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Kōrero: Taranaki places

Hāwera observatory

Image
Hāwera observatory

In a somewhat bizarre transformation in 1953, architect John Duffill’s 1912 band rotunda was converted into an observatory for the Hāwera Astronomical Society. The lower floor of the original octagonal building – erected to celebrate the coronation of King George V in 1911 – was a tearoom, and the upper floor was an open, pillared band rotunda with a hemispherical roof.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Private collection

by Anna Butterfield

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Ron Lambert, Taranaki places – Hāwera, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/25913/hawera-observatory (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Ron Lambert, i tāngia i te 23 February 2010, updated 1 September 2016.