A memorial plaque installed in the Waharoa public hall after the First World War commemorated four local men who had given their lives: Charles Hollis, James Paton, William Young and Ernest Hill. A roll of honour unveiled in the same hall in 1947 listed the names of 74 men who had served during the Second World War (five of whom were killed in action), and one woman, Nurse E. Rodgers.
Both the plaque and the roll of honour were transferred to the Waharoa Hall of Remembrance when this was opened on 23 January 1954. The Hall of Remembrance, a brick building on the corner of Ward Street and Mowbray Road, included a meeting room, a social room and Plunket rooms. It is now usually known as the Waharoa Memorial Hall. The disused old Waharoa hall still stands nearby.
Sources: Waharoa School and Township 75th Jubilee, Matamata, 1962, [pp. 28-9]; Waharoa School: Celebrating 100 Years, Waharoa, 1987, p. 40; Joan Stanley, Down at the Hall: Celebrating Matamata County Halls, Matamata, 2009, pp. 74-8.
Images: Kezia Ringer and Bruce Ringer. Text: Bruce Ringer, Auckland Libraries, 2014.