Dance nights at the Frankton Railway Institute Hall used to be so popular that there was barely room to stand. On Tuesday and Saturday nights, railway workers and  their partners packed the hall and danced to the tunes of the Railway Orchestra. Often they were accompanied by sleepy-eyed children, wrapped in rugs, who bedded down beneath the benches. Everyone wore their best bib and tucker and ladies brought a plate.

The hall was built by railway volunteers in 1925 to provide a recreational hub for railway families and is the largest of its type in New Zealand. The 84-square-metre main room with a stage at one end looks deceptively tiny, but in its heyday it was a centre for many community events.

One local shunter named Bert Mayall was a very popular performer and was renowned for his rendition of 'Bunging 'em in and blowing 'em out.' Another favourite event was the annual Christmas party, which began with Santa riding around the village in his horse and cart, ringing a school bell and telling the children to gather at the hall for the festivities.

The hall originally occupied a site on the corner of Moa Crescent and Kea Street in Frankton but today it sits in a corner of Frankton's Railway Park. It was relocated in 1989 after the building's new owners applied to Hamilton City Council to demolish it. Demolition actually began but was thwarted by protesters who held a dawn vigil. The council later agreed to buy the hall and move it to its current site at a cost of  $60,000, helped by the Historic Places Trust and Government grants. It was restored by the local community.

The hall's design was heavily influenced by the California Bungalow style in keeping with the railway houses in Frankton. It was designed by Railways architect Sir George Troup, who wanted to create suburbs that would encourage social harmony for railway workers, who often worked unsociable hours. The settlement at Frankton, which incorporated the hall and recreational facilities, came closest to his dream. The hall is built from heart rimu and matai. There are two side rooms off the main hall, plus a kitchen and toilet and there is a flat upstairs, in which a caretaker lived until 1989. The flat is now sealed off for safety reasons, but two years ago when workers installed a new door, they discovered it had been left exactly as it was when the caretaker lived there, complete with coal range and bath.

Today the hall is used by a variety of groups. It stands as a fitting memorial to Frankton's past railway workers' community, and to members of the new community who fought to preserve it.

Writer: Claire Castle
Photographer: Lena Dimmendaal