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Woolston War Memorial Cricket Pavilion

Situated in Woolston Park on Ferry Road, the Woolston War Memorial Cricket Pavilion was built in 1921.

Woolston War Memorial Pavilion
Woolston war memorial pavilion. Creator (cre): Danny McNeil, Contributor (ctb): Danny McNeil. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

At a meeting of the Woolston Borough Council, held on 25 August 1919, the mayor, C. Hill, reported that the council had met with representatives of local sports clubs. At the meeting it had been recommended that the council erect a pavilion at a sports ground in memory of fallen soldiers and in honour of returned soldiers who enlisted from Woolston Borough for service in the First World War. The plans for the pavilion were presented at a meeting of the Woolston Memorial Committee in November 1919.

A fete was held in Woolston Park by the Woolston War Memorial Committee on 30 October 1920.

A building committee was formed in March 1921. It was estimated that the cost of construction would be £740. The foundation stone was laid by C. Hill at a ceremony held on 20 August 1921.

Designed by Roy Lovell Smith and constructed by Watson and Horne, the pavilion was built from brick and coated with a rough cast. Within there were initially three rooms consisting of dressing rooms for men and women, and a kitchen. This was possibly amended as by August 1921 the design also featured a dining hall. A verandah wrapped around the northern, eastern, and western facades of the building.

The pavilion was formally opened on Saturday 15 October 1921. At the opening the Mayor of Woolston, McGregor B. Wright, unveiled an honours board, which was placed on the wall outside the pavilion. The board was described as being oak, dark stained, with gold lettering. The headline inscription read Roll of Honour, Woolston residents. In Memoriam followed by the list of soldiers names:

W. Leighton; J. Brown; J. Todd; S. James; A. G. James; H. Durie; R. G. Ramsay; J. Snelling; A. E. L. James; G. Peterson; C. J. Gimblett; H. Trewern; W. Skelton; L. McHarg; F. E. Turner; E. M. Turner; R. B. Turner; O. Wood; R. Orange; D. Moodie; J. Hanmer; A. Hanmer; J. Hawkins J. Reeves; R. Nicholson; W. Roud; T. Wark; R. Griffen; R. Rhind; J. Adams; P. Manning; P. W. Wellings.

The building was damaged in the February 2011 earthquake and was repaired in 2015, re-opening on 8 June 2015. The location of the building's foundation stone and the honour board is unknown, but they may have been missing for some time before the earthquake.

References

Peace Memorial, Star, Issue 12729, 26 August 1919, p.4.

War Memorials, Star, Issue 19793, 10 November 1919, p.3.

A Woolston Fete, Star, Issue 16261, 30 October 1920, p.12.

Article, Star, Issue 16365, 2 March 1921, p.7.

Woolston War Memorial, Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17230, 22 August 1921, p.8.

Woolston War Memorial, Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17278, 17 October 1921, p.5.