Tūākau war memorial hall

Tūākau war memorial hall including detail showing roll of honour plaques.

On 18 March 1918 Sir James Allen, the Minister of Defence, unveiled a roll of honour  in the Tūākau Town Hall. Funded by the Tuakau Patriotic League, this wooden tablet listed the names of 108 local men who had seen active service, 24 of whom had either died while on service or been killed in action. A further 12 names were added after the war (four deaths).

Work soon began on a more substantial memorial to the district's fallen: a new public hall. On 15 September 1924 the Hon. R.F. Bollard formally opened the Tūākau War Memorial Hall. The large and dignified neo-classical building was built of reinforced concrete with brick facings, and incorporated a theatre, Council chambers and offices, and a returned soldiers’ club and reading room. The roll of honour was placed inside the new hall. In 1929 a bronze memorial plaque listing the names of 33 men who had given their lives was also installed beside the front entrance.

After the Second World War a granite plaque with a further six names was added at the front entrance. Some years later, a roll of honour listing all local men who had served in the Second World War or Korea was placed inside the hall.

The hall was substantially renovated in 1998. Mayor of Franklin Heather Maloney formally reopened the hall on 28 November 1998. Both rolls of honour were reconsecrated at the time―the Second World War roll had been updated with the names of two men who had served in Vietnam (one of whom, Private T. Cooper, had died in action).

In recent years three other rolls of honour have been placed inside the hall for safe-keeping. These are the Mercer First World War roll of honour, the Pokeno Second World War roll of honour, and the Whangarata Second World War roll of honour.

Sources: 'Tuakau: Roll of Honour Unveiled', Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, 19/3/1918, p. 3; 'Tuakau Memorial Hall: Brilliant Opening Function', Franklin Times, 15/9/1924, [p. 7]; 'Tuakau Memorial Hall: A Tribute to Progress', NZ Herald, 16/9/1924, p. 10; 'Tuakau Hall: Official Opening Ceremony', Franklin Times, 17/9/1924, p. 5; ‘Notes from Tuakau: Memorial at Town Hall', NZ Herald, 6/3/1929, p. 17; Tuakau & Districts Golden Memories, 1942-1992, Tuakau, 1992, p. 58; ‘Veterans Remember Fallen Comrades’, Franklin County News, 17/11/1998, pp. 1, 3; 'Tuakau Memorial Hall Refurbished', Tuakau & Districts Informer, 7/12/1998, p. 1; Farewell to Franklin  Franklin District Council, 1989-2010, ed. Ken Dyer and Jodine Laing-Reeve, Pukekohe, 2010, pp. 67-8.