Star of the show” The Havelock North Cricket Pavilion on its new foundations after its move.

The historic building that has stood on the Havelock North Village Green for 80 years has made the move across the park – and has come through the experience unscathed.

At 5am this morning (August 31) the building was inched onto a moving truck from its spot off Karanema Dr and over an hour was slowly carried to its new home on the Te Mata Rd side of the park, across from the Havelock North Library.

The moving of the pavilion is part of the much bigger revamp of the whole park, including the playground. It had been intended to leave the pavilion where it was, however the public asked that it be moved to a more central position and offered to fundraise half the estimated $300,000 it added to the cost of the project.

The “lion’s share” of those funds had been raised and now the building had been moved; and parks and properties manager Colin Hosford said it looked “very at home” in its new spot.

“The project team is very happy with the outcome. The pavilion will give some real weight and character to the interactive area of the park and do justice to what is a very important historic building.”

The street-side of the building, “which admittedly is not pretty at the moment” will have a new entryway and glass doors added to match the front.

One wing of the building will house the Toy Library and Plunket, while the other will be transformed into new public toilets.

On the park side, stepped down decks will be added once the building is settled onto its foundations in a couple of weeks.

Work on the plan is running on budget and on time, with most of the new facilities expected to be completed by mid-December, weather permitting.

Public consultation on what should be included in the Village Green was held last year. The plan includes a new playground with children’s water play area, sun shades, a revamped skate area and new seating and tables. The once-in-a-generation revamp will also include spaces for outdoor entertainment, and gathering places that will encourage the generations to mix; things like table tennis tables and built-in chess boards.

Historical note:

The just-moved pavilion was designed by Hastings architect Eric Phillips and opened in 1938. Until Karanema Drive was pushed through the original cricket field, the building provided a fine look out over the action.

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