coutts Island.)
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PAPANUI MEMORIAL HALL
Opening Ceremony.
From The Press, 23rd April 1923.( Extracts from a full report.)
“The opening ceremony of the Papanui Memorial Hall and
Library was held on Saturday afternoon. Despite inclement
weather, a large crowd had gathered before the building by 2.30
o‟clock.”
Mr R.W. Hawke, chairman of the Waimairi County Council,
had the pleasure to perform the opening ceremony. When the
doors were opened the assembly moved inside to the main hall
where afternoon tea had been laid out. There were a number of
musical items and speeches.
“The interior of the hall is of white plaster, with rimu panel-
ling and it is extremely effective. There is a large suspended
gallery and the stage has a full set of scenery.”
The Memorial Hall (or Town Hall ) became the hub of the
township, being used for balls, dances, 21st birthdays, wedding
receptions, flower shows and all the community activities that went
on, including roller skating on Saturdays. It had also been used for
silent movies, with seating for up to 500 people.
On the 21st August 1935 the „Empire Theatre‟ opened with
sound, and the theatre continued under this name until March 1965
when it became known as the Barclay Theatre. Older residents will
remember going to the pictures there for „One Shilling.‟
The theatre closed its doors on the 3rd June 1975.
For some time Si Sullivan was the custodian, and there are stories
of him dragging a sack of wheat around the floor in preparation for a dance.
The hall was his pride and joy and any children caught fooling about were sent off with a „flea in their ear.‟ He was said to be a hard-looking
man with a raspy voice, and his trousers were always concertinaed be-
cause they were too big for him.
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Later, the City Council took over the control and mainte-
nance of the hall and from then on, residents say it was sadly
neglected. By 1978 it was condemned, and had to be demolished
as it had become an earthquake risk. The memorial plaques were
removed and set into the ground of the landscaped area that
replaced the hall. There was concern that skateboarders and
cyclists were damaging the plaques, so when the reserve was
re-developed in 1997, the plaques were set into the wall as they
stand today.
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PAPANUI LIBRARY
The library in the Memorial Hall was not the first home of the
Papanui Library. Reports suggest that the Sawyers Arms
Hotel had a library, back in the days when it also housed The
Mechanics‟ Institute (similar to a night school). The Library was
then housed in the Church of England school room until a suitable
site could be found.
William Horner owned the 50 acres of R.S. (Rural Section)
304 that covered the area bounded by Main North Road, Papanui
Road, Grants Road and Proctor Street. When he subdivided most of
this land for housing, Lot 15, just before Proctor Street on the Main
North Road, was sold for £30 to “Trustees for a Public Library.”
In June 1874 “The Star” reported under PAPANUI
LIBRARY: “A meeting of the committee was held in St. Paul‟s
schoolroom on Thursday evening last. Present - H. Matson
(chairman) T. Langdon, J. Jackson and C.C.C. Duncan (Hon. Sec.).
The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. The
chairman replied that the contractor for the erection of the library
building had experienced a difficulty in respect to the plastering and
wished to be allowed to substitute tongued and grooved boarding. It
was moved by Mr T. Langdon, seconded by Mr C.C.C. Duncan, and
agreed: “That in consequence of the difficulty in obtaining plaster-
ers, the chairman be empowered to make terms with the contractor
for the match lining and varnishing the interior of the building in
lieu of plastering, as originally agreed upon, and that the chairman
be authorised to arrange for the erection of a fence round the library
ground.” The chairman informed the meeting that he had received
from the Government the promised sum of £100 for building pur-
poses and £50 for books, and that he had passed the same over to the
treasurer. It was resolved not to purchase the books for the library
until the building was ready to receive them, and that on the comple-
tion of the building an entertainment or soiree be given in aid of the
library fund. After some general conversation on library matters the
committee adjourned.
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It would appear that this building on the Main North Road
was used until the Memorial Hall Library was opened in 1923 and
the money from the sale of the building was used to buy new
books.
“The site of the present Papanui library in the old
Barclay Theatre” (Oct. 1977)
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From there, in late 1989 or early 1990, the library shifted to
premises in Langdons Road on what is now the car park in front
of Briscoes. This was the former Kovacs Furniture showroom.
When the Memorial Hall building was demolished in 1978
it was hoped that a new library would be built on the site, but the
Christchurch City Council decided to lease part of the new
„Roundabout Arcade‟ just across the corner. This was opened in
May 1978.
Until this time the library had been run by volunteers.
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They stayed there about five years until the purpose-built library on
the corner of Langdons Road and Restell Street was finished in
1995. This building was opened on the 11th February by the Christ-
church Mayor, Vicki Buck..
This has been the home of the Papanui Library ever since.
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Compiled by Christine Grant, and edited by Warren Hudson February 2009
a PAPANUI HERITAGE GROUP Publication
ISSN 1173-6909 09 (print) ISSN 2253-4830-09 (online)