The plain facade on this former building in High Street hides the original ornate facade. It's thought the building was erected in 1896 for the "Economic Drapery". Not long after, in 1900, the business was bought by Mr William Spence.
Mr Elijah Harrop arrived in Hāwera from Invercargill in 1916, and took over the Economic, later changing the name to "Harrops".
The upper floor was used as a dental surgery from the late 1800s until 1956. Some of the dentists associated with the building include; Gray, Barley and Bailey.
In 1958 Elijah Harrop died and the business passed to his son, Arthur Harrop. The same year a two-storey addition at the rear of the building was erected at a cost of £15,000. The architects were Graeme Laurenson & Associates and the contractor, Arthur Brown Construction Ltd.
Cornish Investments Ltd. purchased the business in 1970, and began trading as Arthur Cornish (Hāwera) Ltd. Further alterations were carried out in 1972, at a cost of $15,000, the architects this time were Laurenson, Robinson & Boon.
The business changed hands again in 1988; the new owners were Richard & Christine Kennedy-Moffat (authors of a timeline of the building and Hāwera business) , who traded as Cornish's Hāwera (1988) Ltd. The company ceased trading about 2006.
In 2012 the appliance retailer, "100% Dimocks" occupied the building, later "Dimock's Furniture".
The building was demolished in 2016 to make way for a thoroughfare, Campbell Lane, from High Street to Cornish's Car Park.
Harrops Limited High Street Hawera [plans]
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