“There was going to be no more poverty, no more ignorance, no more disease. Art Deco reflected that confidence, vigor and optimism by using symbols of progress, speed and power.”
“There has been a suggestion that the rebuilding of Napier in a modern style pushes New Zealanders into a greater acceptance of modernism than you would find in many other countries, even though we were quite isolated in those days,”
“In any New Zealand town, even small country towns, you will find at least one Art Deco house. These were not built by intellectuals using an avant-garde architect as you might have found in the United States. These were built by builders using handbooks for young married couples who didn't have any intellectual pretensions at all.”
“The fact that we were unique and that there was a huge opportunity for Napier to not only save some important heritage but to benefit economically from tourism.”
“The Trust's attitude had been to always been to save the buildings through tourism because nobody took us seriously when we said that these concrete boxes were important,”
