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Heritage New Zealand, Summer 2002

Former Ashburton Technical School

Brick buildings give a feeling of solidity but for the former Ashburton Technical School that impression is misleading. Seven years of disuse have thrown the 1912-built structure's future into doubt.

A cloud hangs over the future of this Ashburton education landmark. Picture: New Zealand Historic Places Trust

Owned by the council, the building has been vacant since 1995. A council-commissioned report on its condition, prepared by Powell Fenwick, concluded that the building was in a poor state. Rather than spend money on its upkeep, and to free the site for future development, the council has applied for its demolition through the district plan process.

The Historic Places Trust southern regional office responded with a submission and a report it commissioned from Holmes Consulting, which came to a different conclusion - that the building is in generally good condition and, with a little work, could meet the minimum requirements under the Building Act.

Picture: New Zealand Historic Places Trust

Issues have to be settled before demolition can take place. As this is a listed building, a hearing is required before a commissioner and, depending on the outcome and the attitude of the parties, an appeal to the Environment Court is a possibility.

Under the spotlight is a building significant for the important part it played in the provision of education in Ashburton. It is also part of a broad precinct of brick heritage buildings, an architectural legacy that Ashburton should be immensely proud of.

Ashburton, established in 1863, is a rural centre of some 15,000 people. It has 20 buildings registered by the Historic Places Trust, but just a single Category I building, the striking Church of the Holy Name.The church is built of brick, the building material synonymous with Ashburton. In an area so bereft of trees, but with fine reserves of clay, it is little wonder that brick became the most favoured building material. The impact of brick on the townscape would be more obvious if many of its buildings had not been painted.

Over half the registered buildings in Ashburton are built wholly or partly of brick and the former school is one of them. Its exterior is also listed Category A on the council's two-tiered district plan inventory. Built in 1912 by William Reid, it was the first permanent building constructed for the technical school, which began offering classes in 1881, including - from 1900 - night classes for adults. The building's architect is not known, but the distinctive, elegant Queen Anne façade makes a strong contribution to Cameron St.

In 1934, the school became a technical high school, then the Ashburton Technical College and later still Hakatere College. In 1965, after a long-mooted amalgamation between the college and Ashburton High School, the building was vacated. The Ashburton Historical Society took it over in 1967 and used it as a museum until 1995. It has been vacant since then.

What can be done? First of all, more effort should be made to find a new use for the building and in the meantime it should be made weathertight and, if necessary, mothballed. If there is no need for the building to come down, it should be left where it is. As for uses, the building could be returned to its former role as a teaching institution, particularly with the Ashburton Polytechnic nearby. First and foremost, however, demolition should be ruled out. It is time for the Ashburton District Council to set an example for others to follow.

How you can help

Lobby the Ashburton District Council to find a use for the building, or as a last resort, mothball the building.

Buy or lease the building.

For more information

Visit the Ashburton District Council's section of the Ashburton Today website.

Reading:

"The Mushroom of the Plains: Ashburton Builds in Brick" by Michael Hanrahan, in The Past Today: Historic Places in New Zealand. Editor John Wilson. Pacific Publishers, Auckland 1987.