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Hawera
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The flourishing rural town of Hawera is the largest town in the South Taranaki district. The town takes its name from the Maori village of Te Hawera. Throughout its history, Hawera's key function has been to provide support and services to the farms that surround the town. The land was initially surveyed in 1866 to provide blocks of land for prospective military settlers and was founded on sheep and cattle farming at about that time. A sudden influx of dairy farmers to the area in the 1880s and 1890s secured Hawera's position as an important service town. Dairying in the area remains an extremely significant contributor to New Zealand's export base and the New Zealand economy. The world-ranking dairy company Fonterra has the largest single-site dairy factory in the southern hemisphere just two kilometres south of the Hawera township.
Heritage walks through Hawera will take you past some of Taranaki's most significant buildings.
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THE HAWERA WATER TOWER |
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The spectacular Hawera Water Tower was built after the devastating Central Hotel fire of 1912. Insurance underwriters demanded the construction of a water tower as a firefighting reservoir.
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Click here to view the Hawera Water Tower Restoration Project PDF (2.9MB)
This file is in Adobe format, please click on the image below to download Acrobat Reader if you do not have it
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*Click here or on the image to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader which can display pdf
files on your computer
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HAWERA PUBLIC LIBRARY |
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The lovely old Hawera Library is a single-storey building and has served as the town library building for more than 100 years.
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CAPLEN'S BUILDING |
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The Caplen's Building was the first substantial brick and plaster building in Hawera. In the Great Fire of 1895, it served as a buffer - it held firm between the Charles Major office building and the two wooden bank buildings next door. Its occupants have included lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, architects and banking firms.
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THE HAWERA STAR |
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The Star newspaper is one of South Taranaki's finest, longest-standing institutions. The newspaper was first published in 1880 and remains a thriving rural publication today. The newspaper and printing works moved to the present site in 1913. The building is a beautiful plastered masonry and of a simplified classical design.
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THE WAR MEMORIAL ARCH |
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This majestic arch stands as a South Taranaki tribute to soldiers from the district that died in the World Wars of the 20th century. The arch is made of beautiful New Zealand Oamaru stone, Takaka marble and concrete. The columns bear the names of local people who fought and died for New Zealand in last century's World Wars.
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SOUTH TARANAKI i-SITE VISITOR CENTRE |
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55 High Street
Hawera
Contact:
- Tourism and Events Manager: Fiona Greenhill
Phone: 06 278 8599
Fax: 06 278 6599
Email: visitorinfo@stdc.govt.nz
Hours are:
Monday - Friday 8.30am-5.15pm
Weekends and Public Holidays 9.30am-4pm (December-April) 10am-3pm (May-November). Closed Christmas Day.
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Hawera Heritage Inventory (3.0MB)
This file offers a detailed inventory of heritage sites in Hawera for people who would like more information regarding this important historic town. The file is in Adobe format, so please click on the image below to download Acrobat Reader if you do not have it
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*Click here or on the image to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader which can display pdf
files on your computer
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Historic Places Map |
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