100 years marked quietly

Brother and sister Angus, 7, and Alexa Potter, 5, of Havelock North, went to town yesterday to help celebrate a century since the opening of the Hastings Municipal Theatre, and the unveiling of the security fence artwork around the building now known as the Hawke's Bay Opera House. Photo / Paul Taylor

The centenary of the Hawke's Bay Opera House, or the Hastings Municipal Theatre as it was when it opened on October 18, 1915, passed with little more than a breeze-blowing fanfare, and a minimal turnout for the commemoration in Hastings yesterday.

With the theatre closed while the Hastings District Council considers its future amid reports it does not meet earthquake structural standards, it was always going to be a challenge.

On the day, the block of Hastings St that was closed for more than three hours for the commemoration was hardly The Strand on New Year's Eve, although it did provide parking for five vintage vehicles from the era, four of them from before the theatre opened and with pride of place going to a 1903 Model R Oldsmobile.

The commemoration took place mainly inside, in the Opera House Plaza, where Deputy Mayor Cynthia Bowers and historian Michael Fowler spoke to an audience of about 60.

While they spoke, the newly decorated security walls erected around the site were unveiled without great ado, certainly less than that which greeted the announcement earlier this year of how much it would cost to produce the artwork.

The artwork, stretching 103 metres across the Hastings St frontage, was put together by a team of 11 artists, five of whom were present for yesterday's event. The artwork traces the eras from the concept of architect Henry Eli White of a class building with its Spanish Mission interior and Art Nouveau exterior. It was built at a cost of 16,000 ($32,000), and the council has already committed $7million to work to allow it to see a good deal of a second century, although the expected cost of restrengthening or remodelling is not yet known.

The good news from Mrs Bowers was that prints of the artwork are available for sale, and originals will be auctioned as part of the fundraising.

As they were, the security screen around the site had been an "absolute eyesore", she said.