The former Public Trust Building was completed in 1926 to a design by Wellington architect Stanley W. Fearn and built by Hastings builder J.W.C. Monk at a cost of £10,925. It remained in the use of the Public Trust until the 1990s and since 2002 a tavern has occupied the building. The Public Trust was established in 1872 by central government to prevent the misappropriation of trust funds upon a person's death. It gained a number of duties surrounding the administration of the estates of deceased persons, particularly those who died intestate, as well as a range of other powers. It established a network of agencies throughout the country and constructed buildings to house its offices. Hastings was one of these. The former Public Trust Building is of stripped Classical design, a carefully articulated design that makes use of columns, pilasters, cornices and other Classical motifs to provide an ordered and functional building. The impressive full height Ionic columns that stand either side of the main entrance doors on Karamu Road, and dwarf them, are particularly impressive features. The building is architecturally significant as a very good example of the style; as the work of an important architect of the period, and for its contribution to the townscape quality of this financial/legal quarter of the city. That it was built before the Hawkes Bay earthquake and survived its shocks is tribute to the architect and engineer. The building's historic and social significance is derived from the approximately 70 years the building was owned and occupied by the Public Trust. In that period the building was visited by generations of Hastings citizens and the business conducted there affected the lives of many. The building has lost its original use but its accessibility is retained today in its new role as a tavern.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
1101
Date Entered
6th June 2008
Date of Effect
6th June 2008
City/District Council
Hastings District
Region
Hawke's Bay Region
Extent of List Entry
The registration includes all of the land in RT HBB1/1008 and the building and its fittings and fixtures thereon.
Legal description
Lot 1 DP 4893 (RT HBB1/1008), Hawkes Bay Land District
Location Description
Corner of Karamu Road North and Queen Street East