Napier’s Art Deco Trust moves house to War Memorial Women’s Rest rooms

The Women’s Rest opened in 1926, named as a memorial to those who perished in World War I (1914-18) but for use mainly by women in town, including toilets, a Plunket room and facilities for mums and babies.

It was partly damaged in the 1931 Hawke’s Bay Earthquake, repaired, renovated in the 1990s (having become also a community and social services hub), and closed in 2013, amid failed seismic risk assessment.

Designed on a cross footprint by architect Louis Hay, it attracted category 1 heritage status and, in deciding what to do with the building, owners the Napier City Council in 2021 budgeted $750,000 for restoration on the basis it would be used for community purposes.

It led to a partnership with the Art Deco Trust, which, with former mayor Barbara Arnott in the chair, found grant funding, sponsorship and support “in kind”, together estimated to be worth over $1 million, and renovation started 12 months ago.

Trust general manager Jeremy Smith said that, during restoration, original plaster finishes and panelling were uncovered, along with a hand-painted Red Cross sign, probably from a post-earthquake first aid station.

Repairs over the years had included whatever materials were at hand, including kerosene tins as boxing for concrete piles, and a chimney and fireplace had been filled in with concrete.

“It’s a story of practical solutions and layered history,” Smith said.

“This is what it would be like if Louis Hay were building it today,” Arnott said.

Smith believes the Clive and Memorial squares are “an emerging part of town”, with the restoration in keeping with the trust’s ideals.

“We’re guardians of Napier’s architectural story,” he said. “Every visitor we welcome, every review we receive, supports the work of keeping that story alive.”

The new centre will accommodate tours and has community use and heritage education space, with such facilities as the North Room and the main hall, restored as much as possible to original, in addition to the trust’s own retail and exhibit space.

The heritage nature of the building has sparked questions about what Art Deco Centre signage would be appropriate, with the Women’s Rest opening day plaque still in place.

Doug Laing has been a reporter for more 52 years, more than 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, at the Central Hawke’s Bay Press, the Napier Daily Telegraph and, Hawke’s Bay Today, since its establishment in 1999. He has covered most aspects of general news and sport.