Residents had voiced particular concern as the original hall was built by public subscription in 1956 in memory of those who lost their lives in the World War II conflict.
Among them was Ronda Chrystal, whose grandfather, Ron Spriggs, was Napier's mayor from 1950 to 1956, when the memorial was built. As Napier's oldest war veteran he also lit the eternal flame in 1995 when the centre was reopened.
"The number one choice for pretty much the whole of Napier was to put [the items] back. Otherwise, my choice would be as near as possible, so the Floral Clock," she said.
Situated next to centre, it had been proposed the clock be relocated to the Sunken Gardens.
Ms Chrystal said wherever the new site was located, "it has to be respectful, and in keeping with a memorial", and efforts should be made to ensure it was "vandal proof".
"It's never going to be fixed, but I hope it's rectified the best it can be."
There had been concern about a lack of public consultation when the items were removed, so she felt it was good the council were engaging, and asking for feedback on the proposals.
Napier RSA president John Purcell also felt if the items could not be reinstated in the centre, their preference for the new memorial would be the floral clock site.
"We feel as an organization that that's as good as it's going to get," he said.
"We feel that it's in the right place, and from the floral clock you can see to the Veronica Bay and the Sound Shell."
This was echoed by Guy Natusch - the hall's original architect and a World War II veteran.
" I would go as far as to say that for the preservation of the memorial that is the only site that would qualify. The other two do not. But I think the community is going to have to be consulted, and be satisfied"
Although he had advocated for the return of the items to the hall, Mr Natusch said by having the memorial items in the place of the floral clock, "I think the visual connection is enough, it's all part of the one site".
Now, the next step would be for the community, and council to agree on a brief for how they wanted the memorial to look.
"It's a long way from being a resolved situation, but we've resolved the location, and we now have to resolve the brief."
As well as reinstating the items near their original home, the council has floated the idea of returning the centre's original name to it, by renaming the large hall inside as the "War Memorial Hall".
The council had agreed to change the name of the building last year to avoid confusion with potential clients about the centre's purpose.
On this proposal, Mr Purcell said their organization had advocated for the return of the name to the centre - and this would go some way to making that happen.
When asked how he felt about the name possibly returning to the hall, Mr Natusch said he hoped there could be some kind of "umbrella" use of the name so it encompassed "the whole complex".
"That includes the original memorial hall, albeit somewhat altered, and the [items] that were taken from it."
Members of the community have been encouraged to provide feedback on the proposals in several ways, including at a public meeting at the MTG on August 1.
- Provide feedback at napier.govt.nz/our-council/consultations/have-your-say/napier-war-memorial/
