The Lower Hutt War Memorial Library is a building in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

, New Zealand, that houses that city's central library. The public library system of the city of Lower Hutt identifies the library collection within the building as the "War Memorial Library". John William Andrews, the

Mayor of Lower Hutt The city of Lower Hutt, New Zealand, was first proclaimed a borough on 1 February 1891. Prior to this it had been part of Hutt County, initially as a Roads Board and from 1881 as a Town Board. Since 2019, the mayor has been Campbell Barry. List ...

from 1933 to 1947, initiated planning for a civic complex in Lower Hutt. His successor

Percy Dowse Percy Dowse (4 December 1898 – 9 December 1970) was a New Zealand politician. He was mayor of Lower Hutt from 1950 to 1970. Biography Early life He was born in Lancashire in 1898 and was educated at Wigan Technical College. His coal miner fat ...

, who was mayor from 1950 to 1970, oversaw the implementation of the various projects. The library building was constructed from 1952 to 1956. It typifies many of the community projects completed in New Zealand as memorials after World War II (1939–1945), in contrast to the

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

s and cenotaphs more commonly erected following World War I (1914–1918). It was part of a town planning concept that resulted in four civic buildings adjacent to Riddiford Park: a church (St James's Church), a library, a town hall complex, and a horticultural hall. Ron Muston was the designer for St James's Church, which opened in 1953, and he was commissioned to design the library in a style complementary to the church. The library opened in 1956 at a cost of NZ£200,000, double its initial cost estimate. Distinctive features of the library building include murals by artist

Leonard Mitchell Leonard Boyd Mitchell (born October 12, 1958) is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. He played college football for the ...

– 'Their Sacrifice', 'Preserved Freedom' and 'Human Endeavour'. On 13 June 2003, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now known as Heritage New Zealand) added the Lower Hutt Civic Centre Historic Area to the historic areas register of the Wellington Region, with registration number 7520.

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External links

Lower Hutt War Memorial
{{Authority control Library buildings completed in the 20th century Libraries in Wellington Buildings and structures in Lower Hutt World War II memorials in New Zealand Heritage New Zealand historic areas in the Wellington Region 1950s architecture in New Zealand