More Info →Mowlem building, 268-270 Cuba Street

C. Tilleard Natusch & Sons’ designed this building. Its Spanish Mission design style was becoming popular in New Zealand by the latter 1920s, and it was to be well-used in Hawkes Bay after the 1931 earthquake – especially in Hastings. The building was erected by Messrs Anderson & Williamson at a cost of £3,300. The plans show the ground floor as a large open room with a concrete floor, while the first floor – which also has a concrete floor - was a purpose-built billiard room designed to accommodate six billiard tables. The words “Mowlem Building” were planned to appear on its upper façade. The ground floor initially accommodated a tyre company and then for many years the Para Rubber Company. The upper floor remained a billiard saloon until at least 1960 – and was a restaurant from the mid-1980s to about 2006.