The foundation stone of Te Puke’s Second World War memorial, a community centre, was laid on 2 June 1953. The first stage, consisting of the war memorial hall, the RSA lounge and public restrooms, was officially opened on 9 March 1955. The roll of honour unveiled in the foyer was a carved wooden tablet that listed the names of 56 men from the district who gave their lives during the Second World War. A name from the Korean War was later added.
On Anzac Day 1963 polished grey granite rolls of honour for both world wars were installed on either side of the hall’s main doors. These listed 22 names from the First World War and 55 names from the Second World War. On 23 March 2003 a ‘Remembrance Courtyard’ was dedicated outside the hall. This incorporated an angled concrete stand supporting polished black granite slabs engraved with both the First and Second World war rolls of honour (the Second World War roll of honour now had 58 names).
About this time Ernie Dix and Christine Clement began researching names that might have been omitted from the First World War roll of honour. They were instrumental in developing the new ‘Te Puke and District World War One Memorial’ which was unveiled on 25 April 2012. The polished black granite slab attached to one wall of the memorial hall now listed a total of 70 names. (A total of 350 men and one woman from the district served during the First World War. The woman was Sister Mary Eleanor Hobbs, daughter of the local Anglican minister.)
Sources: ‘Foundation Stone Laid for Memorial Hall’, Te Puke Times, 5/6/1953, p. 2; ‘Minister Opens Te Puke War Memorial Hall’, Bay of Plenty Times, 9/3/1955, p. 3; ‘AVision Has Become a Reality’, Te Puke Times, 11/3/1955, p. 2; Selwyn G. Taylor, The Story of Te Puke, Te Puke, 1969, pp. 232; Te Puke: Nga Tangata Me Nga Wahi, People and Places, ed. Christine Clement, Lynne Robertson, Maree Lewis, Te Puke, 2007, pp. 189-90, 260-1, 273-4, 278-9; Christine Clement, ‘Finishing the History’, NZ Genealogist, vol. 44, no. 340, April 2013, p. 86; Christine Clement, Te Puke and District World War One Memorial, Te Puke, 2013.
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