The area of remembrance in front of the Upper Hutt City Council offices in Fergusson Drive incorporates four flagpoles, a memorial statue, and a memorial wall that displays a range of commemorative plaques, including the Upper Hutt District Military Roll of Honour.
From at least 1931 the Upper Hutt Borough Council held its civic Anzac Day ceremonies in Maidstone Park, where a flagpole was erected for the purpose. After the Second World War, the council decided to develop a more substantial memorial, and in 1950 bought a 120-acre tract of farmland and bush from the Barton family to form what became known as Trentham Memorial Park. In 1958 the council also opened memorial swimming baths in Maidstone Park.
Although in 1959 memorial gates and a memorial wall were installed at the Fergusson Drive entrance to Trentham Memorial Park, Maidstone Park continued for some years as the site of the town's Anzac Day ceremonies. However, on Armistice Day 1973, the new Upper Hutt war memorial was unveiled at the entrance to the Upper Hutt City Council building. This plain but dignified cenotaph was faced with four polished marble slabs, each inset with a cross and the words 'Lest we forget'. Plaques acknowledging service in the First World War, Second World War, Korea and Malaya were placed at its base (these may have come from the plinth of the Maidment Park flagpole).
In 2010 a larger space in front of the civic building was developed as an area of remembrance. The panels from the cenotaph were incorporated into the plinth of a bronze statue sculpted by Chris Elliott and Ross Wilson. Known as the 'Now Grandad' statue, this depicts a war veteran and his granddaughter at an Anzac Day ceremony. Plaques from all the preceding memorials and the Upper Hutt District Military Roll of Honour were incorporated into the wall facing Fergusson Drive. The sculpture was unveiled on 14 April 2014 and the area of remembrance was first used for an Anzac Day ceremony the following year.
On 25 August 2016 a revised version of the Upper Hutt District Military Roll of Honour was unveiled. This listed the names of 50 Upper Hutt men who had given their lives: 29 First World War names, 20 Second World War names and one Korean war name (R.J. Unsworth).
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