Well the scaffold is up, and the main college building is coming down. For some time we have been tracking the attempts by a number of heritage advocates to save the Erskine College buildings in Island Bay, Wellington. Our last update in June 2017 was here. At the time of our last update, a mediation was…
Author: Elizabeth Cox
Unreinforced Masonry Buildings
Update 28 Sept 2018: The below was written on 26 Sept 2018, but in the following two days, all of the buildings discussed below have been removed from the Wellington Council’s list of Unreinforced Masonry (URM) buildings except one – the Newtown Hotel building discussed below. 26 Sept 2018: A major deadline approaches in Wellington, and…
New Zealand’s First Female Architects
My latest project is the study of New Zealand’s first female architects, which I have been working on for about 18 months now. Our first registered female architect registered as an architect in 1914, over a century ago. Her name was Lucy Greenish (1888 – 1976), as pictured in the main image. I have uncovered…
The ‘Heritage Aura’ Effect
Today we have a guest post from Auckland Council’s Dr David Bade and Dr Mario Fernandez, who have been looking into the question of whether heritage places have an effect on house prices in Auckland. Their research is part of the council’s Auckland Heritage Counts programme, which aims to raise awareness of the economic and social benefits…
Sorry, I am Not a Bus Stop
As part of the recent much-talked-about changes to the bus system in Wellington, one of the buildings left with an existential crisis is the diminutive Miramar Tram/Bus Stop, in the central island of the Miramar shopping centre on Park Road. I researched the history of this building a number of years ago, when it still…
The Third Landing Site: Wahine 50 years ago
A story I wrote about Kevin Mitchell’s experience of Wahine Day was published on-line by Stuff today, to mark the 50th anniversary of the disaster this week. Tucked into Kevin Mitchell’s copy of a book about the history of the Wellington Free Ambulance Service is a typed report posted to him at his home in Wadestown, written…
Book Launch of ‘A Friend Indeed: The Saving of Old St Paul’s’
I am very proud to say that my first book, A Friend Indeed: The Saving of Old St Paul’s, was launched this week. The writing of it was very kindly funded by the Friends of Old St Paul’s, and the launch was organised by them and by Heritage New Zealand. The book was launched by the Prime…
A Women’s Space
For International Women’s Day, I’m sharing some of the research I completed about this building, the Barrett Street Nurses’ Home in New Plymouth. It tells the story of a space planned, paid for and inhabited by women. It is also a useful lesson for heritage professionals like me about how the smallest and humblest details…
‘Where Will the Queen Stay Now?’: Revingtons, Greymouth
One of the buildings damaged in the storm yesterday was the famous Revingtons Hotel in Greymouth. The mayor, Tony Kokshoorn, apparently has said today ‘I am calling for the demolition of Revingtons Hotel. A large part of the roof has come off it and for health and safety reasons I want the demolition brought forward…
Brutal but Beautiful
The Kaori Teacher’s College campus is a complex designed by the celebrated Wellington architect, William Toomath, between 1963 and 1977, and is considered to be the best ensemble of Brutalist architecture in New Zealand. It isn’t just Toomath’s individual buildings that are significant – there is considerable architectural significance in the coherent community of buildings…
Earthquake Prone Beauties
My friend Andy Spain, an architectural photographer, has recently begun a project to document all the Earthquake Prone Buildings in Wellington, to reflect on the fragility of these buildings and how easily they could lost. To help me choose which of Andy’s beautiful shots to display below, I have chosen buildings which are not only…
A Stitch in Time: The Archaeology of Newtown
Wellington archaeologist Mary O’Keeffe has kindly provided a summary of her archaeological investigation on a number of properties recently demolished in Newtown, which provided a rich and highly significant addition to our understanding of the social history of Wellington. The diverse and fascinating artefact assemblage she found gives an insight into the lives and aspirations…
Bay Heritage Consultants Wellington 