The Ōhura & Districts Memorial Hall was opened in March 1956. According to a history of Ōhura published in 1957, money for the hall was raised through a Queen's Carnival in 1953 (A History of the Ohura Valley, New Plymouth, [1957], pp. 44-5).
The Ōhura County First World War and Ōhura District Second World War Rolls of Honour are both displayed inside the hall. The latter also lists several ‘K’ Force (Korean War) names.
The Queen Carnival ran through the May holidays of 1953 and i was home from New Plymouth Girls' High School. There were three queens and the one who raised the most money won. That was Eva Koorey. A lot of the money was raised through gambling parties and i can remember the Crown & Anchor games at half a crown a time. The Queen Carnival reunited the farming and the mining population of the town who had been divided since the long 1951 Strike. My wedding reception was held in the Memorial Hall in December 1957.
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