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The original 2-storey building
Auckland Star Supplement Exhibition Number 1 Dec 1898.
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The
building contained the public office, office space for
the manager and other staff, the telephone room and the
boardroom. The interior of the building was completely
divided in two by an east-west masonry wall located
halfway between Quay and Tyler Streets. It had high
ceilings and on each level the floor above was supported
by fine cast iron columns. In the 1940s major interior
work was carried out and many of the original features
were lost. The third floor of the building was added in
1921 to provide accommodation and room for a laundry
where the washing and repair of the company's linen took
place. The details of the original building, including
the window sizes and plasterwork were copied with only
the slight difference in brick colour indicating the new
addition.
Originally
the building stood alone on newly reclaimed land. The
site was leased from the Auckland Harbour Board. The
land on the other side the building was their yard until
the 1950s when they roofed it over as a garage in an
attempt to complete with trucking firms that were taking
their business. When the company ceased trading the
building reverted to the Auckland Harbour Board. In the
late 1980s, developments for the Britomart site were
being proposed which included the possible demolition of
this building; as a result the Historic Places Trust
stepped in and gave a "B" classification to
the building in August 1988. |
