Trust move to Women’s Rest Building supported

As a long-serving volunteer for the Art Deco Trust, I have been reading with much interest about the suggested move by the Art Deco Trust to the old disused ‘Women’s Rest Building’ in Memorial Square. I am writing to support this suggested move.

The motto of the trust is to Protect, Preserve and Celebrate our heritage.

Working with Historic HB and the city council bylaws it has encouraged owners to preserve and restore their buildings from the era of the 1931 earthquake.

With consultation and discussion, it works with owners to protect our heritage. The Robert McGregor fund has been set up to assist with grants towards colour schemes that reflect the spirit of the age, enhance the appearance of the building and enhance the city. We celebrate in style with the Summer and Winter Art Deco festivals.

We have now come to a point where the world is reopening after the worst felt effects of the pandemic are receding. The whole of the tourism industry is looking at travel with a new approach.

The trust has survived this downturn, barely, and to take up the suggestion of operating from the Women’s Rest building in Memorial Square under the wing of the Napier City Council seems to me to be a fiscally responsible option.

There exists a photo of ‘Tin Town’ with the damaged Women’s Rest Building at one side of the square and the Cenotaph at the other. As we look ahead nine years to the centennial commemoration of the earthquake it seems to me to be a fitting venue for the central focus of the activities.

Niki Keehan Art Deco Volunteer

Taradale