The Village of Havelock North

Havelock North today has a pretty little “village” feel to it, and was named after the Indian mutiny hero Sir Henry Havelock.  The town, along with others in the country, came about after efforts from the government of the day to make land available to the poor.  By the early 1850s, wealthy run holders had seized most of the available land.  The Provincial Government introduced policies to cater for the needs of agriculturists requiring small holdings, as the land became available.  In the 1860s town sections were surveyed and pegged out, with six roads radiating out from a central hub, which today is the round-about in the centre of the shopping area.  We imagined that the low concrete structures dotted about were upturned Maori canoes.  Not so,  the man at the Information Centre told us, they represent fallen petals on the ground. 

    The centre of the village

The Information Centre building itself has an interesting history.  Built in 1914 and designed by James Chapman-Taylor, it originally housed the transformer for power generated by the Maraetotara power station.  These days the building does triple duty as Info Centre in the front, public toilets at the rear, while a transformer in the centre of the building supplies the electrical  needs of the central business area.  This building was supposedly the only one in the village business district to survive the massive 7.8 Hawkes Bay earthquake of 1931, which had a death toll of about 250 people.

Chapman-Taylor designed Information Centre

I crossed the road to look at St Luke’s Anglican Church while Robin checked out houses for sale in the Real Estate window (sadly well outside our price range).  Designed by Thomas Cooper, the building was consecrated in 1874, with further additions completed in later years.  The tower was badly damaged in the 1931 earthquake and the replacement tower was not completed until 1999.

  St Luke’s Anglican Church

Another notable church in the village is the St Columba’s Presbyterian Church, with it’s elegant slender bell tower.  Dame Flora McLeod, chief of Clan McLeod in Scotland, joined Rev Ivan Muir in laying the foundation stone for the building in 1970.

St Columba’s Presbyterian Church

Havelock North has a trendy little shopping centre, full of cafes and clothing shops catering for the well heeled residents.  Farmland, orchards and vineyards  surround the residential area, and just out of town we came across a farmer and his dogs working the sheep.  The spectacular Te Mata Peak looks down over the village.  We know it’s there somewhere, but it currently hidden in rain clouds.

Rural scene just out of town with some Ewes with Lambs at heel