Motupipi Hall loyal supporters
Soup and dessert lunch. Photo: Neil Wilson
In the ongoing discussion about multi-use facilities in the Bay, we’ve been told that we have 44 meeting spaces and social venues. That number has led to claims that we are “over-halled”.
At a recent public meeting, TDC community services manager Lloyd Kennedy described a fact-finding mission, undertaken a few years ago, in which councillors tried to get staff to identify the halls that could be allowed to fall into disuse.
“Wherever we went in the Bay, the message was very clear,” said Mr Kennedy. “People feel very strongly about their halls. Often they’re the last piece of public infrastructure left. Nobody wants their community to lose them.”
Halls mean a lot to the people who care for them, but issues of building compliance and ongoing maintenance require great dedication.
Bert and Megan Nalder are two enthusiastic members of the committee that administers the Motupipi Hall, which is maintained in part by an annual series of “soup and dessert” winter lunches.
“We get a good crowd to the lunches,” says Megan. “You can have a very good lunch for only $8. It must be good value because people keep coming back. It’s a good way of using the hall and raising a bit of money at the same time.”
On lunch days, the hall committee always runs a sales table where people can buy very reasonably priced jams and preserves.
Joan and Bill Fishley are regulars at the Motupipi Hall lunches.
“It’s very good value and we enjoy the company,” says Joan. “And it’s good to support the hall.”
The next Motupipi hall fundraiser is the annual book and collectible item fair at Labour Weekend.
Neil Wilson
