A building which once hosted hundreds of Karāpiro dam workers and their families for tennis parties and the like, faces an uncertain future despite the community saying they want to retain it.
Bellamy Kroese, 6 and Libby Kroese, 1, protesting outside the Karāpiro building. Photo: Supplied.
If walls could talk then chances are there would be stories aplenty and now 80 years later the Karāpiro community wants to create new memories in the building.
A community meeting was held at the site on Sunday. Mother of two Ashleigh Smith said there was a great turn out.
“We have been trying for years to enable our community to access the building so that we can tidy it up and use it.”
But the council has earmarked the building for demolition as it has reached the end of its life in the current form and poses some health and safety risks.
Karāpiro Sports and Recreation Club building fronts tennis courts on one side and a playground on the other. Photo: Supplied.
Karapiro Sport and Recreation Club
Funding for its demolition was included in the council’s Enhanced Annual Plan which went out to the community for consultation, said Property Services manager David Varcoe.
“We are aware that there is some interest in retaining the building for community purposes,” he said.
The Karāpiro Sports and Recreation Club building is on Reserve land vested in the council as recreation reserve.
The land includes a playground which was upgraded 15 years ago, according to locals.
Varcoe said the council had met with members of the Karāpiro community and recommended they form an incorporated society to allow the council to consider the next steps.
“We are keen to work with the community to find a positive resolution.”
Smith said forming an incorporated society involved gathering members and forming a committee.
“This is only just the beginning of our fight,” she said.
“There must be many more people who would love to support us and help us save our building.”
Karāpiro in December 1948 with the tennis club and pavilion in the centre. Photo: Whites Aviation, Alexander Turnbull Library
The building was built sometime between 1940 and 1944 when work on the Karāpiro dam was at its peak. In July 1944 there were more than 1500 people – more than half the population of Cambridge – with a school that catered for more than 200 children.
By early 1945 the population had gone up further and clubs for tennis, football and cricket had been formed along with a Plunket group, Caledonian Dance Troupe and a Returned Services Association branch.
When the dam was finished in 1947 and the water rose, work was complete and Karāpiro became a sleepy village with a population of just over 300 in June last year.
Tennis is still played on the courts but the building has been largely unused for years.
The fight to save the Karāpiro Hall mirrors one taking place in Cambridge over the old Water Tower. A group has been formed there to save the 122 year old brick structure, which has been deemed an earthquake risk, from demolition.
Karapiro school children outside the old building which Waipa District Council wants to demolish.
