Profile
Swanson residents bought land after a statutory meeting on 11 December 1926 by raising money through selling shares in Swanson Hall Ltd. The total cost of land, building and preliminary expenses for the hall was £377 and the hall was completed by 23 May 1929. In 1945 the hall was taken over by the RNZAF for training and recreation purposes. The directors offered to sell the hall to the Waitemata County Council, but were turned down.
A custodian was appointed to open, close and clean the hall and keep custody of the keys for 10s an evening when the main hall was in use. Mr H T Cooper was employed in September 1947, followed later by Mr F Perris. Among the events at the hall were Saturday night dances which were well-known all over Auckland. Screening of movies started as early as the 1930s. Many social and indoor sports clubs used the hall over the years.
As Swanson Hall struggled to make ends meet, negotiations for the purchase of the hall by the Swanson RSA were started in 1964 and in December of that year, a refurbished hall opened as the new RSA building.
