The tale of the Birkenhead Senior Citizens Association and its hall and clubrooms could be seen as a metaphor for the inevitable evolution (and sometimes dissolution) of community groups and the facilities established to serve them. Or it could be seen as a prime example of how community collaboration can create new life for facilities no longer needed for past purpose.
The Birkenhead Senior Citizens Association was formed in the mid-1930s as an offshoot of the Birkdale Farmers’ Wives Club. By the 1970s it had more than 300 members. It even boasted its own premises, a house gifted to the Association as a hall and clubroom.
But by the end of last century, membership had fallen, and with it, so too had the hall – almost. Just six loyal members continued to use it for card games on Fridays, until even that stalwart band disbanded in 2014, leaving the North Shore Male Choir and senior women’s choir as the sole users of the building, contending with a roof that was rusted through, and water-damaged ceilings. The hall was, in effect, ïn a total state of disrepair,” according to Ian McHardy, Association member and chairman. Something had to be done.
Ian and a band of Male Choir members established a ginger group, with the aim of saving the Senior Citizens Association and the building. The group had the skills and enthusiasm – but they lacked the cash that was clearly going to be needed to pay for extensive refurbishment. In a strategic move, Ian and committee member Keith Salmon worked with Auckland Council to create the back section of the property as a direct access point from Birkenhead Avenue to Le Roys Bush. “It was a win win outcome,” says Ian. “It created a permanent public pedestrian right of way from Birkenhead village into Le Roys Bush walking tracks down to Little Shoal Bay. We spent the money [from the exchange of property] on refurbishing the hall and the men’s choir also planted around it t make it more attractive.”
Now, three years after the project started, the building is in pristine state, though with users are still limited to the men’s and women’s choirs on two evenings. Ian and his committee are looking for a long-term tenant to ensure the building’s continued survival as a community facility.
A five-day-a-week long-term daytime tenancy would provide Ian and his band of choristers the perfect ending to this tale.
“It’s a rare opportunity, right in the heart of Birkenhead,” says Ian. “It couldn’t have been done without the hard yakka and manpower of the men’s choir. It has a main hall area of 200m2, a kitchen, toilets and good heating. There’s limited storage space, but we’re flexible as to how we can accommodate a suitable tenant, whether it be a community group or a commercial organisation with a community output,” he says.
