19-05-2025
Hillier Centre in Mount Maunganui closes after 37 years of service
It offered counselling, mental and physical health support, parenting programmes, community corrections services, and spaces for community groups to gather.
The building was sold by Perpetual Guardian, which manages The Hillier Bequest Charitable Trust, to Metlifecare in 2022.
A Metlifecare spokesperson confirmed the purchase and said the company had worked with the occupants to keep them informed throughout the process.
The closure has prompted several organisations to relocate.
Tauranga Family Works, a key tenant, moved its operations to 126 11th Ave on May 12, offering continued access to essential services such as counselling and social work services for children and families, Women Against Violence Education (WAVE), Social Workers in Schools, Parenting Through Separation and the Restore programme.
Enliven, which provides home-based support and individualised funding, will also move into the new facility.
A spokesperson for Presbyterian Support Northern, which manages both Family Works and Enliven, said the advantages of moving included a more central location for clients, ground floor access, greater service visibility, a purpose-built fit-out for its teams and more opportunity for collaboration.
Headway Brain Injury Association BOP relocated to 53 Fraser St, co-locating with Breast Cancer Support Services.
Headway longtime employee Dianne Beveridge, who retired last year after more than 30 years with the organisation, said news of the building's sale had been 'unsettling' at first, but the organisation was 'very happy' with its new space.
The Department of Corrections service centre has been operating at the Hillier Centre since 2009, providing reintegration programmes and managing individuals serving community sentences.
Corrections general manager Brent Reilly confirmed the current tenancy agreement, managed through Presbyterian Support Northern, expires on May 31.
The department had hoped to renew the lease through September 2025, but Reilly said the building owner requested the space back.
'We are confident of securing space in the Mount Maunganui/Pāpāmoa community before the end of May.
'If there were to end up being a temporary period between leaving our current property and moving to a new one, we will still be able to provide comprehensive support and oversight of the people we manage, in the community and through our three offices in Tauranga and our office in Te Puke.'
A legacy of love and community service
The Hillier Centre's origins lie in a love story that spanned continents and decades.
The facility was established through a charitable bequest by Lieutenant Colonel Victor Florian Hillier and his wife, Hilda Helen Halliday Hillier. The couple emigrated to New Zealand from India in 1946 after long careers in military and civil service under the British Empire.
Initially envisioned as a sheltered workshop for people with physical disabilities in the Mount Maunganui area, the Hilliers' legacy evolved into something much broader.
Trustees of the Hillier Trust partnered with the Tauranga Hospital Board and Presbyterian Support Northern after the couple's passing in the 1970s to build a community-focused centre that opened in 1986.
In 1995, the centre was renamed 'The Hillier Centre,' and its mission was updated: 'To provide a safe place where people in our community can explore options and access resources that will enhance their health and wellbeing.'
The Hillier Centre stood as an independent, non-governmental and non-council funded facility — an increasingly rare model in New Zealand's social services landscape.
It accommodated many health and support organisations, offering office and consulting space, training venues, and meeting rooms for groups ranging from counselling services to fitness and card clubs.
The centre adapted to the growing needs of the community over time, with space to host more than 100 people across its meeting and interview rooms.
Its last building extension was completed in 2001, and its strategic location close to bus routes - between Baywave TECT Aquatic Centre and Somerville Retirement Village - made it accessible to many.
Hundreds of people passed through its doors each week. Whether seeking help for mental health, escaping violence, managing physical rehabilitation, or simply needing a place to belong, the Hillier Centre was a safe harbour.
