INVERCARGILL St Mary’s Hall, famed for its Saturday night dances and as a venue for Invercargills annual debutante ball over half a century, has been sold. The 70-year-old hall across the street from St Mary’s Basilica was a drain on parish finances and had been retained long enough for Sunday Masses to be held there last year while the basilica was being refurbished.

Many Catholic families had photographs of a flood of white-dressed debs on the St Mary’s stage with a retinue of chaperones, a smattering of clerical black and in the centre a splendidly clad bishop to whom minutes before each debutante had been presented.

The deb balls, which ceased about 20 years ago, lasted longer than the Saturday night dances held beneath a sparkling mirror ball floating above what was arguably the best sprung dance floor in Australasia.