“We are on borrowed time, to be honest.
“Black mould has obviously got its teeth in, and it’s a huge insurance job which we are lucky insurance is covering this round, but they said if we don’t lift it or do something, they won’t be covering us again.
“That would be the end of the hall.”
It had become harder to raise funds to cover hall costs.
“Chucking in these storm events has basically crippled us, so that as a community we can just afford to keep the lights on there, let alone keep up with storm damage.
“Ideally, that would be wonderful if we could pick it up and move it, but the costs associated with moving it would be horrendous.”
Sam Bell, wife of Omakere Hall chairman Gus Bell, said the hall needed to be raised between 500mm and 600mm to preserve and protect it.
“We really need to lift her.
The hall needs to be lifted between 500mm and 600mm, and a Givealittle page has been started to raise donations.
“Our Omakere Hall is the centre of our community.”
It was used by community groups such as dog trialers, the rugby club, the fire brigade, and the playcentre.
It was also used for church services, weddings and funerals, vestry meetings, Pilates, and Omakere School events such as prize-giving or school productions.
“She’s been around for 100 years; we want her to stay around for another 100.”
Bell said the dirty floodwater had been sucked up by the native timber floorboards and through the walls, resulting in the black mould.
“It’s really exciting that we have been given this opportunity for her to come back to life, but we are very concerned because it’s going to happen again and we don’t want all our hard work to go to waste.
“We also know that, if we have another flood, the insurance won’t cover us.”
The hall committee was in the process of obtaining quotes to know how much the project would cost.
Central Hawke’s Bay District Council group manager of infrastructure and asset management Mark Kinvig said while the council was not the owner of the hall, it paid an annual grant to the hall committee for operational costs, made up of insurance, rates, electricity line charges and a contribution of $1000 a year.
“Council has not been approached by the Omakere Hall committee for assistance, but an officer did contact them after the April 2026 flooding and let them know we would be happy to assist them to find funding streams.”
Donations can be made here.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based in the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.