Wairau Valley Peace Memorial Hall

Completed in 1919, the Wairau Valley Peace Memorial Hall was funded by the community for the community and is still a focal point of the valley today.

The history:
The hall was built as a Peace Memorial Hall to not only honour those Valley men who had served their country during WW1, but also to commemorate Peace Day --- the 19th July 1919. As far as I know it is the only remaining hall in New Zealand that is designated a Peace Memorial. A committee of settlers was formed with Mr. J. Anstiss as Chairman and despite delays the building was completed in time to be opened on the anniversary of Peace Celebrations. The hall cost just over $1000 to build and is constructed of rimu, red birch, matai and pinus insignis.

The Hall was built on land set aside in Morse Street, with the builder being Mr. James Penglase, a returned soldier settler of Erina who had lost four fingers of his right hand at Gallipoli.

Not to be outdone, settlers at Hillersden, then a separate entity, also built a Hall and installed a Roll of Honour within the Hall to remember those men from that district who served overseas. This Hall was opened on 31st October 1919. The guest speaker at the opening of the Hillersden Hall was D.F.Fleming, the ex-President of the Scottish Society of Marlborough. The Marlborough Express of November 15th 1919 records that there were between 300-400 people who attended the opening, many arriving in “the more than 50 motor vehicles which turned up”. Presumably the rest arrived on foot or by horse and cart. Ward and Co. built the Hall with several locals carting timber from Tophouse and Pelorus by horse and wagon, this timber was mainly hardwood, possibly rimu. This hall was shifted to the site of the Wairau Valley Hall and joined to it 76 years later (December 19th 1995).

Hillersden in the early years of last century was a well-defined area extending from the old site of the Hall to the Branch River. The Presbyterian Church held services in the hall until they eventually built their own church. Electricity arrived at Hillersden in 1954 with kerosene lamps being used until then. With changing dynamics in the Wairau Valley, the Hillersden Hall was no longer frequently used and after consultation between the Wairau Valley community and the District Council, it was decided to amalgamate the two halls. It was hoped that users may include Girls and Boys Brigade’s, Kindergarten, a revitalised table tennis club and a local bowling club.