NZHPT Information release
16 July 2010
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) has welcomed today’s decision to retain Shed 10 on Auckland’s Queen’s Wharf and looks forward to working with the Waterfront Development Agency over its future.
NZHPT Chief Executive Bruce Chapman thanked Auckland Regional Council (ARC) Chairman Mike Lee and said NZHPT was pleased to have been involved in the Queen’s Wharf discussions, with today’s decision “a significant and pragmatic result”.
“It is very pleasing that the Government and the ARC have agreed to retain a significant part of Auckland’s maritime heritage for future consideration,” Mr Chapman said.
“NZHPT is delighted we can now move on in time for the Rugby World Cup.”
Further comment would not be made until the NZHPT Board had seen full details of the agreement between the ARC and Government, Mr Chapman said.
For more information:
Jamie Douglas
Media Advisor
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
tel: 04 470 8066 or 027 683 9065
email: jdouglas@historic.org.nz
Background information on Queen's Wharf
Today, people who see the interior of the sheds are struck by their potential for adaptive reuse. The larger of the two sheds is similar in size to a football field, and both buildings are in sound condition inside. The Sydney Blue Gum joists and decking, riveted metal frames, and original electric lifts add character to both buildings which are striking for their modern ‘industrial’ appearance. They have considerable potential to be successfully readapted for new use both inside and out.
The sheds are also the last link to a waterfront history that shaped Auckland, but which has all but disappeared. Visiting royalty, mountains of freight, and the comings and goings of thousands of travellers who have passed through its red gates – Queen’s Wharf’s heritage is linked with the 20th century.
Constructed between 1906 and 1913, the wharf was initially an extension of Queen Street. An earlier wharf allowed people to stroll while ships from around New Zealand and overseas were loaded and unloaded. After being rebuilt, Queen’s Wharf continued as the city’s primary gateway, and for much of the 20th Century was central to Auckland’s economic development.
Redevelopment coincided with profound change, including New Zealand’s emerging status as a Dominion. Other major public works like the Ferry Building, the Auckland Town Hall, the Central Post Office and Grafton Bridge were built at the same time, collectively reflecting progressive ideas, new technology and growing sense of national pride. Queen’s Wharf was a backdrop to much of this change.
In 1913 more than 94,000 Aucklanders (of a population of just 113,000) flocked to Queen’s Wharf to visit HMS New Zealand – the ship presented to the Royal Navy by the New Zealand Government partly to mark its Dominion status – as part of a goodwill tour of the country before leaving for Britain and participating in several notable battles during World War I.
Queen’s Wharf was the formal reception place both when Prince Edward arrived as part of a tour of the British Empire to acknowledge the country’s war contribution, and for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York in 1927.
The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 meant Auckland was no longer the last port of call for ships coming from Europe, but one of the first stops as ships passed through this new international shipping link.
The Ruahine was one such ship. A regular visitor to Queen’s Wharf in the 1950s, she provided a regular passenger link to England, as well as freight capacity which included refrigerated cargo holds for meat and dairy products. The Ruahine and ships like her helped fuel New Zealand’s post-War boom.
The network of sheds on Queen’s Wharf served variously as a venue for the 1910 Agricultural and Pastoral show, an auditorium for the 200-voice Sheffield Choir who performed as part of the Musical Festival of the British Empire in 1911 and a dormitory for strike-breaking labour during the 1913 waterfront dispute.