Taradale Town Hall after the 1931 Earthquake

A photograph of the Taradale Town Hall, at the corner of Lee and Meeanee Roads, taken after the Hawke's Bay earthquake on the 3rd of February 1931. Photographer, John Brown.

A loan of £3000 was raised to build the Taradale Town Hall in January of 1911. The site had been purchased in 1906 for £100. The hall was completed later in 1911 although there was some delay in furnishing the building as the material for the seats fell into the Wellington Harbour while being unloaded. The building consisted of a public hall seating 600, a supper room to accommodate 70 guests, a public reading room, a public library and librarian's residence, the Town Clerk's office, and Town Board Chambers. The earthquake which struck Hawke's Bay on the 3rd of February 1931, decimated the Town Hall.

Source:

• MTG
• Taradale: The Story of a Village 1844-2000 by Janet Gordon and Shirley Spence

Photo:

• MTG Hawke's Bay Collection