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Afternoon Tea at Kaingahou, 642 Pioneer Highway Palmerston North
Saturday 9 May 2015 at 2 pm
Kaingahou was built for Dietlev Monrad, grandson of Bishop Monrad, on his retirement from the family farm. It has been restored, first by Bodil and Gunner Petersen and then by the present owners, Alison & Jason Kinghorn. It is now an event venue. Alison will show us over the house and talk about its history and construction, there will be a talk on the Monrads in New Zealand, and Margaret Tate will talk about the Monrad women. Afternoon tea will be provided. Price $20 for afternoon tea and the tour. You may pay on the day but please RSVP as we need to give Alison some idea of numbers. Reply by 5 May to 06 3591308 or [email protected] For further information about the house, go to our website, http://www.historicmanawatuhorowhenua.org.nz/Records/Kaingahou.pdf
HISTORIC PLACES MANAWATU-HOROWHENUA INC
NEWSLETTER SEVEN, APRIL 2015
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From the Chair This prolonged summer weather seems to have somewhat taken our attention. But with autumn close-‐by, our committee is starting to plan our activities for the forthcoming year. Firstly, we have the opportunity for a guided tour, talk and afternoon tea at Kaingahou. Well worth your attendance, and supporting the future of this most elegant homestead. After more than thirty years there has been resolution on the Hoffman kiln in Palmerston North. But the repair work will be just the beginning of deciding how best to use the kiln site. We will definitely seek to ensure there is an informed voice for heritage on the proposed Community Trust that will take over its care. This year and last has seen the review of local District Plans which set the policies for historic places in Manawatu-‐Horowhenua. The problems of earthquake-‐prone older heritage buildings will be a bone of contention. We have commented already on the Palmerston North plan and Horowhenua’s review comes up this year. Practice makes perfect! Cindy Lilburn Mt Vernon trip Apologies for not rescheduling the Mt Vernon trip for early this year. The events subcommittee (Cindy, Pat and me) have had a few problems. Cindy has a fulltime, full on job at Te Manawa and I broke my shoulder early in December. It has taken a long time for the ligaments to heal and Pat has been rather busy as general factotum in the Scrivens household. We hope to run the trip later in the year (Spring) or whenever suits Richard Harding. Thank you to all the people who emailed me to say that they liked the idea, but late November was not a good time.
Cushla Scrivens
Architects’ Register Report
Call for help
Some years ago Pamela Phillips created a register of the work of pre-‐war architects in Palmerston North, including that of architect Robin Hood. This register has been well-‐used by members of the public and is accessible at the City Archives, on the 2nd floor of the Library. In 2014 a small group was formed with the purpose of updating this register, to cover the period 1945 to 1975. We have listed local architects working in this era, and are now working to identify the buildings they designed. In the future the register will be updated for the period 1975 to 2000. Unlike the earlier work which was done on hard-‐copy paper, this new work will be computer-‐based and managed by the City Archivist. Work is underway, but it is a large task that requires searching the individual records of architectural practices of the period. The group works in teams of two, for a couple of hours at a session. Any HPHM members willing to assist in this work should contact our secretary for further information. Email [email protected].
Don Irvine
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THE HOFFMAN KILN
The future of Palmerston North's historic Hoffman Kiln has been secured in a deal that will see the Heritage Order, which was over the whole site, reduced to the area of the kiln and immediate surroundings. A health centre will be built on the balance of the Featherston St site. After many years of concern and negotiation, it is great that an agreement has been reached with the owners, the City Council and Heritage New Zealand. The superstructure of the kiln was so severely damaged in the high winds last October that it had to be demolished.
The kiln after the storm, October 2014 Essential conservation and restoration work – specifically stabilisation and re-roofing – has now commenced. Heritage NZ has granted $30,000 from the National Heritage Preservation Incentive Fund for the work. The kiln is an important industrial site in Palmerston North, and Historic Places Manawatu Horowhenua has been advocating for its preservation for decades. Jim Lundy, one of the stalwarts of the move to preserve the kiln, wrote in his book on the kiln, Nine Thousand Bricks a Day that: “The brick industry played an important part in shaping the industrial landscape of Manawatu and the Hoffman Kiln as the largest kiln in the region, had a unique role to play in that development.”
Work on the roof of the kiln, March 26 2015 So where to now? It is anticipated that the kiln will be vested in a Community Trust that will take responsibility for it and be able to seek support and funding for the long-term development of the site. An early priority will be re-pointing of the external faces of the Kiln structure. Local Architect Colin Campbell who is handling the restoration work considers that the interior bricks are best left untouched. Having been fired to 1000° each week for 50 years the faces of the vault bricks are very brittle and easily knocked off. There are several large areas where these faces have fallen off. It appears that the office building is an earthquake risk, and once the Kiln is secure the Office building may be demolished and any useful bricks stored within the Kiln for security. This will be a project where volunteer support will no doubt be appreciated. David Chapple
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Big Plans for Kimberley Hospital Those travelling south to Wellington lately may have noticed the old Kimberley Hospital site near Levin now has new buildings at its entrance. Developer Wayne Bishop will be turning the property into a retirement village to be known as the Speldhurst Estate, and the new homes along the frontage are a sample of what is to come. Our committee visited Kimberley last year to discuss the development plans with Wayne Bishop and view what historic features might remain. The property was initially acquired by the government in 1906 as a Training Farm for destitute and delinquent boys [the institution later moved to the sea side of the State Highway and was known as Weraroa]. In the Second World War it was requisitioned as an Air Force training base. Numerous temporary wooden barracks were added to the site and these became the basis of its post-‐war career as the Kimberley Hospital for disabled children. More custom-‐built dormitory villas were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s at the far end of the site before the hospital was finally closed in 2006 and residents moved out into the community. We found that Kimberley still has a mix of original buildings, mostly from its army and hospital days. In particular there is the 1900s era Guy homestead now much altered and used as a WAAF social centre during the Second World War, the utilitarian war-‐time chapel and the ‘60s styled brick patients’ villas.
The Guy Homestead After our guided tour, our committee was happy to endorse Wayne’s plans for the Speldhurst Estate. The old hospital site already comes fully equipped with its own infrastructure, a wealth of buildings and amenities. As he commented, it seemed a shame to return the site to farmland. Wayne’s aim is to retain and re-‐use many of the buildings.
The former chapel and social room are being restored The Guy homestead with adjacent former bowling green will become the new home of the Levin Croquet Club, and old army buildings may become a Trades Academy. Hopefully with the addition of retirement homes it will see a renewed life for the old property. Cindy Lilburn
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Former NZ Rugby Museum Building
The Breeders’ Club, later the NZ Rugby Museum, showing the Waldegrave Street end of the building. This door has since been bricked-up. Note the decorative original asbestos cement slate roof - which has since been replaced with corrugated iron - and also the contrasting paintwork under the gable ends. Photo about 1920 (PN City Library: Ap2)
On Monday March 23 2015, the Palmerston North City Council voted to demolish the former Rugby Museum building. It is an earthquake risk and not seen by the council as worthy of keeping. It is not registered on the District Plan. The building was originally built for the Breeders’ Club in 1920, with subscriptions from the various breed societies. It was seen as complementary to the Manawatu & West Coast A&P Society whose headquarters were at the Showgrounds. The plans and specifications were drawn up by the Caretaker, Mr George Francis Parker. Mr Parker had arrived from England with a young family and was with the Association from 1916 to 1932. The Dominion reported: “The improvements made in the showgrounds include the erection of very fine brick buildings as a Breeders’ Club, which in addition to several smaller rooms has two rooms about 40 feet by 22 feet each, which will be used for meetings in connection with the various breed societies of stock.” It was used by the Breeders’ Club up until 1957 when it was sold to the Kairanga County Council. It was their main office from 1959 to 1989. The building played a very significant role in the aftermath of the Hawkes Bay earthquake as the records office where clerks dealt with keeping track of the thousands of people from Hawkes Bay who had been distributed around the region, with 4,500 refugees being housed at the showgrounds alone. In 1945 it also briefly saw service as emergency accommodation (as two flats) prior to the establishment of the large transit camp at Hokowhitu. It is likely that the building was also used by the Defence Force during the WWII period, including during the establishment of the Maori Battalion that was formed at the showgrounds. The NZ Rugby Museum moved into the building in February 1991. It was upgraded at that time. The museum moved to Te Manawa in 2011 and the building has been empty since then. Buildings like this pose problems for local bodies. This building has considerable historical value, as outlined above. However, it is not of great architectural significance. Palmerston North City Council, with limited resources for earthquake strengthening, has had to make decisions about which buildings to support and which to demolish. This one unfortumately is to be demolished. However, it is hoped that the bricks will be saved for repairing other buildings including the Hoffman Kiln.
Thanks to local historian Val Burr for this information