Originally the northern part of Clive Square, central Napier, the Memorial Square name came into effect in 1926 with the completion of the Women’s Rest part of the war memorial area – the cenotaph had been unveiled on November 9, 1924. Phoenix and Washingtonia palms are spread across both Clive and Memorial Square, but the 10 Phoenix palms in Memorial Square follow a common trend to plant Phoenix palms in war memorial sites. After the February 1931 Napier earthquake both squares were converted into a temporary shopping area – called Tin Town – which was dismantled in May 1933. A few palms were sacrificed in the Clive Square area, but as the Phoenix palms in Memorial Square were planted on an outside border none of them were removed, and as the 1935 photo [1] shows they suffered no ill effects from the Tin Town buildings. Being located not far from Napier’s famous Kennedy Rd double avenue of Phoenix palms, they make a further contribution to Napier’s well-known association between palms and art deco, though this example shows the palms pre-dated the flourishing of art deco building after the Napier earthquake.
References:
1. ‘In the principal centre of the Hawke’s Bay district: a new and picturesque view of Napier’, Auckland Weekly News 28 Feb 1935; photo: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collection AWNS-19350828-41-01.