Restoration work on the World War I memorial at Moutoa Gardens is on track to be finished by Anzac Day, despite hitting the occasional snag.
The monument is a memorial to the Maori soldiers of the district who fought in World War I. It contains a plaque listing the names of all 17 Maori Battalion soldiers killed in the war.
Unveiled at an Anzac Day service on April 25, 1925, by Sir Maui Pomare, the monument was poorly constructed and in recent years had become cracked and unstable.
Mark Whyte from Goldfield Stone is leading the restoration and he said the work was going "swimmingly well".
"We've had no problems, but some of the stones we've found in the monument have been huge and have had to be cut, and that's extended our timeframe."
But Mr Whyte said the restoration would be ready for Anzac Day this year.
He said the monument had been carefully dismantled and was being rebuilt.
"Each stone from the obelisk was taken out and labelled, with its exact location marked on it so it can be put back in the same place," Mr Whyte said.
The underground foundation work is finished and work on the obelisk will begin next week.
Mr Whyte said the obelisk's unstable inner core would be replaced by heavily reinforced concrete, and the entire monument would be locked together.
"Once it is finished, the monument will look exactly as it did before except for the big crack down the middle.
"The difference is that it will be very sturdy."
The Pakaitore Historic Reserve Board, which received nearly $500,000 from the Lotteries World War I committee, commissioned the restoration. The grant came with the condition the work be completed by Anzac Day this year - the centenary of the landing at Gallipoli.
Mr Whyte said his company, which specialises in the restoration of monuments, was currently very busy working on monuments and other memorial structures in time for Anzac Day.