Nolan Building, cnr High and Regents Streets (1908 - Former)

This two-storey building on the corner of High and Regents Streets was built in 1908 for the local firm Nolan, Tonks and Co. to replace two old timber buildings constructed during the 1880s-90s.

The High and Regent Street facades were finished in cement stucco with cornice enrichments on fluted columns, finished with Ionic capitals and received “much favorable comment”. The building was designed by Mr Joseph Edward Roe, with the main contractor being Mr E. A. Pacey; Messrs Whittington was responsible for the brickwork and Cowell and Kneebone the plumbing.

Initially, Price and Co occupied ground and first floor premises on Regent Street, jeweller J. Brunette occupied the corner premises, whilst Messrs Welsh and Ryan occupied a suite of first floor offices; a further shop fronting High Street was yet to be tenanted. (Hawera & Normanby Star, 8 October 1908, p.4)

Later occupants of the building include the Farmers' Co-operative Organisational Society, who subsequently purchased Nolan’s various properties in 1939 with their subsidiary company ‘Nolan’s Buildings Limited’ and were associated with the building until 1999. The building was occupied by 'The Warehouse' for a time and the ground floor premises were home to a Gelato Café.

The prominent corner location and classical design combined to make it a landmark building in the town centre. It had a category 2 listing with Heritage New Zealand and featured in the Hawera Town Centre Heritage Inventory (2003).

The building was bought by the South Taranaki District Council in 2016 for an undisclosed amount to provide space for the new Hāwera library and cultural centre, Te Ramanui o Ruapūtahanga. Work on the project was predicted to start within 18 months, but planning consent problems delayed the development and the building was finally demolished in 2021.