Napier War Memorial’s Eternal Flame transferred to a candle, stays in public sight while important repairs take place

The Eternal Flame at Napier's War Memorial (outset) has been transferred to a candle with a glass covering while repairs take place this week. Photos / Warren Buckland and Napier City Council

A candle will keep the Napier War Memorial’s Eternal Flame burning under the public’s watchful eye for about a week while its normal resting place undergoes maintenance.

Napier City Council confirmed on Tuesday that the flame would not move away from the complex but instead be transferred to a candle located inside the memorial centre reception area.

In 2017 there was community concern when the flame and the Roll of Honour were shifted and their whereabouts not initially divulged.

The Napier City Council soon afterwards released a photo of the flame’s temporary home at a council-owned service depot in Onekawa.

The council said the current flame holder was specifically designed and manufactured to allow maintenance work on the flame, keeping it safely and continuously burning while also being on display.

“The Napier War Memorial’s Eternal Flame requires work to upgrade the flame’s sensor probes, requiring temporary removal from its pedestal. At the same time, a new glass shroud will be installed around the flame’s housing on the pedestal, improving the safety of the flame,” a council statement read.

“The work will start on Wednesday, July 31, and the flame is expected to be returned to its pedestal by Monday next week at the latest.”

Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise said she understood the importance of having the flame on display as a way for the community to uphold remembrance.

“The Eternal Flame is a central element of the Napier War Memorial Centre, which is a site that honours the sacrifice made by those who lost their lives for our city and country,” she said.

“It is important that the flame remains visible nearby while the maintenance work is being undertaken, as it is a place where we can remember, grieve, and pay our respects as a community.”

The Eternal Flame burning at its normal place in the Napier War Memorial Centre during its 2023 reopening. Photo / Warren Buckland

The newest version of Napier’s War Memorial Centre, complete with the renovated Eternal Flame and Roll of Honour, opened to the public in August last year after extensive renovations, delays and uncertainty.

It was originally built in 1956 and funded by a citizen’s fundraising campaign for a memorial for lives lost in World War II.

The council renovated and enlarged it in 1995 and renamed it the Napier War Memorial Conference Centre. Because Napier’s inscription of World War I losses was destroyed in the 1931 earthquake, those names were added. Another plaque recorded those who died in the post-World War II conflicts.

Following another renovation and enlargement in 2017, the centre was renamed, and the Eternal Flame and a Roll of Honour were removed.

The council said the building was a commercial entity, so the war memorial was no longer appropriate. After consulting the Returned Services Association, the flame and roll were removed and put in storage until a more appropriate home could be found.

Work on the newest iteration started in October 2022, with plans endorsed by the original memorial designer, Guy Natusch, a notable Hawke’s Bay architect, before his death.