Oraka Aparima Community Board chairman Michael Weusten said in an attempt to encourage its use, a free rental hire was offered to the community for 2024.
Board minutes show the hall was used 31 times between 2018 and 2023 and 93 times from January to December in 2024.
But Mr Weusten said the increased figures did not accurately represent any upturn in use.
"The only reason it’s so high is that there was a huge renovation at Thornbury Primary School and they used it for almost three months at the beginning of the year.
"If they hadn’t have used it, the usage wouldn’t have altered," he said.
The free fees promotion had not increased hire demand.
"We’d updated the electrical system and new ranges. I think it was about $6000 we spent improving that ... the rest of the hall is in really good nick, but it’s not getting used."
Halls, like stadiums and other public venues, did not get used enough, he said.
"It might be great three times a year, but three times a year doesn’t make a viable offering."
Mr Weusten said last year he had hoped community members would band together to come up with ways of encouraging use of the hall or face the possibility of losing it like other Southland communities had.
The neighbouring school frequently used the hall.
Thornbury Young Farmers chairman Matt Hazlett said the future of rural halls, like pubs, was not great.
"All those kind of old community places are, Iwould say, at risk ... they just don’t make a lot of money any more."
He believed ease of travel and the province’s shift to dairy farming had altered the culture of rural communities as the change was also impacting country taverns.
"The dairy farming community ... are incredibly busy. They work long hours at silly times of the day. They’re hard-working and a lot of them don’t have a lot of free time."
He was unaware the community was at risk of losing the hall and that it had no hire fees for the past year.
"For the facility it is, paying a small fee to hire it for the night is not a problem if it goes towards helping it stay open.
"As an organisation, we don’t mind paying a fee to use it ... we are always keen to support the local community."
He planned to inform club members of the situation.
The club sometimes hired the hall for larger events like its annual meeting or winter balls. But its monthly meetings were more often held at a pub where members could buy food and drink.
"They are good places for hosting events for clubs like us. But like any asset, they take a lot of money to maintain.
Country halls held a lot of historical significance for their communities, especially those that had honours boards, he said.
By Toni McDonald
