` Thorndon Society Newsletter of the Thorndon Society Inc. Working with the community for Thorndon's heritage since 1973 NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501 | online ISSN 2463-476X, March 2019

Contents THE THORNDON TRUST ...... 2 REMINISCENCES OF ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, HILL STREET ...... 4 PARK STREET/TINAKORI ROAD APARTMENT HOUSE DEVELOPMENT ...... 6 CAVE AT THE SHEPHERD’S ARMS HOTEL ...... 7 YESTERDAY AND TODAY ...... 9 NUDE BATHING ...... 10 THE THORNDON SOCIETY ...... 11 AGM NOTICE THURSDAY 28 MARCH 2019...... 12

Drawing – Allan Morse Architect -1974

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 1 of 12 ` THE THORNDON TRUST Many in Thorndon will be aware of the role of the Thorndon Trust, but for those who are not, here is a brief résumé of the Trust’s history and recent activities. The formation of the Thorndon Trust stretches back to the early 1970s, when Thorndon was threatened not just by a highly destructive motorway, but by the construction of high-density housing and the expansion of the commercial heart of the city. The city’s earliest developed suburb, with some of its most important residential buildings and concentrated 19th century streetscapes, could easily have been lost. Founding trustees were Shirley Smith, Gillian MacGregor and Martin Hill. The Trust bought Granny Cooper’s Cottage, 30 Ascot Street in 1972, to prevent it and others, being demolished for a new residential development. They initiated the formation of the Thorndon Society, which became the active, campaigning community organisation, setting in train the protection of the Ascot Street / Glenbervie Tce area, and saw it rezoned for its special architectural and townscape qualities. It was known as the Residential E Zone, and it was a landmark first for conservation planning in . Since Figure 1 Granny Cooper's Cottage that time, 1975, there has not been a single 19th century building demolished in this area of approximately 100 houses – roughly the triangle bounded by Bowen Street, Tinakori Road and Hill Street. Thorndon Society members helped the Trust restore 30 Ascot Street. The Trust still owns the cottage and the rental helps with the maintenance of both Trust properties. Later, the Trust bought 194 Sydney Street West, again to prevent demolition and development of the landlocked area behind where Rita Angus’s cottage stood. Rita herself had become very concerned about the destruction caused by the motorway and she painted and drew a number of works around this theme. In 1984 the Trust was able to purchase and restore the Rita Angus Cottage 194A and sell 194. After some years, a Conservation Plan was undertaken and then the cottage was listed as Category 1 by Heritage NZ.

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 2 of 12 ` Owning the Cottage has led to an additional focus for the Trust, in commemorating Angus’s life through an artist-in-residence programme. Over 40 artists both local and international, have lived and worked in the cottage with support from QE II, Creative NZ, City Art Gallery, , Te Papa, Dowse, Enjoy Gallery, Weltec and recently Te Auaha. The artists include Tony Fomison, Jane Zusters, Joanna Paul, Séraphine Pick, Michael Tuffery, Ani O’Neil, Ronnie van Hout, Dane Mitchell, Wayne Youle, Ben Cauchi, Andre Hemer, Glen Hayward and Shannon Te Ao. Funds from rental of the cottage in between residencies, and grants from the Lottery Board and WCC, have allowed significant maintenance and upgrading work to be carried out. It remains a place that is very evocative of the cottage that Rita knew and was so important to her work. It is a little more comfortable (with gas under floor heating); it is safer (with sprinklers for its long-term security), and the outside toilet has been reinstated in the garden; the bathroom has just been refurbished. It has a garden that is very much more under control than the one Rita knew of ferns, bamboo, hydrangeas and a few vegetables. In the last two years, a hard-working team of six women volunteers, Figure 2 Rita Angus Cottage gardening for a morning a week, have gently created a magnificent garden respecting the bones that were there. A new magnolia has been planted beside Rita’s famed, aging one. Work on the cottage and the grounds has been documented and meticulously overseen by architect Philip Porritt (who in the ‘70s lived in Barton Terrace), and who has recently retired after serving for 14 years as a trustee. His care and attention to detail is legendary, and he has brought both of the Trust’s cottages up to a very high standard. The Trust, and indeed the wider community, are deeply indebted to Philip for his dedication to two important heritage buildings in Thorndon. Two new trustees have recently been appointed: Lucy Alcock and Sebastian Clarke, while the Trust finances continue to be ably managed by Don Gray. Current projects include negotiations on expanding the artist-in-residence

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 3 of 12 ` programme; assisting the neighbour at 196 Sydney Street West with the reconstruction of the boundary wall alongside the path up to the cottage (Phillip’s last task), and the commissioning of a history to assist in the listing of Granny Cooper’s Cottage by Heritage New Zealand. While there will always be a focus on the running of the Rita Angus Cottage, and extending artist-in-residence programmes, the Trust remains committed to wider heritage issues in Thorndon and stands ready to assist the Thorndon Society in its social and conservation roles. Margaret Cochran, Thorndon Trust Convenor

REMINISCENCES OF ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, HILL STREET The close approach of a seventy-fifth birthday, and the passing of an illness which has caused much contemplative thought, has made me wonder if many are left who have any sort of close recollection of the noble building which was such a feature of all views of early , particularly of Thorndon. During the 1870’s my mother, and at least one other Thorndon girl went down to the West Coast, which at that time was reputed to have a population of many thousands, to do duty as teachers. My father had come from Melbourne with his certificate of registration from the University of Melbourne, dated 12th December 1877, and went into business as a Pharmaceutical Chemist at Hokitika. My sister was born on 3rd January, 1882 and I was born in June, 1883. Unfortunately, not long after my father died. Eighteen months or so later the young family came to Wellington in the “Maori”, a smart little ship with a cutaway bow, and probably the first of the line of the Union Co’s ships of this name. My first connection with St. Mary’s Cathedral comes by way of a manuscript written and signed by the Administrator, Father J McNamara, showing the birth dates of my sister and I, and my sister’s baptism in the Cathedral on 8th January 1882. My grandmother, one of the sturdy stalwarts of her day, had her home in Molesworth Street, directly opposite the gates to Parliament House, whence as we grew saw much of the building life of the growing city. Was it to be wondered at that time as we grew we became altar boys at the Cathedral, and, living so close, so freely available in the early mornings, that I became for quite a while the Archbishop’s altar boy, serving his mass morning after morning in the private chapel in the Archbishop’s House. Probably I had the honour of kissing His Grace’s ring more often than any other boy, but I cannot remember having heard

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 4 of 12 ` him play his beloved Stradivarius more than on two occasions. The centre of activities was of course, the Cathedral, which stood in its glory on the brow of Hill Street. The doors were at the Tinakori end and, facing Guilford Terrace, and the lofty tower overlooked Molesworth Street and the harbour. James Doyle was the Verger. He rang the bell and kept things in order including the dozen or so boys, the older ones of whom were allowed to do a spot of bellringing now and then. We wandered up the tower, and sometimes out through the trap door on to the very top. On the top flight of steps there were louvres set in the walls in which the pigeons nested, and we would watch them with great interest. Some years later, when I had grown up a bit and was working, I happened to be on Wellington Figure 3 After the Fire Photo Archives of the Diocese of Auckland Terrace in the vicinity of Mee’s Steps and my eyes wandered in the direction of the Cathedral. I was amazed and shocked to see smoke issuing from well up in the tower. That was the beginning of the disastrous fire which swept away in one morning such a lovely piece of architecture. I have no dates, but I should say that was over 60 years ago, and not very long afterwards the Basilica took its place, but with its doors and noble columns overlooking the harbour end. E V McKeever, Napier 1958 Notes: E V McKeever’s grandmother was Emma Brogan. St. Mary’s Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1899 and was replaced by the Basilica of Sacred Heart. The Archbishop he refers to is most likely Archbishop Redwood. Mee’s Steps is now known as Mason’s Lane. For more than thirty years George Mee owned a chemist shop fronting Lambton Quay on the south side of the lane. Re-typed by Rachael Davin, granddaughter of E V McKeever and a Thorndon resident

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 5 of 12 ` PARK STREET/TINAKORI ROAD APARTMENT HOUSE DEVELOPMENT The Society questioned the City Council over the decision to approve an eleven- unit, three storied apartment complex on the corner of Park Street and Tinakori Road. The Residential Design Guide provisions and open space requirements were designed to achieve a pattern of development compatible with surrounding housing. We support the development of the site for more intensive residential development in accordance with the District Plan but are seriously concerned that the recent approval ignores these key policies and provisions of the Plan. We believe that under the current state of the law where third-party participation in resource consent processes is largely precluded and the Council acts as both judge and jury in determining applications we should expect a full and fair decision report.

In this case we feel the Council was negligent and unprofessional in omitting critical assessments in the decision report. We sought an explanation from the Council as to why the key assessments were not made but none was forthcoming. A request to discuss the matter was also refused. The only course of redress in such situations is through the High Court, but as the Council is well aware, few community groups have the funds to take High Court action and contentious issues will therefore go unchallenged. We are concerned that this decision appears to reflect a trend, in Thorndon at least, to overlook or ignore important planning policies and provisions where their consideration might inconvenience the granting of an approval. This only serves to undermine the integrity of the District Plan and bring the planning process as a whole into disrepute. We will continue to press for honesty and professionalism in consenting processes. Bruce Lynch

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 6 of 12 ` CAVE AT THE SHEPHERD’S ARMS HOTEL On 20 May 1957 the Evening Post included the photo below of Mr A W Fairlie, manager of the Western Park Tavern (now the Shepherd’s Arms Hotel), emerging from a 7.5m long, 1.5m high cave which had been uncovered at the rear of the property. The Post speculated that the cave had probably been used by Maoris in the early days of the New Zealand wars. Several days later it was further reported that ‘a prominent business man’ had advised that around the time Charles Gillespie built the original Shepherd’s Arms Hotel he dug the cave, erected wooden racks in it and used it as a wine cellar. It was said to be a refuge for after-hours drinking and was well-known by locals as ‘The Cellar’. Figure 4 Photo Digital NZ Research has not revealed any evidence of sly-grogging in the cave but a little of Charles Gillespie’s life story certainly gives credence to him being responsible for its excavation. Gillespie arrived in Wellington as a boy of ten on the immigrant ship Birman in 1842. In 1846 after his father and elder brother were killed by Maori raiders in the Hutt Valley, he was compelled to work to support the family. After working as a carpenter for many years and undergoing what has been described as all the trials and vicissitudes of the early settlers, Gillespie put aside his tools and became proprietor of the Hotel on Tinakori Road. The Karori Hotel was located at what is today 291 Tinakori Road, occupied by Thorndon Antiques and Millwood Gallery. By 1870 Gillespie was in a position to construct a new hotel a few doors away which he named the Shepherd’s Arms, possibly in deference to the hard-working shepherds from the rural districts of Karori and Makara who passed along Tinakori Road. ‘Honest Charley’ as he was called became a much-respected character in the area for almost Figure 5 Charles Gillespie thirty years before his death in 1897. An important aspect of Gillespie’s life which probably accounts for the excavation of the cave was the lure of gold. As a young man in his twenties he

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 7 of 12 ` had spent five or six years in the Victorian goldfields. There is no indication that he made a fortune in Australia but he would surely have done his fair share of digging and been very handy with both pick and shovel. Following his return to Wellington there were persistent claims about local gold discoveries and even one report of a few specks being panned in Tinakori Road near Mr Justice Johnston’s residence, just south of St Mary Street. These ‘discoveries’ increased rumours of a ‘mother lode’ and gold fever was to reach a peak in the early 1880s when a significant quartz reef was found at Terawhiti in the Makara District. Gillespie joined the rush to Terawhiti by assisting with the formation of the Phoenix Gold Mining Company and invested more than £200 in the venture. At its height there were some 28 mining claims at Terawhiti but with no payable quantities of gold the rush eventually petered out. For the rest of his life Gillespie still maintained an interest in gold prospecting and mining and continued to hold shares in various gold mining companies. With this interest it can easily be imagined that at some time Gillespie had been enticed to try his luck by digging behind the Shepherd’s Arms Hotel. For whatever reason the cave was lost to history until it was uncovered in 1957. The following year a concrete retaining wall was constructed behind the hotel which presumably sealed the excavation. If the cave is behind the wall it would be interesting to know if anyone has information about its precise location. Brett McKay

NOTICE - PREDATOR FREE THORNDON

The predator free Wellington movement to rid the city of pests has now come to Thorndon. For more information and to claim a free trap please contact Will Koning or Hester Paul at: [email protected]

Correction: In Edition 175 the words ‘Frandi Street’ in the caption to the photo on page 5 should have read ‘Grant Road’.

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 8 of 12 ` YESTERDAY AND TODAY

The existing property at 232 Tinakori Road (below) was once part of Town Acre 634. This was one of five Town Acres on either side of Harriett Street designated as Native Reserve in the original NZ Company survey of the city. In 1874 a Crown Gant for Town Acre 634 was issued to Ihaia Porutu, a son of Rira Porutu at one time Paramount Chief of Pipitea Pa. The land was leased for many years until the late 1890s when there is evidence a bootmaker, William Hutchison living and working on the site. The photo (above) from the 1960s shows the buildings as they would have existed in Hutchison’s time. The dairy on the corner was the bootmakers shop with an attached workshop to the rear behind the lino and carpet sign. The shop-like building to the left of the Tip- Top sign was originally a fruit shop which was established around 1905. The old buildings survived until their demolition, prior to the construction of the existing house in 1982.

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 9 of 12 ` NUDE BATHING THE POLICE FILES JANUARY 1889: In the days when Thorndon was a -side suburb, the public could stroll along the fore-shore and it was possible to enjoy harbour swimming particularly in the summer months. However, swimmers could cause pedestrians some embarrassment as the following excerpts from the old police files show. (Commissioner W E Gudgeon). I am informed that young men and boys are in the habit of bathing at all hours of the day in the open in the neighbourhood of the old bathing place on Thorndon Quay to the annoyance of passers-by. I have it on the best authority that this nuisance is so great that ladies can no longer use the Quay as a promenade. On Sunday last his Excellency (the Governor) and Miss Jervois had to turn back in consequence of the naked men who were to be seen from the Quay. (Inspector J B Thomson) Be good enough to have this matter attended to at once. If Constable Carroll is unable to stop the objectionable practice complained of then another constable must be detailed to help him to do so. (Lawrence Carroll Constable) Report of Constable Carroll relative to Victor Samuels Thorndon Quay, Henry Skinner Pipitea Street and James Ferris Wingfield Street aged 9, ARCHAEOLOGY 11 and 13 years respectively for bathing in public WEEK TALK-PREMIER without any bathing dress. At 11.10 am on HOUSE Thursday 24th January when on duty along the As part of archaeology week breastwork between the Thorndon Baths and Wellington consultant Mary the Manawatu Railway Station I saw the three O’Keeffe will talk on boys who’s names are given above standing on archaeology in the Capital the breastwork without having any clothing on. and the fascinating stories After coming out of the water they commenced that properties have to tell. to dress themselves when they saw me coming. Davis Street is about one hundred yards and Venue – Premier House Thorndon Quay about two hundred yards and Time 2-3pm Date Sunday within view of where the lads were standing. 28 April 2019 There were two or three ladies and some To book a seat contact children sitting down about fifty yards from David Watt, Heritage New where the boys were. (Sergeant Major F M Zealand: Phone 04 494 8322 Morrice) Constable Carroll, it would be better or 027 2466339 or email to take the names of some older persons for a [email protected] charge in this matter. (From Archives NZ Ref: ACIS 17627 PI/210)

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 10 of 12 ` THE THORNDON SOCIETY The Thorndon Society was established in 1973 in response to the destruction of a large part of Thorndon for the construction of the Urban Motorway. The primary focus of the Society is to protect and preserve what remains of Thorndon's heritage and to maintain its residential character. The Society has been particularly active in opposing the further loss of heritage housing stock, the conversion of houses to non-residential use and the 'creep' of commercial uses into the suburb from the Central Area zone. The Society also works to promote an interest in, and knowledge of, Thorndon's heritage through the publication of our newsletter and other initiatives such as the Notable Homes Plaques Project. Thorndon Society Website www.thorndonsociety.wordpress.com Membership Newsletter Donations You can apply for membership Any donations to support the online or by contacting any of the printing of the newsletter will be committee (see below). The fees gratefully received. are $15 individual Thorndon You can pay online to our account resident, $20 Thorndon at 06-0565-0028561-00. household or non-resident or $50 Please include “Newsletter” in the corporate. The subscription year reference field. runs from January to December.

Thorndon Society Contacts PO Box 12-398, Thorndon, Wellington 6144 | [email protected] Convenor: Bruce Lynch, phone 04-473-6000 Secretary: Grant Strachan, phone 04-472-7110 Treasurer: Tony Burton, phone 04 4727257 Newsletter Editor: Brett McKay, phone 04 9720280 Advertising: Judith Hatton, phone 04 4733753 Newsletter Layout Haritina Mogosanu- www.milky-way.kiwi

Newsletter printed by Rapid Copy Ltd, 191B Thorndon Quay, 04/4712537

THORNDON NEWS | NEWSLETTER 176, ISSN 1179-9501| online ISSN 2463-476X | Page 11 of 12 `

AGM NOTICE THURSDAY 28 MARCH 2019 The AGM of the Thorndon Society for 2019 will be held on Thursday 28 March. The venue is the Adult Education Centre, 192 Tinakori Road (entrance is through the rear carpark off Poplar Grove). The meeting will commence at 7.30 pm. All members of the Thorndon Society, Thorndon residents and other interested persons are warmly invited to attend. This is your opportunity to meet the Committee and hopefully your Ward Councillors to discuss Thorndon issues and the Society's role. Please send any apologies to the Convenor by phone on 04 4736000 or email [email protected]

THORNDON If you are NEWS interested | NEWSLETTER in working 176, ISSN to protect 1179-9501| Thorndon’s online ISSN 2463 heritage-476X | Pageand 12character of 12 by joining the Committee please contact one of the existing committee members to find out what is involved.