Biography
The Caledonian Hall at 135 Kilmore Street West was one of Christchurch’s most historically significant live music venues — a function room built in 1923 by the Canterbury Caledonian Society and designed by architect Henry St Aubyn Murray. The Society, established in 1882 by Scottish immigrants, used the hall for pipe band rehearsals, Highland dancing, and Scottish country dancing. It was also registered as a Heritage New Zealand Category 2 Historic Place. For several decades, it served double duty: home to the Caledonian Society’s cultural activities, and a key node in Christchurch’s popular music circuit.
In the 1960s, the hall hosted the Zodiac Lounge, operated under Bart Ball, which became one of Christchurch’s primary rock and pop dance venues. Entry was six shillings; each night offered three bands — a mix of top local acts, Australian touring artists, and variety entertainers including fire-eaters, comedians, and Elvis impersonators. Phil Garland sang at the hall with The Saints in 1961; The Playboys (featuring Garland and Diane Jacobs, soon to be known as Dinah Lee) played the Zodiac Lounge regularly alongside other central city venues. Dave Miller’s “baptism of fire” as a Christchurch musician was a packed-house farewell to Dinah Lee at the Caledonian Hall in mid-1963. By the late 1970s and 1980s, the hall was listed among the key venues in Christchurch’s emerging alternative music scene, documented in Failsafe Records’ history of the period.
On 17 June 1983, a booking for Evasive Action — a Christchurch punk band — turned into one of the city’s most notorious live music incidents. Police attempted to close the hall before the first band had played. The crowd spilled onto Kilmore Street, showering officers with bottles and injuring two constables. Thirteen shop windows were smashed; twelve people were arrested, one for carrying a pistol. The following day’s headlines announced “Punk Rockers Riot.” Evasive Action guitarist Eugene Butcher recalled: “That was meant to be our first gig. I was batoned to the ground by a policeman at that one and we didn’t get to play.”
By the 1990s, the hall had become one of Christchurch’s primary mid-sized venues for major touring acts. Faith No More played there on 16 May 1993 during the Angel Dust tour; Fugazi played on 8 December 1993 (Ian MacKaye ejected an audience member who was bothering him) and again on 2 July 1997; Pavement played on 13 July 1994. Recordings of the 1993 Faith No More set and both Fugazi shows are preserved at the Internet Archive and via Dischord Records respectively. The February 2011 earthquake caused severe damage to the 88-year-old building; it was demolished in March 2011.
Details
Location: 135 Kilmore Street West, Central Christchurch
Also known as: Canterbury Caledonian Society Hall; The Zodiac Lounge (1960s)
Active as a live music venue: 1960s – 2011
Current Status: Demolished March 2011
Links
- Christchurch Dance Halls of the 1960s — AudioCulture
- Caledonian Hall — RockHappenz