Napier from on high

Taken from Hospital Hill

Tareha Recreation Reserve

Today I went for a 4.5 km (2.8 miles) walk in Taradale one of the sites I saw was this 

It is in a sports reserve which has 16 touch rugby fields, a softball diamond, a junior softball field and has a children's playground.    There are also club rooms, changing rooms and toilets.

The park is named after Tareha Te Moananui  who was an important Maori chief in Napier in the late 1860s and 70s. He built an Anglican church.  He was Maori member of parliament.  He believed all New Zealanders should work together and focus on the good.  He left a legacy of goodwill between Maori and European settlers.  

Briasco’s Building

The orginal building was built in 1930.  A year later was the great earthquake.  While the building mostly survived the quake it was burnt out.  There were massive fires right though the city.  In 1932 tit was fixed up.   It was a dry cleaning and cloth dying shop in those days.   In 2003 the mezzanine floor was demolished.  It was also refurbished to recreate 3 shops.

Lockyer’s (1932)

Originally this was a music and radio shop.  The decorations were orange  and black which were Lockyer's trading colours. In 2002 Tom Lockyer’s three daughters paid for and installed a reproduction of original sign.  It is now shops and apartments.

Where I had Breakfast This Morning

Today was Labour Day here in New Zealand.  My oldest son needed me to take him to a friends house for  a special breakfast.  I looked at where I had to take him (I hadnt been there before) and decided I could do my daily walk in the same area.  After dropping my son off I decided to have breakfast myself before my walk.  Now some may think its weird where I had breakfast however one of my favourite sayings is "being normal is highly over rated."  I had breakfast in  my car at Park Island Cemetery.  It is on top of a hill and has great views. 

This cemetery was brought in 1910, with the first burials recorded in 1917.  When it opened it was out in the country.  To get there in those days one had to follow a road that crossed a Lagoon and surrounding marshes.  These days many main roads lead there and since the 1931 earthquake you dont have to cross the Lagoon.  I will tell you more about at this cemetery at a later date.    

Former Hotel Central (1932)

A wave in Time

The council decided to decorate a street in town with a bronze family.  It was funded by some bequests.  In 2010 Sheila appeared with her dog Raven.  She is modelled on a real lady whom was a daughter of a notable architect in the 1933 and she also led a carnival back then too.  It was celebrate the city's rebuild after the 1931 earthquake.   Since Sheila appeared people have asked who she is waving to, now we know.  

Her "son", and he is waving back to her,  He is a new addition.  His unveiling was just a few weeks ago. The boy is modelled on a friend's 3 year old son whom the sculptor knows.  

These are the first such statues in Napier.  Soon there will be a "father" riding on a bike to catch up with his family.  

Barry Bros Ltd

Rebuilt in 1936.  The original owners were Barry Bros Ltd, they, from what I have researched were a transporting firm, based in Ahuriri.  It could be possible they had an office here?

These days it is an Irish bar with apartments on the first floor.    

Munster Chambers

St John's Anglican Catherdral

Built in 1862.  In 1931 (when the earthquake stuck) communion was being served, the church was completely destroyed.  Only 1 person died.  For 25 years there was a "temporary" wooden building.  In 1946 it was decided that the church would be rebuilt.    The foundation stone was laid 9 years later.   The church was completed until 1965.    

In the church's grounds there is a fountain and another war memorial.  The fountain is known as the Tait Fountain.  Named after the mayor of Napier from 1956 to 1974.  The monumental cross was erected 50 years after the end of the 2nd world war in 1995.

Halsbury Chambers

The building was completed in 1932.  It was a business premises for Messrs Rainbow, Hobbes and Nesbitt.

Thorp

This building was built in 1932.  It was a shoe shoe which operated before the 1931 earthquake.  It carried on until the early 1990's.  It then become a coffee shop.  Word has it that it will soon be opening as a pizza and desert bar.

To see an old photo of when it was a shoe shop have a look at this link :)  

The Daily Telegraph

The building was completed in 1933.  It was a printing factory and office.  The actual newspaper itself was  founded on the 1st of February 1870.  

Ringlands building

Built in 1932.  The original owners were the Ringland Brothers.  They had an office and shop here.  These days it is a tattoo studio.

 

Some examples of Art Deco in Ahuriri

Union Hotel built in 1931

Above some of the shops

Ellison and Duncan Ltd facade

Ellison and Duncan Ltd were offices for traders and ship merchants.  The original building was reconstructed after the 1931 earthquake.   It use to be located on another street in Ahuriri.  However, the road was closed.  Then the building was used as part of a road transport and warehouse company.   The building itself was then demolished to provide room for a housing development.  The facade was relocated to its present site in 1993.  It now backs onto an apartment building.    A major restoration took place to bring it back to its original look and finish.  This involved repainting it in the colour scheme it once had by using paint fragments as a guide.  This all lead to an award of merit from the Art Deco trust.   

The Button House

In the early 1900s this building was a button factory.  These days it is a studio style apartment.  This mural which  decorates the outside is a reminder of its history.  

Art Deco in Ahuriri - Whales Tale Antique Gallery

Whales Tale Antique Gallery this business has operated for the last 30 years

wonder if it ever was??