Okaiawa’s Second World War memorial was originally the memorial swimming baths at the local school. These were opened by Mr W.A. Bodkin, Minister of Internal Affairs, on 10 March 1952. The memorial plaque, set in a brick feature wall on the exterior of the baths, listed the names of 55 local men who had served in the war, including three who died. After the closure of Okaiawa School in 2009, the plaque was resited to a purpose-built memorial wall of river stones erected in the Okaiawa Cemetery.
The Okaiawa First World War memorial is not far away, near the entrance to Joll Park.
See: Okaiawa School 75th Jubilee Souvenir Booklet, 1958; A.P.C. Bromley, Hawera: An Outline of the Development of a New Zealand Community, Hawera, 1981, p. 185; ‘Okaiawa WWII Memorial’, Kete New Plymouth.
Image and text: Bruce Ringer, 2017