Letters

Poor old Town Hall
Where would you like to be standing in the next big earthquake (whenever that may be) the middle of Cuba Street? Or in the Martinborough Town Hall? Well I know where I would rather be, and it wouldn’t be in Cuba Street.
However, if you read the latest piece of unsigned propaganda from the South Wairarapa District Council regarding the Town Hall that was slipped into the rates demand, then you might be of the thinking that the hall is about to fall down. A dated picture from 1920 of the hall placed next to a picture of a pile of bricks after the Christchurch earthquake and a spiel that would scare most people from ever going into the Town Hall again. And did you know that it’s made from clay bricks and mortar, now that’s got to be unsafe.
Well the facts are that in the huge 1942 earthquake the Town Hall sustained no damage while other buildings around the town had major damage and in the 68 years since then the Hall has not even suffered as much as a crack through earthquake damage.
So while the Hall could fall down tomorrow, I wouldn’t go holding my breath because if we keep the Council out of it then chances are that fantastic old building will be around for another 68 years. Let’s all get behind it and ‘God save the Hall’.
Jim Clark

Town Hall again
I was disappointed that the recent SWDC rates enclosure describing various options for the Martinborough Town Hall did not include any reference to several refurbishment options that the Town Hall committee had proposed and discussed at a public meeting earlier this year. This committee had worked hard to raise money and had expert advice on ways to improve the Town Hall. Also not mentioned in this circular was any reference to the ongoing review of the Square Management Plan which includes a suggestion to move the old Court House to the south west corner of the Square where it could be used for a number of useful purposes including an Information Centre.
I hope that Martinborough residents support the public meeting on the 24th November and consider all the issues carefully. Three out of four options in the circular suggest demolishing the Town Hall. I think it would be a great tragedy to demolish such a historical and useful building if the Community can find ways to strengthen and refurbish it to a modern and safe standard.
Ro Griffiths