The long-threatened moment has finally come for Te Puna Memorial Hall, with demolition beginning on September 18 to pave the way for a new roundabout.

The Te Puna community has explored the issue of preserving their past in some depth, but after a lengthy public consultation process, the decision has been made to build a new facility.

The Te Puna Hall. Photo: Google maps.

The cost of relocating the old hall would have included bringing it up to current Building Code standard, at a cost comparable to constructing a more future-proof building.

Te Puna War Memorial Hall treasurer Rosaleen Holmes was initially against plans to start from scratch, but changed her mind when the figures were confirmed.

'This hall stood for 92 years and I was against getting rid of it, but then I saw in actual fact if they did try to retain the hall, it would be a sticky plaster job. What we want is a hall for the community for a long time to come.”

The Te Puna Memorial Hall Committee is ensuring the historic hall goes out with a bang, however, with two events planned for consecutive Saturdays leading up to Demolition Day.

On Saturday, September 17, past and present committee members and helpers will gather for the final afternoon tea.

Te Puna Hall Committee Chair George Butler has been involved with the Committee for nearly 20 years.

The September 17 gathering is invitation-only, with an entry list composed of names found in decades' worth of minutes, so that the present committee can thank as many past members as they can track down.

This event takes place the day before the hall is handed over to the site contractors, and will start with a short ceremony in which the memorial plaques will be removed, carefully wrapped, and stored until they can be installed in the new hall.

Afterward, there will be refreshments and conversation – and, no doubt, the sharing of many memories.

The new roundabout is an unfortunate requirement to decrease the risk associated with this intersection, and NZTA acting BOP highways manager Chris Young says it will make it safer and easier to travel as traffic increases.

'Roundabouts naturally slow traffic and reduce the chance of head-on or side impact crashes, reducing the risk of death or serious injury if someone makes a mistake and crashes.

'Our data shows that changing a T-intersection to a roundabout reduces death and serious injury crashes by 90 per cent, while the total number of crashes reduces between 25 to 80 per cent.”

The total cost of the project, including preliminary works and property purchase, is $7.5 million.

'The majority of crashes on this road are head-on and run off road,” says Chris.

'While we cannot necessarily prevent someone making a mistake and having a crash, we can create a more forgiving road environment so that people don't pay for a mistake with their lives.”

The September 17 event is closed to the public.