Childhood memories blown away

Houhora lost one of its links with the past on Tuesday afternoon when the hall built by Bill Evans early last century was flattened.

Mr Evans' grandson, also Bill Evans, now living in Whangarei, said what was originally a dance hall for the area's gumdiggers had once been a "bustling place."

"It was before TV came along, you see. There were lots of weddings and great parties held in that building. There'd be a lot of stories to tell from there," he said.

Over the years it had also served as a picture theatre (which is the part still standing, and still home to two old projectors), polling booth, meeting place, lunchroom and bar, when races were held at the (now defunct) nearby racetrack, and even a mortuary.

"When I was young I remember them putting bodies in there," he added.

The building fell into disuse in the 1970s, "when all those building and fire regulations came in. It just wasn't viable for us to make all those changes."

He had recently decided to pull the building down, but Mother Nature had done the job for him.

Houhora resident Norm Wagener said the hall had been part of the Evans family "empire," back when they owned the tavern.

"I remember it being there since I was a kid, and I'm 66 years old now," he said.

"It was a dance hall, people played bowls there, all sorts of things. It hasn't been used for a long time. I'm definitely sad to hear it's gone, but it was one hell of a wind."

Image 1 of 26: Kaitaia resident Helen Cossey took this shot saying, "Thankfully this 40+ year old clothesline was the only casualty at my place in the storm yesterday"