In the early days of settlement a small community began, sitting within the Aorere Valley on the northwestern side of the Aorere River and, for many, many years, was known as Riverdale.
In June 1896, communication was received from the Postmaster General requesting that the people of Riverdale alter the name of the settlement to avoid confusion with other Riverdales in the country.
Faced with the decision of what to call the place, a ballot was taken, the result being that Riverdale would be no more, and it would become Bainham.
This was in recognition of the two oldest residents, John Bain and George Graham. Bainham, a compound of the two names.
In 1896, the people of Bainham commenced the building of a public hall. The project was carried out on a co-operative principle with residents having agreed to either supply labour, materials or cash and, once completed, the hall would be vested in three local trustees.
The land was donated by Mr W Jefferies, and the various sawmills in the area provided much of the timber and materials.
Mr G. Graham had the honour of opening the hall in early July, and the celebration event consisted of a tea, dancing and supper. The building was 40ft long by 25ft wide with 14ft studs, a porch, anteroom, and other conveniences.
The community now had a venue that could be used for multiple purposes but, within 18 months they were dealt a devastating blow.
At the end of December 1897, a small bush fire that was fanned by strong winds, soon became a large fire, consuming the small township and encompassing about 4 miles long and 2 miles wide.
Efforts to douse the fire continued into the next day before being bought under control. Some of the men who were fighting the fire were blinded for days, with the heat resulting in swollen eyes.
The losses were great, touching many in Bainham. Destroyed were Walker Bros sawmill, stables and huts, Coopers sawmill and around 60,000 feet of sawn timber. Taylor, Harvey, Wood and Golding lost houses, V. Graham’s barn and the season’s hay, the machine site of Johnston’s United Mine and the public hall were lost.
Fences, tramways, bridges, orchards, crops and paddocks were levelled and destroyed.
The loss of the hall was keenly felt. It had been a struggle to get it built and, with so many losses, the settlers were not in a position to rebuild. However, Mr Mace offered to undertake to prepare plans for another hall free of charge and a few companies around Collingwood offered support.
By July 1898, it was confirmed that Bainham was to have another hall with the addition of a library, and tenders were invited for the rebuild in February 1899. The Government gave £50 to help replace the hall.
The opening of the replacement hall took place in July 1899 with a good crowd attending, despite the weather being bad.
As with the opening of the first hall, celebrations were held with a tea, dancing and late supper. One of the first events in the hall in the following month was a ‘Grand dance and concert’ to raise funds for an organ for the Church Choir.
