The Baroque-style memorial fountain greeting visitors to Hāwera Hospital provides a Baroque aesthetic that contrasts with the hospital’s modern frontage. However, the fountain has a more distinguished history than its present humble appearance suggests. It was erected in 1903 to commemorate Laurence Milmoe, landowner and property developer, and generous benefactor of the hospital, who, on his death left a bequest to build the hospital’s west wing and nurse’s home. The fountain has local historical significance as a symbol of philanthropic gesture that benefitted the Hāwera community.
Ngāti Ruanui, the descendants of the Polynesian navigator, Turi Ariki, are mana whenua of the land around Hāwera. The terrain in the south of what is now the Taranaki region was difficult. Dense, almost impenetrable bush covered much of the interior area, and generations of Ngāti Ruanui created expansive clearings along the coastal strip where they established villages and cultivated the rich land. The early years of the nineteenth century saw Ngāti Ruanui lands invaded multiple times during the turbulent period associated with the advent of European muskets. Following organised settlement in Taranaki from 1841 war broke out in 1860 between the Crown and Te Ātiawa, and Ngāti Ruanui sent fighters to support Te Ātiawa. In 1868, Tītokowaru, allied to Ngāti Ruanui through Ngāti Manuhiakai kinship, led a successful attack on the Turuturumōkai outpost near Hāwera. He repelled subsequent attacks by colonial troops but eventually retreated with his warriors deep into the bush before a planned offensive against his fortification at Taurangaika. Consequently, the settler government swiftly gained control of Taranaki, meting out retribution for the Ngāti Ruanui alliance with Te Ātiawa in the form of arbitrary land confiscations in which Ngāti Ruanui lost most of their land.
The town of Hāwera is named for the Māori village of Te Hāwera that was located south-east of present-day Hāwera. Originally a government military base, the township grew up around a blockhouse during the early 1870s and grew exponentially after the advent of the railway in 1881. The rich land around Hāwera proved excellent for dairy farming, which has been a mainstay of Hāwera’s economy since the late nineteenth century .
Laurence Milmoe’s testamentary bequest to the hospital specified funding for the building of a nurse’s home, an extension to the wards, and a new kitchen, as well as for surgical supplies. He also left sufficient funds for a memorial to himself, the design of which was selected by the Hāwera Beautifying Society. It is not recorded who designed or made the fountain, but the details and precision in its construction highlight a expertise in casting that indicates skilled workmanship. It is constructed of pressed bronze zinc and concrete and originally had an octagonal concrete pool surrounding the base. The top figure is a cupid holding a fish, which originally emitted water from its mouth into a circular basin decorated with eight lion heads. The fountain was distinguished at its unveiling by the presence of Premier, Richard Seddon, who arrived in Hāwera to open a new ward at the hospital, and to attend the Industrial Exhibition.
A new hospital was built in 1930 on the corner of Hunter Street, and the fountain and its pool were moved to the new site, occupying a prime position on the front lawn. It was moved again in 2002 to stand on a traffic island in front of a second new hospital, slightly further along Hunter Street. No longer visually dominant following the removal of the pool that once surrounded it, and no longer a functional fountain, it nonetheless serves as a reminder of Milmoe’s contribution to the town’s hospital.
Ngāti Ruanui, the descendants of the Polynesian navigator, Turi Ariki, are mana whenua of the land around Hāwera. The terrain in the south of what is now the Taranaki region was difficult. Dense, almost impenetrable bush covered much of the interior area, and generations of Ngāti Ruanui created expansive clearings along the coastal strip where they established villages and cultivated the rich land. The early years of the nineteenth century saw Ngāti Ruanui lands invaded multiple times during the turbulent period associated with the advent of European muskets. Following organised settlement in Taranaki from 1841 war broke out in 1860 between the Crown and Te Ātiawa, and Ngāti Ruanui sent fighters to support Te Ātiawa. In 1868, Tītokowaru, allied to Ngāti Ruanui through Ngāti Manuhiakai kinship, led a successful attack on the Turuturumōkai outpost near Hāwera. He repelled subsequent attacks by colonial troops but eventually retreated with his warriors deep into the bush before a planned offensive against his fortification at Taurangaika. Consequently, the settler government swiftly gained control of Taranaki, meting out retribution for the Ngāti Ruanui alliance with Te Ātiawa in the form of arbitrary land confiscations in which Ngāti Ruanui lost most of their land.
The town of Hāwera is named for the Māori village of Te Hāwera that was located south-east of present-day Hāwera. Originally a government military base, the township grew up around a blockhouse during the early 1870s and grew exponentially after the advent of the railway in 1881. The rich land around Hāwera proved excellent for dairy farming, which has been a mainstay of Hāwera’s economy since the late nineteenth century .
Laurence Milmoe’s testamentary bequest to the hospital specified funding for the building of a nurse’s home, an extension to the wards, and a new kitchen, as well as for surgical supplies. He also left sufficient funds for a memorial to himself, the design of which was selected by the Hāwera Beautifying Society. It is not recorded who designed or made the fountain, but the details and precision in its construction highlight a expertise in casting that indicates skilled workmanship. It is constructed of pressed bronze zinc and concrete and originally had an octagonal concrete pool surrounding the base. The top figure is a cupid holding a fish, which originally emitted water from its mouth into a circular basin decorated with eight lion heads. The fountain was distinguished at its unveiling by the presence of Premier, Richard Seddon, who arrived in Hāwera to open a new ward at the hospital, and to attend the Industrial Exhibition.
A new hospital was built in 1930 on the corner of Hunter Street, and the fountain and its pool were moved to the new site, occupying a prime position on the front lawn. It was moved again in 2002 to stand on a traffic island in front of a second new hospital, slightly further along Hunter Street. No longer visually dominant following the removal of the pool that once surrounded it, and no longer a functional fountain, it nonetheless serves as a reminder of Milmoe’s contribution to the town’s hospital.
