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Dunsandel Tennis Club and the use of the First Hall/Library for Socials 1900-1929 Part 2
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TitleDunsandel Tennis Club and the use of the First Hall/Library for Socials 1900-1929 Part 2
DescriptionA change to a pure concert format [9] had occurred by 1910 when a large audience was entertained in the Dunsandel Hall by the Canterbury College Glee Club.
By 1920 the club was back to running annual dances [10].
The music, which was spoken very highly of, was supplied by Mrs Mitchell, of Ashburton to a large crowd in the hall.
Extras were played by Mrs Kimber and Miss Lill.
Two months later they ran a concert and dance in a packed hall [11].
Locals performed musical items and a play and after the concert the dance took place.
A year later, in June 1921 [12] the third dance in connexion with the Tennis Club was held in the Dunsandel Hall.
The attendance constituted a record, upwards of 50 couples being present.
The floor was in perfect order, although the space was severely taxed at times, the pretty dresses of the ladies, were seen to advantage in the grand march.
In August [13] another concert of songs, duets, recitations, etc., and a two-act play followed by a dance was held.
The funds were needed for a new court, which the club intended to put down before the beginning of next season.
This 1921 undertaking was expensive, as the estimate was somewhere in the region of £130. The newspaper congratulated the club, although small in numbers, on its enterprise.
Because the weather on the June night in 1922 [14] was not good, the hall was not overcrowded. The preparations and the music by Willyam’s Band meant that those who did come, enjoyed themselves.
In the same year [15, 16] the club organised a second function in the hall, this time using a wide range of local talent under the name “All-Star Variety Company” for the concert and dance.
In mid-1923, the club held their dance [17] in the hall which was beautifully decorated with evergreens and balloons. Wellman's band supplied the music, with extras being played by locals. The newspaper account included a description of what dresses the ladies wore.
Recently installed electric lighting lit the June 1924 dance[18] in the prettily decorated hall.
A common theme of newspaper reports of functions held in the hall in this era is the “hopelessly inadequate” size of the building. People came to this dance [19, 20] from districts as far away as Ashburton and Christchurch and as a result it was the largest crowd the club had had for many years.
Splendid dance music was supplied by Wells's orchestra.
The hall was very tastefully decorated with streamers and Chinese lanterns, which greatly improved the appearance of the room, while the supper, which was provided by Mr F. White, was quite in keeping with the importance of the occasion.
Wells’s orchestra supplied the dance music for a third year in 1926 [21] and this was a sufficient guarantee that it was to be of a high standard.
Unfortunately the weather was unsettled and there was a strong counter attraction in another part of the district. As a result, numbers were such that dancers were able to enjoy themselves in comfort, however again the newspaper article stressed the need for a bigger and better hall.
In July 1929 [22, 23] the tennis club’s dance to the music of Bryson's Orchestra was their last one in the first hall.
Again the work put into the organisation of the dance by the secretary, Mr A. A. Macpherson, and others made this dance “most successful in every way.”
Mike Noonan
Dunsandel Historic Society
Date1900-1929SourcePapers PastLocationDunsandel
DescriptionA change to a pure concert format [9] had occurred by 1910 when a large audience was entertained in the Dunsandel Hall by the Canterbury College Glee Club.By 1920 the club was back to running annual dances [10].
The music, which was spoken very highly of, was supplied by Mrs Mitchell, of Ashburton to a large crowd in the hall.
Extras were played by Mrs Kimber and Miss Lill.
Two months later they ran a concert and dance in a packed hall [11].
Locals performed musical items and a play and after the concert the dance took place.
A year later, in June 1921 [12] the third dance in connexion with the Tennis Club was held in the Dunsandel Hall.
The attendance constituted a record, upwards of 50 couples being present.
The floor was in perfect order, although the space was severely taxed at times, the pretty dresses of the ladies, were seen to advantage in the grand march.
In August [13] another concert of songs, duets, recitations, etc., and a two-act play followed by a dance was held.
The funds were needed for a new court, which the club intended to put down before the beginning of next season.
This 1921 undertaking was expensive, as the estimate was somewhere in the region of £130. The newspaper congratulated the club, although small in numbers, on its enterprise.
Because the weather on the June night in 1922 [14] was not good, the hall was not overcrowded. The preparations and the music by Willyam’s Band meant that those who did come, enjoyed themselves.
In the same year [15, 16] the club organised a second function in the hall, this time using a wide range of local talent under the name “All-Star Variety Company” for the concert and dance.
In mid-1923, the club held their dance [17] in the hall which was beautifully decorated with evergreens and balloons. Wellman's band supplied the music, with extras being played by locals. The newspaper account included a description of what dresses the ladies wore.
Recently installed electric lighting lit the June 1924 dance[18] in the prettily decorated hall.
A common theme of newspaper reports of functions held in the hall in this era is the “hopelessly inadequate” size of the building. People came to this dance [19, 20] from districts as far away as Ashburton and Christchurch and as a result it was the largest crowd the club had had for many years.
Splendid dance music was supplied by Wells's orchestra.
The hall was very tastefully decorated with streamers and Chinese lanterns, which greatly improved the appearance of the room, while the supper, which was provided by Mr F. White, was quite in keeping with the importance of the occasion.
Wells’s orchestra supplied the dance music for a third year in 1926 [21] and this was a sufficient guarantee that it was to be of a high standard.
Unfortunately the weather was unsettled and there was a strong counter attraction in another part of the district. As a result, numbers were such that dancers were able to enjoy themselves in comfort, however again the newspaper article stressed the need for a bigger and better hall.
In July 1929 [22, 23] the tennis club’s dance to the music of Bryson's Orchestra was their last one in the first hall.
Again the work put into the organisation of the dance by the secretary, Mr A. A. Macpherson, and others made this dance “most successful in every way.”
Mike Noonan
Dunsandel Historic Society
Date1900-1929SourcePapers PastLocationDunsandelClick on the image to add
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Dunsandel Tennis Club and the use of the First Hall/Library for Socials 1900-1929 Part 2 (1900-1929). Selwyn Stories, accessed 06/04/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/5516
