HAMILTON HALL

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21357, 27 February 1941, Page 6

HAMILTON HALL

SCENE OF OLD MELODRAMAS NOW USED AS A HOTEL Pioneers’ memories of old Hamilton. have been further revived now that the central portion of the Waikato Hotel block has been completely demolished. Printed in large black letters and still legible through the dust of years can be seen the words “The Hamilton Hall” on the wall of the old portion that has been exposed by the demolition work. Several of the older residents who spent their childhood in Hamilton East recalled today that it was the first hall built in Hamilton for entertainment purposes. Popular shows from the evergreen Punch and Judy to the Victorian melodramas of thwarted villainy and virtue triumphant were presented here in the old days when residents of the young settlement would assemble to see the latest “piece.” An alley-way separated the hotel in those days from the hall, the entrance of which was between the two buildings. In later years the hall was acquired by the proprietors of the Waikato Hotel. The two buildings were then joined, and the basement underheath which had been used as a bakery was converted into a storeroom.