Napier War Memorial nearly finished

Published: 11 July 2023

Last Updated: 17 July 2023

The Napier War Memorial site is abuzz with activity as the final pieces of this major restoration project are slotted into place.

Over the next two weeks, significant elements such as the Roll of Honour plaques, Eternal Flame, mauri stone and flagpoles will be installed on Marine Parade.

The addition of these features means it will soon cease to be a building site, says Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise.

“In less than a month, the War Memorial will reopen to the community. It’s going to be a place people can visit to remember loved ones, a place of reverence and a sanctuary.”

Important parts of the build, including the tiling, have already been completed. The upper and lower ponds are part-way through the waterproofing process, after which they will be filled.

Audio-visual screens and coloured ceiling panels will soon be installed, pedestals for storyboard plaques put in place, and balustrades and benches manoeuvred into position.

The historic birdbath dating from the 1930s will have a new home near the easternmost pohutukawa, overlooking the lower pond. 

The Napier Floral Clock is the latest significant element to have returned, following a thorough restoration of its own.

Some landscaping still needs to be completed now the clock mechanism is back in place, including planting of the flowers that have been prepared in Napier City Council’s plant nursery.

The clock was gifted to Napier by the Hurst family in 1955, two years before the original Napier War Memorial Hall opened.

Ahead of the official rededication at 9am on Sunday 6 August, a dawn blessing will be held. After the opening, the official ballroom naming ceremony will take place.

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