One of the positives of writing this hertiage blog has been reporting on the Wellington City Council’s Built Heritage Incentive Fund and the interesting projects that it has supported, such as the Futuna Chapel, the Wedge in Thorndon and the railway houses in Tarikaka Street, in Ngaio. In a city like Wellington, where heritage is constantly…
Author: Elizabeth Cox
Voices from the Margins of Society
Today we are republishing an article by historian and Emeritus Professor Margaret Tennant, about her experiences of dealing with restrictions placed on archival material by government departments, since the 1990s. I was particularly struck by her argument that the placing of restrictions on archival case and personal files, for what may seem like good reasons at the…
‘I have set up shop!’: Mary Taylor in Wellington
In order to mark International Women’s Day, it’s time to honour one of New Zealand’s first and most forthright feminists, and her connection to a prominent corner of Wellington. The work going on on the corner of Cuba Street and Dixon Street in Wellington, is transforming what was Te Aro House (but which I can’t help of…
Update: Hug a Historian Today
If you’ve seen historians roaming the streets of Wellington in the last two weeks, looking depressed and despondent, this is why. In the last two weeks, since the earthquake:
Erskine #3
The beautiful chapel at Erskine College has been cordoned off this week (as pictured above) because a new engineering report written
Facades and Parapets
The government has issued a new policy today, to require owners of particular buildings to “tie back” at-risk facades and parapets that face onto the street within one year. The focus is on unreinforced masonry buildings on routes that have high pedestrian and vehicle traffic in four areas which now have a heightened risk of earthquakes as a result…
Erskine College #2
Pre-Christmas, things appear to be moving fast on Erskine College. Last week, the Save Erskine College Trust (SECT) was given an interim enforcement order by the Environment Court against developer The Wellington Company, the owner of the college.
Silver Linings
From our heritage ‘silver linings’ section of the recent earthquake (we’ve already talked of another one here) the movie reviewer from the Dominion Post pointed out
Catholic Work
The inauguration of our new Catholic Prime Minster today reminded me of the rather sad, and, in the end, futile letter written by Catholic architect John Sidney Swan,
Retrospective Funding Now Available for Wellington Heritage
In a fairly major policy change, the Wellington City Council have just announced that it is possible to apply retrospectively for funding from the council’s Heritage Fund for earthquake strengthening, which has a budget of 1.2 million for 2016-2017. This will allow owners who had to carry out urgent repairs, or pay for engineering assessments,…
Old High Court back in action
In a rare piece of good heritage news following the November earthquake, Wellington’s historic High Court building, in Stout Street, has been pressed back into service. It is a Category One listed building, which went through a lengthy multi-million dollar restoration project ending in 2010, at the same time as the new Supreme Court building was being built next…
‘For the Benefit of the People of the World’
There has been some sad news from Rotorua today, that the Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga O Te Arawa, originally built in 1908 as a spa bath house, has closed indefinitely
Bay Heritage Consultants Wellington 