New Lynn War Memorial Library ( mi, Te Pātaka Kōrero o Te Rewarewa) is a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

located in

New Lynn New Lynn is a residential suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand, located 10 kilometres to the southwest of the Auckland city centre. The suburb is located along the Whau River, one of the narrowest points of the North Island, and was the locatio ...

, West Auckland, New Zealand. Opening in 1956 as part of a planned community centre precinct and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

memorial, the original library was demolished and redeveloped in 2005. Memorial Square at the entrance to the museum was redeveloped in 1998 to a design by landscape architect

Megan Wraight Megan Mary Wraight (12 December 1961 – 31 August 2020) was a New Zealand landscape architect who had considerable influence on the design of public spaces. She was the founding principal of Wraight + Associates Limited, which has completed ...

. The square incorporates brick columns and a sunken

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

sculpture, added in 2000 and designed by

Te Kawerau ā Maki Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Kawerau a Maki, or Te Kawerau-a-Maki is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It had 251 registered adult members as of June 2017. Auckland Council gave it land for a marae at Te Henga (Bethells Be ...

carvers Sunnah Thompson and Rewi Spraggon.

History

The New Lynn Borough Council began planning a multi-purpose community centre in 1945, which by 1947 had developed into a community centre and

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

. This centre was envisioned as a complex that would incorporate a public library, council chambers, a kindergarten and courts for sports. Planned in 1954 by Gummer, Ford and Partners, the first section of this community precinct was opened on 28 April 1956 with the construction of Plunket rooms (these were later relocated), followed by the library in May 1957. The New Lynn War Memorial Cenotaph, a memorial to the 16 soldiers from New Lynn who died in

, was unveiled by the

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, Lord Cobham, on 25 April 1958. The original design included a bronze

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

designed by Richard Gross, and the memorial was originally known by the name Memorial Avenue. In 1963, further developments to the community centre were made after the opening of

LynnMall LynnMall is a shopping centre in New Lynn, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. New Zealand's first shopping centre, LynnMall, has been servicing Auckland's western suburbs for over 50 years. Since opening in 1963, the centre has continued to evol ...

, the first major American-style shopping centre in Auckland, adjacent to the library. During this time, Memorial Avenue was renamed to Memorial Square. The square was redeveloped in 1974 as a paved facility, that incorporated drinking fountains, seats, trees and an artistic rock mound. Further changed to the square were made in 1984.

Memorial Square redevelopment

Memorial Square was redeveloped in the late 1990s, rededicated on 11 November 1998, based on a plan by landscape architect

. The square's new design incorporates s grid of brick pillars, intended by Wraight to represent soldiers in drill formation, and as a reflection of the brick industry of New Lynn. Water runs down pillars, intending to symbolise tears shed by loved ones of the soldiers. Richard Gross's bronze plates from the original cenotaph were dismantled, and incorporated into the brick pillars. The brick pillars also act as stakes for red and white roses that grow on the pillars. On

ANZAC Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...

2000, additional sculptures were added to Memorial Square. Created by

carvers Sunnah Thompson and Rewi Spraggon, the artwork represents a sunken

pointing north, with

tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and ...

inserts marking a diagonal line across the square. Two sculptures represent the (prow) and (stern-post) of the waka. The tauihu is a

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

carving set on

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

, while the taurapa sculpture is a stylised stainless steel structure. On 20 April 2001, Frank Hitchcock and Bruce Russell, two former prisoners of war, unveiled a brass plaque dedicated to 33 local soldiers who had died during World War I,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Library redevelopment

By 2000, the library had moved to a location inside

. Plans for a new library building began in 2003, as a part of the New Lynn revitalisation project, coinciding with the redevelopment of the

New Lynn railway station New Lynn railway station is on the Western Line of the Auckland railway network, New Zealand, and is part of an integrated transport centre where transfers can be made to and from bus services. A redeveloped station in a new rail trench was op ...

. The new building was designed by architecture firm Craig Craig Moller, and was opened on 18 October 2005. The new building was steel, concrete and brick two-storey building, designed under the Waitakere City Better Building Code. The new building incorporates artworks by Iona Mathieson, Sue Bridges, Te Warena Taua, Graeme Gash, Danny Rollinson and Philippa Crane, and has a permanent exhibition to the New Lynn ceramics industry. In 2013, the Merchant Quarter residential and commercial development opened to the south of the library. During this period, the

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...

wall on the library was relocated to the New Lynn RSA. The library adopted a dual

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

name, , in March 2023. The name includes ''Te Rewarewa'', the traditional Māori name for the New Lynn area, which translates as 'to float as one', referring to the waka and people that once floated down the nearby

Whau River The Whau River is an estuarial arm of the southwestern Waitemata Harbour (rather than a river) within the Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. It flows north for from its origin at the confluence of the Avondale Stream and Whau Stream to ...

Functions

The New Lynn War Memorial Library building houses the library, a branch of the

Citizens Advice Bureau Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice is the operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux which is the umbrella charity for a wider network of local advice centres. The abbreviation CitA is sometimes used to refer to this nation ...

which opened in November 2005, and an

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

learning centre.

Reception

The 2005 library building won a

New Zealand Institute of Architects Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is a membership-based professional organisation that represents 90 per cent of all registered architects in New Zealand, and promotes architecture that enhances the New Zealand livi ...

Auckland Branch Award in 2006. The library's community-focused design has been praised by sculptor John Edgar.

Gallery

New Lynn Memorial Square, 2014.jpg, New Lynn Memorial Square in 2014 New Lynn Memorial Square, sculpture, 2014 03.jpg, Northern Memorial Square waka sculpture, with the New Lynn War Memorial Library in background. New Lynn Memorial Square, sculpture, 2014 02.jpg, Southern Memorial Square waka sculpture, with the New Lynn War Memorial Library in background. New Lynn Library 20220425 135806.jpg, Wide view of New Lynn War Memorial Library in 2022

References

External links

New Lynn War Memorial Library website
{{Whau Local Board Area 2000s architecture in New Zealand Libraries in Auckland Libraries established in 1956 Whau Local Board Area World War I memorials in New Zealand