Inventory Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Date: 16 August 2013 Prime Minister’s Residence 260 Tinakori Road Image: Historic Places Trust Summary of heritage significance • Premier house has architectural value as an example of the Italianate style and stands as an excellent representative of the architecture of the period. The building expresses well the grandeur of its function as the prime minister’s residence. The redesign in 1872-73 was by one of Wellington’s most prominent architects, William Clayton. • The house is not visible from the street so has little role in the streetscape, however the grounds are highly visible and provide a great deal of visual interest on a street that is otherwise built up to the footpath and road. It is a landmark on Tinakori Road and contributes to the character and sense of place in Thorndon, and more widely, Wellington. • This building has significant authenticity and integrity due to the retention of some materials from the original cottage construction and the material from the 1872-73 William Clayton developments. 1 Date: 16 August 2013 District Plan: Map 18, reference 308 Legal Description: Sec 1 SO 36604 Heritage Area: HPT Listed: Category I, reference 1371 Archaeological Site: Pre 1900 Building Other Names: Key physical dates: Built: 1862-73 Architect / Builder: Former uses: Residential Current uses: Residential Earthquake Prone Status: Not Earthquake Prone – SR 191371 Extent: Cityview GIS 2013 2 Date: 16 August 2013 1.0 Outline History 1.1 History1 When the capital city was moved from Auckland to Wellington in 1865, the Crown purchased sections 630 and 631 from Richard Collins for £2900 as a residence for the premier, as the site was close to the new Government buildings. The site already had a small timber cottage upon it that had been built in 1843 by businessman Nathaniel Levin which had been extensively added to by Richard Collins. In 1867 the Premier Sir E. Stafford moved into the house, and was the first of many New Zealand leaders who would occupy the building. Premier Sir Julius Vogel and his wife Mary took up residence in 1872, but they found the modest cottage to be too small for their lavish functions so engaged an architect to extend the building. Mary Vogel’s father, W.H. Clayton, the then Colonial Architect, is credited with the extensive alterations, costing £2885, which was completed in 1873. Of the original house, only the southern wing of the original house was retained, and in place of the remainder of the house was a two storey, late Victorian Italianate style timber house with eight bedrooms, enlarged servants quarters, a conservatory, and a ballroom. The house was clad in shiplap weatherboards, the building adorned with decorative elements such as Chicago and bay windows. The less visible rear of the building, where utilitarian areas such as the kitchen and scullery were located, was relatively plain. In 1884 New Zealand’s first lift was installed to transport Sir Julius Vogel, by now suffering from gout, from the dining room to his bedroom above. During the Vogel’s residence, the house was known for its opulent parties and acquired the name ‘The Casino’. In 1874 the Crown acquired section 632 once owned by James Hill. Sections 630, 631, and 632 were the last three original town acre sections in Wellington. This 1874 purchase brought the grounds surrounding Premier House to just under 121 square metres, a dramatic contrast to the small, heavily built up sections that otherwise characterised the rest of Thorndon. The grounds underwent extensive landscaping following this purchase. A site plan dated to 1890 shows a kitchen garden, shrubberies, flower beds, and fruit trees. A small house was included on section 632, which had been rented by both Sir George Grey and Edward Gibbon Wakefield, was retained on its site until 1935 when it was replaced with a new residence by the Labour Government. When the Labour Party came into power in 1935, the new Prime Minister Michael Savage considered the house to be too ostentatious for him to live in and decided to move into a house on Harbour View Road, and its parliamentary association ended for the time. 1 History adapted from: Rebecca O’Brien ‘Prime Minister’s Residence – 260 Tinakori Road’, (Historic Places Trust, unpublished registration report) 5 October 2002, accessed 16 August 2013, http://www.historic.org.nz/TheRegister/RegisterSearch/RegisterResults.aspx?RID=1371, and 'Vogel House and Premier House - housing NZ's prime ministers', (Ministry for Culture and Heritage) updated 20-Dec-2012, accessed 16 August 2013. http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/prime-ministers- houses/vogel-house-premier-house 3 Date: 16 August 2013 There were rumours at the time that the house at 260 Tinakori Road would be demolished and the property subdivided. This did not occur, and the house was converted into a trainee dental clinic in 1937. It was designed to cope with the overflow of trainee dental nurses that had resulted from the new Government’s expanded health care programme, and the house was to serve as temporary accommodation until a new school could be constructed. It was capable of seating 50 children, and the house functioned as a clinic until 1976, and received the nickname ‘The Murder House’ by generations of children practiced on by the apprentice nurses. Following the closure of the clinic, the house was again threatened with demolition and subdivision. Ironically, it was a Labour minister, Michael Basset, who was instrumental in persuading the authorities to comply with the Thorndon Historical Society’s request to have the house reinstated as a ministerial residence. Although there was some push for redevelopment, public outcry meant that the house was restored in 1990 to mark the 150th anniversary of the signing of The Treaty of Waitangi. Many of the 1890s trees were still in place and enough of the original framework of the garden had survived to allow city council gardeners and landscapers to restore it to its former glory. The grounds are considered to be one of the best examples of a Victorian garden in Wellington. The house was again the residence of the Premier, with the first residents since the restoration being Geoffrey and Margaret Palmer. Premier house has housed every subsequent prime minister, with some choosing to have it as a family home, although it has not been occupied full-time by the past two. The house is still used to host VIP guests and is the venue for events such as awards ceremonies. It was one of the few ministerial residences retained by the government following the reformation of ministerial expenses and is maintained as a piece of living heritage. 1.2 Timeline of modifications – All plans and modification information requires privacy and written authority from the owner (National Property Manager, Department of Internal Affairs) required – confidential to owner under Building Act. 1.3 Occupation history 1879 Hon. Dr Daniel Pollen – Colonial secretary and member of the Legislative Council 1883 Hon. F. Whitaker – Premier 1887 Hon. Sir Julius Vogel 1887-1891 Sir H.A. Atkinson 1891-1893 John Ballance 1896-1988 Sir Walter L. Buller – Ornithologist 1899 S. Percy-Smith – Surveyor General and Ethnologist 1901-1912 Sir Joseph Ward – Prime Minister 1914-1925 Hon. William F. Massey – Prime Minister 1927-1929 Hon. Joseph G. Coates – Prime Minister 1928 Hon. George W. Forbes – Prime Minister 4 Date: 16 August 2013 1.4 Architect Original architect unknown – 1872-73 alterations designed by William Henry Clayton.2 Born in Tasmania, Clayton (1823-1877) travelled to Europe with his family in 1842. He studied architecture in Brussels and was then articled to Sir John Rennie, engineer to the Admiralty, in London. He returned to Tasmania in 1848 and worked in private practice until he was appointed Government Surveyor in 1852. He resumed private practice in 1855 and was involved with surveying in the Launceston area. In 1857 he was elected an alderman on the Launceston Municipal Council. By the time Clayton immigrated to Dunedin in 1863 he had been responsible for the design of many buildings including churches, banks, a mechanics' institute, a theatre, steam and water mills, breweries, bridges, mansions and villas, in addition to being a land surveyor and road engineer. In 1864 he entered partnership with William Mason. Mason and Clayton were responsible for some important buildings in Dunedin including All Saints Church (1865) and The Exchange (former Post Office) (1865) as well as the Colonial Museum, Wellington (1865). These were two of the most prominent architects of their day in New Zealand. In 1869 Clayton became the first and only Colonial Architect and was responsible for the design of Post and Telegraph offices, courthouses, customhouses, Government department offices and ministerial residences. His acknowledged masterpiece is Government Buildings, Wellington (1876) a stone-simulated wooden building and the largest timber framed building in the Southern Hemisphere. Clayton was a prolific and highly accomplished architect both within the Public Service and in private practice, in New Zealand and Australia. 2.0 Physical description 2.1 Architecture The Prime Minister’s Residence is a grand and impressive style of building, and stands as an excellent representative of the architecture of the period. It is constructed in timber and incorporates the best of the New Zealand carpenter tradition techniques and use of materials. Overall the style is Italianate, with detailing limited to decorated eaves, brackets around the roof line and an elaborate columned entrance. Much of the grandeur of the house is portrayed by the buildings scale. 2.2 Materials • Shiplap weatherboards • Timber joinery • Corrugated steel roofing 2 Historic Places Trust, ‘William H. Clayton’, Professional Biographies, accessed 16 August 2013, http://www.historic.org.nz/corporate/registersearch/ProfessionalBio/Professional.aspx?CPName=Clay ton,+William+Henry 5 Date: 16 August 2013 2.3 Setting The Prime Ministers residence is situated on three of the remaining original town acres that have not been subdivided in Wellington.