Pukehiki all in to upgrade its hall

A small settlement high atop Otago Peninsula is putting in a big effort to restore its 19th-century community hall.

A dedicated group of volunteers have begun work on restoring the Pukehiki District Hall to its original glory.

The Pukehiki Hall Society has received $25,000 from the Dunedin Heritage Fund and $20,000 from the Otago Community Trust for the hall’s restoration.

Society member Mark McCawghan said as a part of the upgrade, the society was trying to restore the hall as closely as possible to its original aesthetic.

That included installing a window and doors that looked like the original ones in the front wall of the building.

The building recently received a new roof and was re-piled so it had a solid structure.

Mr McCawghan said it was a matter of "sharpening the old lady up a bit".

The old army drill hall was built in the late 1800s in fear of a Russian invasion.

"I think it's pretty important to keep that history ticking away," Mr McCawghan said.

"It’d be sad to see it deteriorate."

Mr McCawghan said the hall had been used for community events and weddings in the past.

More recently, people were put off by the "rustic" nature of the hall.

The entire Pukehiki community had been involved in the refurbishment.

Countless volunteer hours had been spent painting new weatherboards and an architect had helped design the building update to help restore the hall’s original aesthetic.

mark.john@odt.co.nz