The Colville war memorial hall was originally built as a Brethren church in 1898. After the First World War the community bought it for use as a war memorial hall, and it was formally reopened as such on 18 June 1924. It was rebuilt in the 1990s and latterly has served as a museum. The Cabbage Bay (Colville) roll of honour in the hall is a wooden tablet that lists 30 men who served in the First World War (eight of whom were killed in action), 22 who served in the Second World War (on killed in action), and one man who served in the Korean War.
On 3 August 2014 a new memorial was unveiled outside the hall. Constructed of Coromandel granite from Paritu Bay, this honoured all those who served overseas in New Zealand’s name. The plaque set into the memorial was made and fired by Coromandel potter Barry Brickell.
Sources: In the Shadows of Moehau: A History of the Colville Region, ed. Wendy Simons, Colville, rev. ed., 2002, pp. 95-6, 145; ‘WWI Monument to be Unveiled’, Hauraki Herald, 20/6/2014, p. 8; ‘Colville Memorial Unveiled’, Hauraki Herald, 15/8/2014, p. 15; From Gold Mine to Firing Line: ‘The Thames’ and the Great War, ed. Megan Hawkes, Thames, 2014, p. 79.
Images: Meghan Hawkes (ed) (2014) From Gold Mine to Firing Line: 'The Thames' and the Great War 1914-1918, Coromandel Heritage Trust
Text: Bruce Ringer, Auckland Libraries, 2014