From Tauranga City Library’s archives
A monthly blog about interesting items in our collection
This past month at Tauranga Library has been a hive of activity as it was relocated from 91 Willow Street to an interim site at He Puna Manawa (formerly the Goddards Centre), located at 21 Devonport Road.
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| He Puna Manawa – Tauranga City Libraries 2022 |
Since 1930 there has been a library on Willow Street, firstly as a combined facility with the Tauranga Municipal Electricity Department and Council, and then as a purpose-built Council and Library civic centre in 1988.
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| Tauranga Library from 1930-1988 - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 99-1205 |
The plan is to continue to house the Tauranga Library and Community Hub at 91 Willow Street, although construction of a new civic precinct is expected to take another 3-4 years. In the meantime, the former Goddards Centre arcade between Devonport and Grey Streets will be a temporary home.
So what is the history of this building known as Goddards Centre and why was it given this name? After a little digging into Pae Korokī, Tauranga library’s online archives, it turns out there are some excellent resources that help tell the story(s). The arcade is named after Ray Goddard who once owned a book store on the site at 21 Devonport Road. By all accounts it was an excellent book shop and even had an upstairs gift shop (The Attic) which sold pottery and assorted handicrafts. The building was demolished to make way for the arcade in 1991 and the new owner kept the name, supposedly to pay tribute to Ray’s time there.
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| Tauranga City Libraries, Logan Publishing, Tauranga and Bay of Plenty Photo News Collection Photo pn-3381 and Photo pn-3318. |
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| Tauranga properties in the city centre – sheet 2 - Tauranga City Libraries map 21-002 |
Cross-checking with other Council maps and directories, this places Ray Goddard’s bookstore on this map where Tauranga Furnishing Company’s show room is, with a gap and then Mann Hardware Ltd. At this time there was no development on the Grey Street side. Various sources over the years note Babington’s Furnishings (Tauranga Furnishing Company) and Goddards bookstore as being at the address 21 Devonport Road. This would equate to the northern side of the current He Puna Manawa, being the main parts of the library.
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| Changing face: from upstairs of Babington’s Furnishings – Tauranga City Libraries, Logan Publishing, Tauranga and Bay of Plenty Photo News Collection Photo pn-3147 |
As the arcade covers 23 Devonport Road as well, it is likely Mann Hardware Ltd used to be where the southern side of He Puna Manawa is, including the Customer Service Centre and Rialto Cinema above. There is also an excellent oral history recording on Pae Korokī of Dave Cambie, a previous owner of Mann Hardware. He tells of how he worked his way up from a 15 year-old shop boy to the owner of the store, who then branched out and bought the shops either side of his, encompassing the Tauranga Furnishing Company building and land in between.
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| Mann Hardware – Tauranga City Libraries Photo 02-118 |
A few years after Dave Cambie retired, he sold his properties to a Mr Tom Roper and the businesses were run as Goddard's Bookshop and Mitre 10. In 1991, Mitre 10 and Goddard’s Bookshop/Babington’s Furnishings were then demolished to make way for Goddards Arcade.
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| Devonport Road shopfront number about 26 - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 15-254 |
Sources:
- Bellamy, A.C. (1982), Tauranga 1882-1982
- New Zealand Post Office (Wises) Directory (1961)
- Pae Korokī (https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz). Logan Publishing Tauranga and Bay of Plenty Photo News Collection. Rodney Giddens Tauranga CBD and Mount Maunganui Collection. Interview with Dave Cambie (1992) Oral History Unit Project - Tauranga District Museum Oral History Unit.
- Paperspast (https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers)
- Mapi - Tauranga City Council
- All other photographs taken by author.
Written by Jody Smart, Heritage Specialist at Tauranga City Library.
