When the entry for the Hāwera County Council offices appeared in the Hawera Town Centre Heritage Inventory in 1997, little was known about its early history. Since then the building has been listed as a category 2 historic place with Heritage New Zealand and more information is now available.
The building in Princes Street was erected in 1912 for the then Hāwera County Council. It was designed by local architect, Joseph Edward Roe, and the contractor was Mr E.A. Pacey. Tenders were called for in February 1912 and the building was ready to be occupied by July 1912.
The Hāwera County Council was formed in 1881, their work at the time was directed principally toward maintaining and improving the rural roading network. In 1978, as part of local government reforms, the Hāwera County Council merged with the Hāwera Borough Council to form the Hāwera District Council.
In 1984 the building was purchased by the Crown for use by the Corrections Department. Alterations were carried out in 2004 (an addition to the rear of the building and internal partitioning) and continued to be used by Corrections until 2017 when a new facility was built.
(Source: Heritage New Zealand Report, Karen Astwood, 10 February 2020)
Work to commence shortly (Hawera & Normanby Star 22 February 1912)
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