Formerly known as the Horse Paddock, Yarrow Park, Miro Park and East End Park, the area was officially named Naumai Park in 1926. Despite its largely native plant content, Naumai Park is not a natural feature of the Hāwera landscape, but a man-made transformation of a former dump site, created by a group of dedicated volunteers in the 1920s.
Developed around a central core of three small lakes (the upper of which has been abandoned), Naumai Park contains several notable features. These include the 1927 kauri grove, a comprehensive collection of native plants and impressive stone walls, the waterfall which operates through a re-circulating pump in the upper lake, and the whare-like summerhouse, built in the 1940s and decorated with a striking mural. The ornamental gates, from the original Hāwera Hospital, were donated to the park in 1932.
The park provides a popular summer picnic destination, though its tall trees limit the number of sunny spots at other times of the year. The park has also been used to stage both theatrical and musical events and recently provided a film set for the movie Predicament based on the book by Hāwera author Ronald Hugh Morrieson.
