Centennial ball in the hall

Lois Garton (left) and Noeline Masters reminiscing over good times at the Fairburn Kaiaka Hall. Picture / Peter Jackson

It has been many years since ballroom powder was sprinkled over the floor at the Fairburn Kaiaka Hall, or at least it was until Saturday night.

The hall's centennial was celebrated with a ball, attracting what committee chairman Peter Niepel said was a full house.

"A lot of invitations were sent out so we had a lot of people who might otherwise not have come," he said, "and it was a wonderful evening."

Wayne Hargis-Roycroft was unable to play his guitar, thanks to a cut finger, but he and his computer more than made up for that.

The revellers included Northland MP Matt King and his wife Sara. Mr Niepel said he hadn't noticed if the former had danced — he said he hadn't; he "did what blokes always do, and watched the girls" — but he had been very impressed with the catering.

"He was expecting a bit of finger food, but that's not the way we do it in the country," Mr Niepel said.

The function was such a success, he said, that it might well be repeated.

Everyone had certainly enjoyed the music.

"We might be on to something," he said — and the floor, once regarded as one of the best dance floors for miles around, had lost none of its quality.

Those who became reacquainted with it included a couple, married for 50 years, who had met at a dance there many years before.

The celebration concluded with high tea on Sunday, where a collection of newspaper clippings and photographs displayed by Dawn Pearce attracted a lot of interest.

There was certainly no shortage of reminiscing, Noeline Masters (nee Coulter) remembering ping pong, dances, "everything" that had gone on at the hall, while her childhood Mangatoetoe Rd neighbour, Lois Panther (now Garton) said her father Fred had popped her through the window she was sitting beside on Sunday so she could unlock the door and let him in to open up for the crowd that was about to arrive.

She added indoor bowls to the entertainment provided at the hall many years ago. And it was where she and her husband, John, who died last year, had "got together" at a family dance.

Mr Niepel said he understood the place the Fairburn Kaiaka Hall held in many hearts, and he and the committee were determined to maintain its role in the community. The committee could do with some new faces and ideas though, and anyone would like to contribute would be welcome to contact him on (09) 408-0110.