The disused Lynnford and Maronan community halls are being offered for purchase and removal from Council reserve land.

Both halls are at least 100 years old and were once the hub of their communities – acting as places for education and recreation - but have been used little in the past decade or so.

The Maronan hall was officially closed in 2017 and the Maronan Reserve Board’s administrative functions transferred to the Hinds Reserve Board. Lynnford hall followed suit in 2019.

Both are single-storey wooden buildings, with a corrugated iron roof.

Council and the Hinds Reserve Board are jointly inviting expressions of interest from parties for the purchase and removal of one or both buildings.

Democracy and Engagement Group Manager Toni Durham said parties interested in tendering for the buildings could arrange to look through the halls or find out more information by getting in touch with Council.

“It’s sad that these old halls are no longer used but over the years it’s been increasingly difficult to find enough money to do the major upgrading work required and so they have fallen into disrepair.

“Bringing the land under the Hinds Reserve Board has helped the situation, but restoring the halls to the standards required for public use is not simply feasible. There may be people out there who would like to give them a new lease on life.”

Tenders to remove the buildings must be made by 29 September.

The Maronan hall on Swamp Road was originally the Maronan School, built in 1921. By the end of 1922, it had a roll of 39 students but it only operated as a school for 15 years before consolidating with Hinds School.

The hall at Maronan then became the district’s social hub, hosting meetings, balls, dances, euchre events and the like. It has not been used for any purpose like this since about 2010.

Lynnford hall, on the corner of Lynnford and Boundary Roads, has a similar story. The building was built for a school in 1895 at Huntingdon and relocated to Lynnford in 1912.

The school closed in 1949, and its students went to Eiffelton, Willowby and Hinds Schools; the building became the community’s hall and was used by several different clubs and for meetings and dances and other social gatherings.

When the Education Board did not require them for education purposes any longer, the land became recreation reserves and the buildings managed by community boards.

Interested in the buildings?

To view either building prior to submitting a tender, please contact Garry Brown, Chairperson of the Hinds Reserve Board on 027 442 9972.

For further information on the removal of these buildings, to obtain the Tender Application Form and Conditions of Tender, or for information on how to lodge a tender, please contact Ann Smith at ann.smith@adc.govt.nz or 03 307 7700.

Tenders must be received by 4pm, 29 September 2023.