Tauranga’s Memorial Park Cenotaph has been restored to its former glory by a team of natural stone sealing specialists ahead of this year’s Anzac Day commemorations.

The historic memorial was built in 1954 as a monument to fallen World War II soldiers from the Bay of Plenty region.

Sonya Nielson of Elevate Sealing Solutions noticed the cenotaph was looking dirty, dull “and in dire need of our attention” so approached Tauranga City Council.

“The council was very proactive in wanting this job done before Anzac Day services – so we got to work in February.”

Elevate Sealing Solutions’ owner Brett Noble says his Tauranga-based business – which services the entire North Island – specialises in cleaning and sealing new and existing Hinuera and Oamaru stone on council and commercial projects, and residential homes.

“The Memorial Park Cenotaph is made of Hinuera stone – we’ve sealed the memorial, garden walls and concrete base with a water-based sealer that will repel water and inhibit the mould growth, maintaining this clean appearance for around five years.

And with our database we’ll follow up in five years’ time to keep on top of any maintenance required.”

Since the work in February Brett’s had people comment that they’d never actually seen or noticed the Cenotaph before due to its dark and mouldy appearance.

“And we want more of the community to know the cenotaph has been upgraded ahead of Anzac Day.”

The end result, after cleaning and sealing work by Elevate Sealing Solutions. Photo: supplied.

The Elevate Sealing Solutions team of three including Brett, Casie and Sonya work from town-to-town cleaning, sealing and restoring Hinuera and Oamaru stone structures – whether it be homes, walls, memorials, statues etc.

“We also specialise in porous products such as decorative concrete surfaces, standard concrete and aggregate,” says Brett.

“These concrete surfaces are usually ones people don’t want to change the look of – the cleaning and sealing products we use are New Zealand-made and non-hazardous, which makes them safe for around aquatic applications too.”

Brett, who has more than 25 years’ specialising in the trade, has an extensive knowledge of natural stone and its characteristics.

He says Hinuera and Oamaru stone are high-end natural products – so you need a specialist dealing with it.

“I believe our business is quite unique in what we do, and we are council-approved.

"We also help educate people on how to look after their stonework too.”

Next week Elevate Sealing Solutions will work on Memorial Park’s soundshell war memorial.

“We’ll put fencing around the Anzac Memorial, and the soundshell and we’ll clean and seal this area too – ready for the Anzac Parade.”

Watch this space!