The foundation stone of the Town Hall was laid by the Mayor, Mr. A. M. Myers, on the 24th February, 1909, and the building was opened by the Governor, Baron Islington, on the 14th December, 1911, Mr. C. J. Parr, Mayor, presiding at the ceremony which took place in the large hall. The festivities connected with the opening continued for a week, concerts, organ recitals, oratorios, and the annual reunion of the Old Colonists’ Association being held in the new hall. The building was designed by Messrs. J. J. and E. J. Clark, of Melbourne, and the contractors were Messrs. Ferguson and Malcolm, of Auckland, whose contract for the work was £87,565.
The building is divided into two portions, one being devoted to administrative purposes, including the Council Chamber, and the other comprising the halls, of which there are two, with a supper room and ante-rooms. The large hall has seating accommodation for 2700, and the orchestral platform and chorus galleries can seat 350 performers. The Concert Chamber has seating capacity for 880 persons.
At the opening ceremony the Mayor formally acknowledged two splendid gifts, which had been made to the citizens and erected in the Town Hall. These were the pipe organ, the gift of Mr. Henry Brett, and the clock, which was presented by Mr. A. M. Myers.
The finances of the city show clearly the present position of municipal affairs, and the development which has been made in the last two decades. The city’s annual valuation in 1901 was £349,765; to-day it stands at £1,497,095. The Council’s revenue at the same date was £1,077,047, compared with £82,657 twenty years ago.
The spirit of civic progress was not confined to the municipal authority for the Harbour Board also embarked upon a huge programme of work, which is still going on, and which has completely transformed the waterfront, making it one of the most up-to-date ports in Australasia. It even permeated to individuals, as the record of benefactions amply demonstrates. Some of these benefactions have already been mentioned, but others remain to be described.
Mrs. E. A. Mackechnie, who died on November 7th, 1902, bequeathed by direction of her deceased husband, to the Auckland Institute and Museum the sum of £2500, of which £2000 was to endow a library and £500 to purchase cases of animals. A similar amount, £2500 was left to the Auckland Society of Arts to erect a gallery. The Institute received also by this bequest the late Mr. Mackechnie’s library.
The Leys Institute was founded by the will of the late William Leys, who died on the 5th October, 1899. The funds available being inadequate for the early realisation of the testator’s benevolent purpose, Mr. Thomson W. Leys, a brother of the deceased, and one of his trustees, offered to defray one-half of the entire cost of erecting and equipping a building, and to furnish the institution with a library, on condition that the Corporation provided a suitable site. This condition was readily agreed to by the City Council, and on the 29th March, 1905, the institution was officially opened by the Mayor, the Hon. E. Mitchelson. Mr. R. M. Watts was the architect, and the cost of erecting and equipping the building, exclusive of books, was £3234. The Leys Institute consists of a reference library and reading room, a lending department, boys’ room and recreation rooms. The course of winter lectures and entertainments has been a feature of its work since the commencement. The gymnasium has recently been converted into a large boys’ hall, probably the largest boys’ institute in the Dominion. Mr. T. W. Leys has been president of the institute since its inception, and its success is due mainly to his personal interest and benefactions.
Charitable institutions were also fortunate in the assistance they received from benefactors. By the will of the late William Arrowsmith, who died in 1902, a sum of about £23,000 was bequeathed, in equal parts, to the Orphans’ Home and Mrs. Cowie’s Women’s Home.
Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Smith presented in March, 1907 to the Hospital Board a property at Russell Crescent, Ellerslie, containing over three acres and a two-storey dwelling, formerly the home of the donors, for the purpose of founding a convalescent home for women and children, which was named the Alexandra Convalescent Home. At the time the gift was made the estate was valued at about £5000.