History
30 Arthur Street Relocation Preparation - 12 September 2005
The building, commissioned by the Boys’ Institute, was designed by William Gray Young of Crichton and McKay, and built in 1906 for £1334. His Excellency the Rt Hon William Lee Baron Plunket, Governor of NZ laid the foundation stone, still located on the building, on 3 October 1906.
At the time of construction, the two-storey non-reinforced brick masonry building housed a ground floor gymnasium and swimming pool, with a classroom and hall on the floor above.
The building has been modified since construction, however, its original design comprised an Edwardian Free Style interpretation of the Queen Anne style with Gothic and Classical elements.
The building is constructed of brick masonry with an internal structure of large timer posts, beams and trusses. A swimming pool that existed at the back of the building was removed as part of the relocation preparation.
The Boys’ Institute began as part of the YMCA’s Sunday Evening Mission School. In the early 1880’s, the Boys’ Institute developed into a separate entity with its own rooms on leasehold land near the Star Boating Club. When the land was taken over for Tramway Works, the Institute raised over £600 to finance a building in Arthur St.
The Institute developed quickly and had out grown its Arthur St premise within a year or so. In February 1907, an attempt was made to auction the building unsuccessfully and a campaign was launched for a bigger building. With a large donation of land in Tasman St, and cash from Mrs Sarah Ann Rhodes, a building on the Tasman St land was commenced in 1914. Additional premises were erected in 1924.
The Boys’ Institute, unlike the other buildings in Arthur St, was built to the street edge, and extended to both side boundaries. The building contrasted with the other old buildings in Arthur St in function, form and design.
The building is not registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. It is listed on Wellington City Council District Plan as a heritage building.
New Location
The building will be located 13 metres north of its original position, towards the end of Kelvin Grove.
New Address
14 Kelvin Grove.
Construction Update
27 July 2005 - Works commence to strengthen the building for relocation.
16 September 2005 - The building is relocated 13 metres within 4½ hours.
How Was It Moved?
The 400-tonne building was originally due to be demolished as it was considered unmovable, but Transit New Zealand found a solution through specialised movers, Building Solutions, to save and relocate the building.
A combination of Teflon technology and railway tracks was used to move the building. The building was gently lowered onto 2.5cm-thick Teflon blocks, which sat between the building and the two steel beams that held the building up. The Teflon-technology provides a “non-stick” surface, similar to the Teflon coating on household frying pans, which helps the building to be carefully pushed to its new location.
The Teflon blocks slid on a steel runway platform, coated with silicon to reduce friction. The building was pulled, then pushed into its new position using two pneumatic rams.
